Aussie woman slams 'entitled' parking note: 'How dare they'
After parking her car at a local shopping centre, a stranger questioned whether or not Kathleen was 'truly disabled'.
After parking at her local shopping centre with her son, Canberra resident Kathleen slowly made her way to the supermarket to buy her groceries.
Despite the routine task, the note waiting on her windshield upon her return was anything but ordinary.
It read: "Hi, are you truly disabled? You both walked from your car like athletes. Please follow the rules."
'Not all disabilities are visible'
Overcome with frustration, Kathleen's daughter Cheyenne took to social media, eager to explain the situation.
"What the hell is wrong with people, how dare they put this on my mum's car?" the post read online.
"Mum saw the lady come up and check if she had a disability card, and that’s ok," Cheyenne told Yahoo News Australia. "But then she waited until my mum left to put the note on the car.
"It’s very frustrating as my mum doesn’t look like she has a disability, but in actual fact she has multiple," she said.
Cheyenne explained that her mum has suffered with a polycystic kidney and liver — a genetic disorder which makes the organs more susceptible to cysts. After a kidney transplant caused further health issues, Kathleen was granted a disability badge as she is often "tiresome" and "in pain".
"Because she has all of her limbs and is able-bodied, many people have the wrong idea and get entitled," Cheyenne said.
Despite being "upset" by the incident, the family decided to not press the issue further with authorities, but wanted to share the message online to encourage people to think beyond what they see.
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According to the Australian Network of Disability, 4.4 million Aussies live with a disability. Around 90 per cent of these are deemed invisible, with statistics suggesting these individuals feel negative emotions due to other people's perceptions of them, with instances like the one Kathleen experienced sadly common.
"The fact is that lots of people have a disability that other people can't see or understand," PWDA CEO Sebastian Zegarella told Yahoo last year.
Despite the ordeal, Cheyenne shared that her mum will not be deterred from using the disabled car parking, as it helps her tremendously.
"The parking is a life saver for her," she said.
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