There will always be people who behave badly but I wonder if some have changed their ways because of social media?
This came to mind because of the story of a Connecticut State Rep. who made a habit of pulling up to a Dunkin’ Donuts in Washington and parking in a spot reserved for people with disabilities. The citizen who posted the photo says he witnessed Brandon McGee Jr. do this regularly before outing him as a serial parking spot stealer. The capper? McGee oversees his state’s Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. It’s worth noting that he doesn’t have a disability or a parking permit for the space.
The House Speaker actually took the Rep. aside and talked to him about it. McGee was rightfully embarrassed, issued a public apology and donated the amount of money he could have been fined to a charity. Okay McGee, your karmic total has been reset, unless you’re now going to IHOP to pull your little parking stunt.
When I was a talk show host at CHML in Hamilton, then-MP Sheila Copps came in for a live interview. As she was leaving, I was summoned into the creative writing office and told to peer down into the parking lot. There was her driver, in a long black car, parked illegally beside the building and slumped behind the wheel taking a nap. A tell-tale wheelchair sticker was sitting on the dash. Ms. Copps got into the back seat, the driver sat up, pulled the sticker off the dash and away they went. He had been there for an hour! Did he legitimately own the sticker? Who knows. But it’s doubtful. And had we had social media then, we would have found out pretty quickly. My only regret is that someone didn’t come to tell me about it during the show. It would have made for a much more lively discussion, I’m sure.