A mother in Utah is catching flak online after she shared a seemingly reasonable take on disability placards. TikToker Heypaigeflamm took to social media to express an issue she was facing whenever she picked up her daughter at school: The lack of a disability parking space.
In Paige’s TikTok video, she shares that her daughter has cerebral palsy, so naturally she has a disability placard. However, the issue Paige frequently ran into was during pickup where she noticed disability parking spaces were being taken up by not actually being used.
Grandparents and caregivers, she said, would park in the disability spaces and sit there until their child got out. And since there are only four disability spaces, she didn’t have the room to pick up her daughter.
“Which means I then have to wave my placard and knock on windows and get the grandparents and caregivers to move from their spot so that I can park into that spot,” Paige says.
In her TikTok video, Paige advocates for people to be a little more accommodating and understanding of other’s needs. “If you have zero intention of getting out of the car and the student that you are picking up does not have any mobility needs, I kindly ask that you go wait in the car pool line with all of the rest of the parents and caregivers at school pickup.”
It was a request offered without malice and even in the same spirit as the purpose of the disability parking spaces themselves. However, many viewers in the comments did their absolute best at twisting her reasonable take into something it wasn’t.
Utah Locals React
Numerous top comments on Paige’s TikTok video revealed that they either didn’t watch to the end or failed to understand what her request was. Some viewers apparently didn’t hear that.
“It literally does mean that they are allowed to park there. Also there are invisible disabilities,” TikTok user Elli wrote. However, Paige explicitly stated her take was aimed at parents/caregivers who weren’t using the spaces to their fullest (e.g., sitting in their car or not picking up a child with disabilities).
One viewer, TikTok user Hannah Taylor, also felt the same way, arguing about entitlement and legality. “They don’t have to be getting out to use the placard. They are just as entitled to the spots as you are.”
This started a comment thread, where several users pushed back: “[Paige is] not saying they are not legally allowed. She is saying to please leave the handicap spots if at that time they do not need it,” wrote TikTok user HSK.
Though several top comments echoed the same sentiment—that said disabled drivers were legally allowed to use the space—the same viewers missed the point: It’s a moral issue, not a legal one. What Paige advocates for is being more aware of other’s needs in the moment. Isn’t that just being a decent person?
