Opinion: Stop beating up on handicap placard holders who don’t ‘look’ disabled

To the editor: I too have a disabled parking placard. I have multiple sclerosis, which doesn’t necessarily manifest in a limp, and I don’t carry oxygen. I “look” healthy most of the time. (“It’s time for legislators and the DMV to crack down on disabled parking cheats,” May 1)

But there are days when walking across a hot parking lot and back would leave me exhausted. You can’t see that. You can’t see the incredible fatigue and terrible pins-and-needles feeling in my legs that heat causes. Disabilities aren’t always visible.

Some days are worse than others, and I have no control over that or any way of predicting when I will feel terrible.

So yes, check the placard registry for deceased holders. Make doctors specify a diagnosis. But don’t judge me or rate my disability because you can’t “see” what’s wrong.

Beth Wightman, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Skelton’s approach to removing “incentives for cheating” would harm those with disabilities. California is a progressive leader, and treating the disabled with deference should not be considered a “perk.”

Skelton’s proposal for having a “placard A” and a “placard B,” allowing only those with the former to park next to a crosschecked space, is unconscionable and reflects a lack of knowledge regarding the plethora of conditions that affect the mobility of disabled people. His $25 placard fee would transfer the economic burden of stopping abuse from the violators to the disabled. Requiring placard holders to reapply every four years likewise shifts the burden onto disabled people and off the issuing agency.

If the Department of Motor Vehicles needs more revenue to monitor the “cheaters,” increase the fines on violators.

Esmeralda Fucci, Culver City

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