to ask you for to find a comment to end this DM type assertions once and for all?

[bellabow]

I have a DF who, 3 times in the last few weeks, has started talking at me about something she has no experience of, but seems to have formed very strong opinions about.

I am in the same situation, where this bugbear of hers has no impact or relevence to my daily life, but I am totally fed up with hearing her nesh on about it.

She thinks that disabled people should not be allowed free parking, and just because you are disabled, doesn't mean you are poor, in fact "some of them are loaded, even saw a BB in a jaguar recently".

I have tried to talk about facing other challenges, why not this one small concession to ease the burden slightly? Also it would be a travesty to waste limited resources on devising and performing a means test when that money and time could be allocated to something far more worthwhile?

I am getting so irate that she keeps harping on about it, that I thought I'd ask if MN could help me come up with something incisive to just end the barrage of moans about it.

I actually think she thinks that making BB holders pay would ease the economic crisis somewhat.

TIA.

Remind me. What's BB?

's okay.

Just say "look I don't like you having an opinion that doesn't match mine!"

By chance I've just been reading the other thread about disabled people having free parking. Both sides have made good and interesting points. I'm slightly leaning towards saying they should pay like everyone else, but the opposing point of view is quite convincing too. On balance they may be right.

Debate can be fun.

So she thinks that disabled people should have to pay to have the kind of access that able bodied people have freely and take for granted?

Tell her she is a twat and collecting a few 50p coins of disabled people isn't going to solve the economic crisis. Perhaps the disabled person was not the owner or driver of the Jag, but an disabled passenger being taken out by a rich relative?
Tell her to mind her own business and stop worrying about what other people are up to with their parking. Life is too short to be so petty. has she nothing better to do than see who does and doesn't have a blue badge?

"But that would be a Stealth Tax on the disabled".

DM type people don't like stealth taxes...

Many people with disabilities have no option but to drive e.g. inadequate public transport, unable to walk more than a short distance so if there isn't a bus stop near their house they can't use the bus.

1)Therefore, making them pay for parking is financially penalising them for the fact that their disability makes driving necessity not an option.

2)To try and means test parking for people with disabilities would probably cost more than it would bring in parking revenues.

3. Because we are a remotely civilised country that should go some way towards assisting people with disabilities overcome the challenges that their disability brings.

But they do pay mostly, don't they? A blue badge allows a disabled person to park closer to shops, etc, but usually they still have to buy a ticket.

It's called decency, inclusion and accessibility. We put lifts and ramps in buildings and don't charge disabled people to use them because we're a decent society. We designate disabled spaces for the same reason.

Sorry hadn't noticed another thread.

Which one is it?

There is strandedbear there is.... strange coincidence.

pocketful, I don't quite understand your point.

Thanks other posters some of the points you are making will help me finalise my final response.

Simple, tell her that by her reasoning education and healthcare shouldn't be free either. After all having kids doesn't mean you are poor and neither does having a heart attack.

I don't greatly care if there is a Blue Badge on a Lamborghini. Some disabled people are rich (Mr Hustler!) but they are still disabled.

As for your DF, bellabow, you can't have reached years of (in)discretion without learning to tune out the crap. Only last week I had to look something up in a colleague's DM - the previous day's dollar rate or some such factual thing - and I managed to ignore the venemous crud all round.

Just tell her you disagree with her and agree to disagree. She sounds like a moron.

Why is she obsessed with a discount that people unlucky enough to be disabled get. It's a bit mean minded.

Tell her she is a bitch.