Hmmm, this is a tough one…

On one hand, you want to give people the benefit of the doubt.

But on the other hand, there are so many sketchy people out there, it’s diminished our faith in our fellow humans.

Which brings us today’s story!

Is this person wrong for how they reacted in this situation?

Read the story they wrote on Reddit and see what you think!

AITA for requesting proof when people use handicapped parking?

“We have handicapped parking at my business. We’re adjacent to a rehab facility, so people who need the parking often utilize my business.

You know the type…

We’re on a street without many spaces, so we also get a lot more jerks than you’d expect who use the handicapped spots even if they’re not disabled.

It used to be if we confronted someone on it, they’d be embarrassed to be caught, and move their car.

But now with the whole mask debacle, people are weirdly emboldened to identify themselves as having fictitious medical disorders purely for the sake of convenience.

It’s so bizarre.

Multiple times a month we’ll be standing out there arguing with an able bodied person saying they’re refusing to move their car, and we can’t make them, because they’re disabled, but they don’t have to prove it.

Plenty of chronically ill people with invisible disabilities frequent the store, but they have placards for their cars. Because unlike those people, their illnesses are intermittent, but real.

So, today, I saw a car sitting in the spot with no placard or other verification. While it’s sitting there, one of our customers pulls up and is unable to park in the accessible spot.

So I call to have it towed, but the driver returns before the towing company does.

They had to confront this woman.

I go out there, because I want to let her know not to do this again, and don’t want her to think she’s found a great loophole for the parking situation in this neighborhood.

I said, “Excuse me, this is handicapped parking.”

And she said, “Yah, I know.”

And that really struck me so I didn’t hold back and said all the things, “When you park here people who actually need it can’t use the store at all. That’s just shameful. I don’t know how people do a thing like that” and so on.

She said she had a chronic illness, was borrowing a friend’s car, and had just forgotten to display her placard on the mirror.

In the past we’ve heard versions of that from people just arriving and when we say “Oh, great, please display it so there’s no confusion.” It ends with them leaving because they don’t have one.

So I didn’t believe her at first and basically said “Mmhmm. I’m sure that’s what happened. Look, next time, just be decent to people and leave these resources for people who need them.”

Plot twist!

Long story short, turns out she was telling the truth.

Now we’re being inundated with complaints from her and her friends that it’s never our business to ask people if they “really need” handicapped parking or not, and that our employees shouldn’t be able to confront people over using the parking.

It’s better some people use it who might not need it than some people who might need it not use it for fear of a confrontation.

I feel awful about the whole exchange, and while I don’t want to sit by and let users exploit the parking, I don’t want the chronically ill to feel unwelcome either.

Am I the *******?”

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person said they acted like an *******.

Another Reddit user disagreed with the previous commenter.

This individual spoke up.

Another reader had a lot to say.

And this Reddit user said they’re NTA.

They’re having second thoughts about how they handled this situation.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.