WARNING: I intend to be very very insulting. Stop reading if you are not ready!
Alrighty…so, I have had a few mojitos tonight. So, I am walking across the parking lot of my local big city supermarket due to a large craving for sushi. I notice something that completely pisses me off. BTW…I did not just notice it. It has been a part of my irritation for over a year since I saw the first one, but I have just been steeping in the meantime.
Ok…before you kill me and start to mail the small pieces across the cosmic universe, please read to the end and comment like crazy if you want to mob me. However, when has motherhood been considered a disabling affliction? Last I looked, it was 99.9% choice and not a handicap that you have receive special recognition with one of those little blue tags with a white guy in a wheelchair emblem.
Here is what annoyed me so badly I stopped in the middle of the parking lot and stared like the village idiot. There was a sign in front of the front three spaces of each aisle on the left side that said “Parking for Mothers with Children Only.” Now, aside from begging the question of how one can be a mother without having children, I wonder if there should be spaces reserved for:
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Men with Erectile Dysfunction
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Grandmothers with small Terrier dogs
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Young boys with marbles
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Teenage girls with self esteem issues
Silly? YES! Being a mother should not mean that you are treated as though you are handicapped. And, may I please point out that, as I stood there in that stupid “Parking for Mothers with Children Only” spaces, I looked directly across the parking aisle and there were the handicapped parking spaces.
You see, it is not I who believes that being a mother is equal to being handicapped; it is your local supermarket. Congratulations ladies…you have been elevated to the status of a disabling illness. Here’s your sign!
Not long left until Valentines Day! Enter to win the OhMiBod Vibrator Giveaway ! ~~Dee
Whisper Something Sexy... 
Hmm, while I can sympathize with mothers who have to go through the pain of towing small children around, it’s the other “special recognition” that bugs me.
Getting time off from work for their children’s: illness, appointments, school play etc etc. Can I get time off for my hair appointment? My hair is my child.
One of the things that really bugs me about society is when single/non-parents are treated like lesser people than those who have reproduced.
OK, rant over.
xo
Princess–I have to agree. I have worked in the business world and tried to figure out why women with children get twice as much “understanding” as women who have dogs (for example…I have dogs instead of children… my choice!). It does make me feel like my decision not to have children is being punished. ~~Dee
bwa..ha..ha.ha…. Oooooo… talk about opening a can of “Non-PC” worms… 🙂
But you know what Dee… I’m RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!!! The other one that I see is “Parking for Expectant Mothers Only”.
But you know what…. the stores get to decide how they want to handle their parking spaces (other than the obligatory handicap spots of course) and I always park further out in the parking lot anyway because I like the extra exercise..ha..ha.ha…
But it DOES crack me that having kids or expecting kids has suddenly been lumped together with the handicap spots…. 😉
Kitty–I have been scraping PC poop off of my shoes for years! Those who love me know that I step right into the middle of it without stopping to think. But, in reality, I know that this is demeaning to women who are not handicapped and pandering to the masses. Do I think they have the right to do it? YES. Can we change the way they do it? YES. Consumers have the biggest say in what any company that wants to succeed does. This is what I am prompting women to think about….if you go into a store and mention this to the manager…it will change. He does not want to loose business. ~~Dee
I’ve heard about these but have never seen them. As the mother of a child with a handicap, I am genuinely offended. I don’t get to park in the handicapped spot even when my son is with me.
Seems to me it’s those of us who’ve had kids that are complaining about our weight; I imagine a little exercise will do us good. Suck it up and walk ladies.
Finn–I truly dont have any problem with people assisting those who have handicaps. Our society has become such that it panders to every possible market it can…and it divides and segments us….as women and as human beings. But I can say to you as an epileptic and dyslexic person, I have qualified over and over again for “assistance” through my college and business career. I have yet to take it because I believe strongly that assistance should be available for those who need it. With Gods blessing, I currently dont need anything. And, I dont want to remove the opportunity for someone who does. So, I say more than suck it up and walk. I say…go inside and explain to the manager you dont love those signs. Email the store headquarters and tell them they are not winning contests for their stupidity. ~~Dee
How can you be a mother without children? LOL
Its not about being handicapped, its about making life a little easier for a consumer to come in and spend money
My guess is, if you’re trying to herd 3 little people 200 yards through a Wal Mart parking lot while dodging minivans and over-sized SUVs, having a closer parking space could be a nice little perk. It may even to help bring a few more customer into the store.
Of course, if you leave the kids at home, you’d be childless and really won’t need the choice spaces.
As for the rest of us, why do we care if someone else is given a space a few yards closer to the door? Suck it up and walk; just be happy you don’t need the special spaces!!
Finn, have you talked with your MD about getting a handicap permit?
Lostrider–I KNEW someone would come along sooner or later to be the voice of reason. My point though is not the extra steps. It is the devaluing of women by considering some more important than others and then putting them in the spaces for the people who may truly need those spaces because they in a wheelchair…struggling with a disability. And, what about Fathers with Children? Do they not get consideration? And, foster parents, grandparents…do they get handicapped spaces next? Yes, soon…I will be walking in from the back 40 next to someone in a wheelchair. And we will look at each other, smile, and be glad that we did not need those “special spaces!” *laughing*~~Dee
They don’t have them out here… but we have to drive 10 miles to a gas station and fifteen to the nearest store… by the time we get there, no problem, we wanna get out and stretch our legs! 😉
Frankly, if you have well-behaved children, going into a store isn’t a big deal. Mine know exactly what to do, when to wait for me to hold my hand. I have no worries about going from the car to the door…
although, it helps that I usually get the fifth or sixth spot from the door in the first place… stores out here are just *never* that busy 😉
Selena–I COULD get so un-PC on the way I have seen children behaving in stores. I start to shake at the very thought of going into Wal-Mart. Odd thing is that the parent look SO tortured. Or, they look at me like they completely cant understand why I dont think that junior is cute for screaming at the top of his small lungs (how can such a sound come from such a small person??) in the middle of the floor while he runs over every human being in the area. Ok…I better get back to talking about sex! Least…that wont get me hung on a cross. *laughing* ~~Dee
We don’t need it. Like Dee said, it should be saved for those who truly need it. It’s good for my son to walk… and I’m thankful that he’s able to even it’s slowly!
Finn–As I have said so many times, you are a blessing to me and your son. I would gladly walk with both of you. ~~Dee