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AIBU?

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Original poster

Blue badge police again

578 replies

Rainburstflowers · 11/04/2025 09:00

Name changes for this as I do every so often.
I have blue badge but my disability is not visible.
For the 3rs time in 2 weeks I have been challenged about not looking disabled and I am fed up of explaining myself

yesterday got out the car and this man came charging towards me shouting “oi you don’t have a blue badge”. I sighed and said “yes I do”. He then said “where did you nick that from?”
I said “I didn’t nick it from anyone I got it off eBay”
He then looked at me and said “oh right and walked off”
as if that was then ok!!!!
or it could be my built like a brick shithouse husband opened his door and got out the drivers seat.

I know I should not have said the eBay comment but I am fed up of explaining myself.

if anyone has any good comebacks please let me know

OP posts:
Original poster
Rainburstflowers · 11/04/2025 09:02

My friend tells people she has Stephen Hawkings old one as they were good mates. So far there has been no comeback to that.

OP posts:
BeyondMyWits · 11/04/2025 09:08

I just use

"Feel free to report me to the department of not looking disabled enough."

SpringSunshineanddaffodils · 11/04/2025 09:10

Tell those people to fuck off and mind their own business.
It literally is nothing to do with them. You know you're entitled to park there, and you are. It's down to whoever enforces the rules to pull you up on it if necessary.
We once parked in a parent and child parking spot and got pulled up on it. A man loudly and passively aggressively said to his wife "I thought these spots were just for people with children" he obviously assumed we didn't have any because we were in a work van. I revealed my newborn DD tucked up in a moby wrap inside my coat and said "here's my baby actually, so mind your own business next time" but he just walked off and pretended not to hear. I was sleep deprived and passed off so I shouted "excuse me... hello" hut he continued to just ignore
Prick.

Anyway, as I said. Tell them to fuck off. Don't just ignore them. Tell them in no uncertain terms to get to fuck. How dare they impose their stupid self rightous judgement on someone they know nothing about.

youcannaecallherfanny · 11/04/2025 09:12

BeyondMyWits · 11/04/2025 09:08

I just use

"Feel free to report me to the department of not looking disabled enough."

That’s a good one

BinChicken1 · 11/04/2025 09:15

I think your eBay comment was 👌

Nosy fuckers with nothing else to do.

Fraaances · 11/04/2025 09:16

I have heart failure and can barely walk 20 metres. I’m in my early 50’s and have had people demanding that I “explain myself” more often than not. I live in Australia, and recently had someone try and restrain me while they called the police. I hopped in the front seat and they blocked my car. Luckily the police were in the shopping centre and arrived very quickly. The police pointedly DIDN’T ask about my condition at all. I only had to show my licence which proved that the permit was in my name and the police asked me if I would like to press charges. I asked the police to give him a good talking to in front of me, (for maximum humiliation) to explain to him WHY restraining a lone woman is so fucking terrifying and let him know exactly how many laws he had broken and the potential consequences whilst I decided what I would like to do. There was a small crowd gathered by this time (some with their phones out.) He kept repeating “But she’s obviously not disabled!” I then said “Tell that to the doctors on my heart transplant team.”
SILENCE

Ficklebricks · 11/04/2025 09:20

"You don't look disabled" could be countered with the following:

  • Tell that to my doctor who says I am
  • You don't look like a dickhead but then you opened your mouth
  • You don't look stupid either but you obviously are

"Where did you get that blue badge from" could be countered with:

  • From my doctor who knows I need it, would you like to have a word with him? (As you dial the GP number on your phone)
  • Where did you get that sense of entitlement from?
DeltaAlphaDelta79 · 11/04/2025 09:21

I work for a local council and we get so many emails complaining about blue badge fraud, usually of the "how did they get a blue badge, they don't look disabled" variety.

The most professional I am allowed to be at work is the "not every disability is visible" line but unfortunately people are just generally stupid and/or have too much time on their hands.

Whammyyammy · 11/04/2025 09:22

In the last months of my FIL being alive he had a blue badge, as had throat cancer and struggled to walk/breathe.

He would sit in the back of our car, which had tinted windows and we had a few self appointmented police Q us.

We would just ignore anyone without correct authority to challenge us. If they repeated my large Husband would usually growl FO, always worked.
You do not need to explain yourself or disability to anyone.

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 11/04/2025 09:24

My mum is in The Blue Badge Police.

She likes to judge whether or not people are disabled enough to use one.

A while ago was slagging off two women for not being disabled and using a disabled space. The kicker was they weren’t even using the space, they were just walking past it.

The best part of this story is that for YEARS when I was a child she’d use my grandmother’s blue badge and then fake a limp walking out of the car park. I shit you not.

My advice is to just ignore people. Act as if they’re not there.

northerneast · 11/04/2025 09:24

Comebacks?

I find ignoring them works best. I won’t engage with idiots.

PaintDecisions · 11/04/2025 09:29

My mate takes great delight in these people. He has his blue badge, uses it in his liveried transit van as he's a handyman. He's in his 30s and is ex Army.

You just need to see him walk to begin to understand why he needs the badge.

He takes his daughter to school on his mobility scooters on bad days - it's only about 100m round trip to the gates from our street.

He's full of sarcasm, I really don't have his wit!

CatsWhiskerz · 11/04/2025 09:30

Taking notes as I've just got a blue badge, so far no one has challenged me ... so feeling a bit left out!
I'm storing up why 'report me to the doesn't look disabled enough office' ... brilliant 🤩

SpringSunshineanddaffodils · 11/04/2025 09:32

He's full of sarcasm, I really don't have his wit!

Yeah, the army will do that to you. I think it's part of their training program 😄

ASimpleLampoon · 11/04/2025 09:34

"None of your busines"

"None of Your fucking business"

"Come back with a warrant"

"Fuck off and mind your own business"

Fuck off and mind your own business but in BSL

Or shout at them in Spanish while waving the badge in their face (I'm bilingual)

Laughing their face but say nothing.

Feel free to report but you're not the police / traffic enforcement so I m not obliged to say anything to you

Showerflowers · 11/04/2025 09:43

out for the day with my son and dil a few years back. DIL Pulled into a disabled parking space and put my blue badge up. Then she got out with my son to unload my wheelchair ready for me to get out the back. Before she’d even got to the boot we had a blue badge police person shouting at her. Now DIL was in her gym gear but I don’t think anyone should approach anyone. Anyway before DIL could explain that I’m the disabled person my son decides to burst into song opera style and attempted to do the splits for this person.

they slowly slunk away from my strange son lol.

Isobel201 · 11/04/2025 09:44

I must have been lucky as I haven't had any issues with my blue badge, but I do hate the ones that think you're not disabled just because you use your own legs. They don't see or feel the pain and suffering we have on the inside.

Tessasanderson · 11/04/2025 09:44

I can never understand blue badge holders moaning about this. Can they not see that the person doing the asking is trying to protect the blue badge holders right to that space?

In the current society there are not many people who will actually put themselves out for whats right and wrong. See someone getting beaten up, turn away. See someone stealing, turn away. See someone parking in a disabled space to protect their Range Rover, turn away.

So once in a while they get it wrong and ask someone with a not obvious disability if they are genuine. Is that such a hardship for someone actually having some social concerns?

Or maybe they just start to wonder if its worth it, ignore it all and let blue badge holders cry about lack of parking in future because no one gives a stuff.

northerneast · 11/04/2025 09:48

Tessasanderson · 11/04/2025 09:44

I can never understand blue badge holders moaning about this. Can they not see that the person doing the asking is trying to protect the blue badge holders right to that space?

In the current society there are not many people who will actually put themselves out for whats right and wrong. See someone getting beaten up, turn away. See someone stealing, turn away. See someone parking in a disabled space to protect their Range Rover, turn away.

So once in a while they get it wrong and ask someone with a not obvious disability if they are genuine. Is that such a hardship for someone actually having some social concerns?

Or maybe they just start to wonder if its worth it, ignore it all and let blue badge holders cry about lack of parking in future because no one gives a stuff.

Trying to justify questioning disabled people isnt pretty.

x2boys · 11/04/2025 09:51

Tessasanderson · 11/04/2025 09:44

I can never understand blue badge holders moaning about this. Can they not see that the person doing the asking is trying to protect the blue badge holders right to that space?

In the current society there are not many people who will actually put themselves out for whats right and wrong. See someone getting beaten up, turn away. See someone stealing, turn away. See someone parking in a disabled space to protect their Range Rover, turn away.

So once in a while they get it wrong and ask someone with a not obvious disability if they are genuine. Is that such a hardship for someone actually having some social concerns?

Or maybe they just start to wonder if its worth it, ignore it all and let blue badge holders cry about lack of parking in future because no one gives a stuff.

Or maybe they could just accept a blue bsdge has been issued for a valid reason?

PhilomenaPunk · 11/04/2025 09:54

Tessasanderson · 11/04/2025 09:44

I can never understand blue badge holders moaning about this. Can they not see that the person doing the asking is trying to protect the blue badge holders right to that space?

In the current society there are not many people who will actually put themselves out for whats right and wrong. See someone getting beaten up, turn away. See someone stealing, turn away. See someone parking in a disabled space to protect their Range Rover, turn away.

So once in a while they get it wrong and ask someone with a not obvious disability if they are genuine. Is that such a hardship for someone actually having some social concerns?

Or maybe they just start to wonder if its worth it, ignore it all and let blue badge holders cry about lack of parking in future because no one gives a stuff.

What nonsense. The blue badge police are not trying to protect the spaces, they’re pissed off because they perceive someone to be getting a “perk” that they are not.

You might be perfectly prepared to talk about your private medical history with complete strangers when accosted in car parks but that is not the case for everybody. And shouting over to someone, striding up to them and demanding information, attempting to restrain them etc. is not “asking”. It is aggressive, offensive behaviour.

LadyKenya · 11/04/2025 09:55

Tessasanderson · 11/04/2025 09:44

I can never understand blue badge holders moaning about this. Can they not see that the person doing the asking is trying to protect the blue badge holders right to that space?

In the current society there are not many people who will actually put themselves out for whats right and wrong. See someone getting beaten up, turn away. See someone stealing, turn away. See someone parking in a disabled space to protect their Range Rover, turn away.

So once in a while they get it wrong and ask someone with a not obvious disability if they are genuine. Is that such a hardship for someone actually having some social concerns?

Or maybe they just start to wonder if its worth it, ignore it all and let blue badge holders cry about lack of parking in future because no one gives a stuff.

Have you read the thread, and seen how some of these BB police act? So it is okay to loudly shout at people, or demand to know their medical history in a public place, is it? Really! It is not helping anyone, and does nothing but upset most people challenged, who are just trying to go about their day. It is not helpful whatsoever!

Feathers72829292 · 11/04/2025 09:59

I saw a tiktok not too long ago where an older person started challenging a young bloke as soon as he pulled up because he was in a work van and apparently him being both disabled and having a job was incomprehensible for this person. He simply said I don’t have to explain myself to you and she kept harping on right up until he got out of his van and it became obvious he had a prosthetic metal leg where she quickly apologised. Why people would want to embarrass themselves like this in public is beyond me.

Dotjones · 11/04/2025 10:00

I think this thread shows you just can't win. The BBP no doubt take their imaginary authority too far sometimes in the same way the real police do, but if nobody challenges fraudulent BB users then that makes it more difficult for genuine users to park. The BBP are just doing a lower scale version of a citizen's arrest, they believe they are justified and accept the risk of a punch in the mouth. That some innocent people get falsely accused is just collateral damage, in the same way some innocent people end up arrested and even convicted and imprisoned for offences they didn't commit.

Maybe the best thing would be to scrap the blue badge scheme entirely, then the problem of the BBP goes away.

Megifer · 11/04/2025 10:00

"Can they not see that the person doing the asking is trying to protect the blue badge holders right to that space?"

This is pretty naive tbh. They are doing no such thing. They are suggesting people are only entitled to a BB if they are crunched over with a leg hanging off etc.

I mean, of course if they were truly being thoughtful, they'd already be fully aware not all disabilities are visible.