Woman With No Legs Gets Scolded For Parking In A Disabled Spot, And Her Powerful Response Goes Viral
An amputee without legs turned to TikTok to scold a woman who had engaged with her for parking in a handicapped spot. On Jan. 13, 28-year-old Jessica Long, a decorated swimmer who won one gold, three silver, and two bronze medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, slammed the nameless person for assuming that she had no right to the space even though she has a handicap parking permit.
“So, it just happened again,” she says in the now-viral TikTok. “I was parking my car — and I hope she sees this — this woman just has the nerve to look me up and down disgusted that I parked in the handicapped spot.”
And this experience isn’t a one-time thing. “I get two to four comments per week, just going about my normal routine and parking in handicap spaces. I’ve had people yell at me, leave notes on my windshield, knock on my car window, or wait for me to get out of my car just to tell me I can’t park there. My worst experience to date was an older couple that followed me around a grocery store and kept making comments because they wanted the handicap spot I took and said that I didn’t need it. I even explained I had two prosthetic legs and they told me I was a liar,” she explained in one of her Instagram posts.
After she had to defend herself for parking in a handicapped spot, Jessica Long made a TikTok to tell people to be careful when making assumptions
@jessicatatianalongTo the handicap police… be kind! 👏🏼 ##amputeelife ##fyp♬ orijinal ses – cagritaner
It all started when a woman pulled up next to Jessica’s car and gave her a disrespectful look, saying she shouldn’t be parking there
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
But Jessica is an amputee — she doesn’t have legs
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Jessica said her initial reaction when people shame her for parking in handicap spots is always hurt. “I get it, I don’t ‘look’ handicapped, but what does that even mean?! I’ve been through more surgeries than I can count. My whole life I’ve had to adapt. I rely on my handicap pass. Every day is different… some days my legs don’t hurt as bad, but for the most part, they cause me pain. So, when I park in a handicapped spot, I actually need it. There are some people who will abuse handicap parking, but mostly I believe people need it.”
The woman whose video already has 4.2 million views was born with a birth defect called fibular hemimelia
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
650K people follow Jessica on TikTok and 57,000 on Instagram. It’s undeniable that she’s making an impact helping to reshape the way society sees disabled people. “I think people are afraid to ask questions because society says it’s rude, but a lot of times that translates to shame around the topic of disabilities,” she said. “I absolutely love sharing my story and journey with the world. I hope to educate how amputees use their prosthetic legs. We make it look easy and it’s a natural part of our everyday lives, but it’s also hard and can be painful.”
“I was missing my fibula bones and several other bones in my lower legs,” she told BuzzFeed. “I did have a little foot with three toes on each leg”
View this post on Instagram
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
“My adoptive parents had those amputated when I was 18 months old so I could be fitted with prosthetic legs and learn to walk”
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Jessica is a great swimmer: she’s a 13-time Paralympic champion!
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
She began swimming in her grandparents’ pool and joined her first competitive team at age 10
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
At age 12, she became the youngest member of the US Paralympics team, winning 3 gold medals during her debut at the Athens 2004 Games
Image credits: jessicatatianalong
Having achieved so much, Jessica loves being an inspiration, but doesn’t want to be treated as “other.”
She said, “If I can do it with the challenges I face, you can too. What I don’t like is people commenting how ‘inspiring’ I am doing normal daily tasks like grocery shopping, getting coffee, or taking a walk. THAT is not inspiring. People can be inspired by my work ethic, career, healthy lifestyle, or positive attitude, but not me living my normal life.”
Here’s what people said after watching her viral TikTok
That's not the half of it. I have handicapped placards because I have two fractured vertebrae in my back that makes it painful to walk long distances. I also am stuck with using scooters in the stores to get from place to place. I get dirty looks all the time because people think I'm not old enough or not visibly crippled enough to warrant cards. I got news for people...those placards aren't handed out like candy at the DMV. You need a doctor willing to sign off on it to get approval. Don't judge. You're not a doctor and you have no idea the pain or challenges another person is enduring.
@gyro Pilot. Hey, not to be rude or anything, but to give you an idea on how hard it is to get those cards, my brother has down syndrome. He also had cancer (ALL) for five years and he is still recovering. On top of that, the meds weakened him so much that he could barely walk. Now, he LOOKS healthy, but he is still healing for that! And we STILL dont get a pass.
Best wishes to your brother...
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Is bro trying to get a pass? A different Dr., i suggest.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I don't know from experience how difficult or easy those passes are to get, but if they begin with a doctor's note then confidence is eroded. Anecdotally through friends and workmates I hear of spurious requests for prescriptions and specialist care being dispensed without scrutiny. If you tell me as a friend that you have pain then I will believe it, but I question the usefulness of doctors as filters for screening out exaggerated or even fictitious claims.
How else are you supposed to get one? It's fine that you believe your friend, but this is an official form requiring legal verification. A random individual can't issue these to their friends. Like any system, there can be and there is abuse, but I really can't think of anyone else who would be suitable to screen an individual other than their Dr who has extensive knowledge of their condition
At the same time, many people actually park in handicap spots without needing them.
Yup! Seen it way too often. To the point where in my state you can no longer get one to use with/for people in your care without certain circumstances. Like a parent can get one for a disabled child or a spouse for their sig other but thats about it. It didnt seem like a big deal until i took over my grandmother's care full time. Couldnt get 1 for her, for my car even though she didnt drive anymore. Nothing scarier, at least for me, than having to leave an 87yr old woman w/ a healing broken hip & a walker in front of a building while i park in a spot & meet her to take her to a dr's appt. I couldn't park closer, she couldn't make the walk. My only other option was to use fire lanes to walk her inside while hoping i didnt get a ticket before i made it back out to actually park...
Ya sometimes when there are no handicap spots left and I have to park far my mom can't walk that far plus she's blind and partially deaf, talk about scary having to leave someone in front of the clinic while I park....If I can't find a nurse I'll try to ask another elderly lady if she wouldn't mind keeping an eye out.
The thing I hate is people that park in handicap spots using someone else's placard when the person it was issued to is not even there. The other irritation is people with and without placards that park in the striped areas of the handicap section. Those are not "extra" parking spots. Those are loading and unloading zones for people with wheelchair access. I can't tell you how many times my neighbor and I had to wait for some jackhole to come remove their car so we could load her wheelchair bound husband into the van. It was either that or we back the van up and block traffic for 15 minutes to get him in and secured.
@Ms. GB..if you have a cell phone, give the number to the nurses and ask them to call you when she's done, that way you can drive up to get her. I have to do that with my husband sometimes when we can't find parking. He'll let me off at the door and go park in the back of the lot. Once I'm done, I text him and he comes and gets me. It's a good system when I'm not on my own.
It does happen, unfortunately, but we should give people the benefit of the doubt and not confront them even when we feel like they shouldn't use that spot, because it's very likely they might have an invisible condition that gives them the right. Of course, if you know someone is using it without having the right to and does that more often, go ahead and report them.
That’s the point though. You don’t know who needs them, so just leave people alone. Better to let a few assholes get away with it than to insult a person who actually needs the spot. This comment shouldn’t be so high because it’s the exact attitude the original post is against.
Yes, and that is why people say something. But those hidden disabilities mean people shouldn't say anything regardless. And it sucks because of the spot is taken from someone who isn't needing it, they are taking it from someone who does. I like those new parent and or pregnant spots. I used them while my kids were little. I wouldn't dare say something to someone without kids-who knows if they are pregnant. I would air on the side of caution and assume they are whether they look it or not.
How do you know they don't need them? Some of us are good at hiding pain.
That is why some people go overboard full-Karen.
Bill Newsome follower
College I worked at years ago, only a couple of HC parking spots. Woman shows up for classes and parks in HC zone, has HC card. Watched her move without effort a couple of time before calling her out. She had the placard because her mom was mobility impaired, but she abused it everywhere she went without her mom. Very 'Karen' in her sense of entitlement, until we had car ticketed and towed. That is why legit users get called out when they are not obvious - too much of this sort of abuse. I have a spinal cord injury, but I deliberately park far away for both exercise and not be squeezed by other parkers.
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Let's be frank, fat people, who need to do the walk more than most, even if it's 50 feet.
And if they have a handicap that makes it impossible for them to walk even an extra 50 feet? Just asking.
As a fairly young disabled person, I totally understand this feeling. I used to try and go to the gym to go swimming and packed in a disabled space, put my disabled badge out and got out the car, a man comes up to me, loudly and rudely told me that I can't park there. When I said I am disabled he replied where is your disabled badge, I pointed it out on my dashboard and he just walked off. People need to learn to admit when they are wrong and apologise.
That's not the half of it. I have handicapped placards because I have two fractured vertebrae in my back that makes it painful to walk long distances. I also am stuck with using scooters in the stores to get from place to place. I get dirty looks all the time because people think I'm not old enough or not visibly crippled enough to warrant cards. I got news for people...those placards aren't handed out like candy at the DMV. You need a doctor willing to sign off on it to get approval. Don't judge. You're not a doctor and you have no idea the pain or challenges another person is enduring.
@gyro Pilot. Hey, not to be rude or anything, but to give you an idea on how hard it is to get those cards, my brother has down syndrome. He also had cancer (ALL) for five years and he is still recovering. On top of that, the meds weakened him so much that he could barely walk. Now, he LOOKS healthy, but he is still healing for that! And we STILL dont get a pass.
Best wishes to your brother...
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Is bro trying to get a pass? A different Dr., i suggest.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I don't know from experience how difficult or easy those passes are to get, but if they begin with a doctor's note then confidence is eroded. Anecdotally through friends and workmates I hear of spurious requests for prescriptions and specialist care being dispensed without scrutiny. If you tell me as a friend that you have pain then I will believe it, but I question the usefulness of doctors as filters for screening out exaggerated or even fictitious claims.
How else are you supposed to get one? It's fine that you believe your friend, but this is an official form requiring legal verification. A random individual can't issue these to their friends. Like any system, there can be and there is abuse, but I really can't think of anyone else who would be suitable to screen an individual other than their Dr who has extensive knowledge of their condition
At the same time, many people actually park in handicap spots without needing them.
Yup! Seen it way too often. To the point where in my state you can no longer get one to use with/for people in your care without certain circumstances. Like a parent can get one for a disabled child or a spouse for their sig other but thats about it. It didnt seem like a big deal until i took over my grandmother's care full time. Couldnt get 1 for her, for my car even though she didnt drive anymore. Nothing scarier, at least for me, than having to leave an 87yr old woman w/ a healing broken hip & a walker in front of a building while i park in a spot & meet her to take her to a dr's appt. I couldn't park closer, she couldn't make the walk. My only other option was to use fire lanes to walk her inside while hoping i didnt get a ticket before i made it back out to actually park...
Ya sometimes when there are no handicap spots left and I have to park far my mom can't walk that far plus she's blind and partially deaf, talk about scary having to leave someone in front of the clinic while I park....If I can't find a nurse I'll try to ask another elderly lady if she wouldn't mind keeping an eye out.
The thing I hate is people that park in handicap spots using someone else's placard when the person it was issued to is not even there. The other irritation is people with and without placards that park in the striped areas of the handicap section. Those are not "extra" parking spots. Those are loading and unloading zones for people with wheelchair access. I can't tell you how many times my neighbor and I had to wait for some jackhole to come remove their car so we could load her wheelchair bound husband into the van. It was either that or we back the van up and block traffic for 15 minutes to get him in and secured.
@Ms. GB..if you have a cell phone, give the number to the nurses and ask them to call you when she's done, that way you can drive up to get her. I have to do that with my husband sometimes when we can't find parking. He'll let me off at the door and go park in the back of the lot. Once I'm done, I text him and he comes and gets me. It's a good system when I'm not on my own.
It does happen, unfortunately, but we should give people the benefit of the doubt and not confront them even when we feel like they shouldn't use that spot, because it's very likely they might have an invisible condition that gives them the right. Of course, if you know someone is using it without having the right to and does that more often, go ahead and report them.
That’s the point though. You don’t know who needs them, so just leave people alone. Better to let a few assholes get away with it than to insult a person who actually needs the spot. This comment shouldn’t be so high because it’s the exact attitude the original post is against.
Yes, and that is why people say something. But those hidden disabilities mean people shouldn't say anything regardless. And it sucks because of the spot is taken from someone who isn't needing it, they are taking it from someone who does. I like those new parent and or pregnant spots. I used them while my kids were little. I wouldn't dare say something to someone without kids-who knows if they are pregnant. I would air on the side of caution and assume they are whether they look it or not.
How do you know they don't need them? Some of us are good at hiding pain.
That is why some people go overboard full-Karen.
Bill Newsome follower
College I worked at years ago, only a couple of HC parking spots. Woman shows up for classes and parks in HC zone, has HC card. Watched her move without effort a couple of time before calling her out. She had the placard because her mom was mobility impaired, but she abused it everywhere she went without her mom. Very 'Karen' in her sense of entitlement, until we had car ticketed and towed. That is why legit users get called out when they are not obvious - too much of this sort of abuse. I have a spinal cord injury, but I deliberately park far away for both exercise and not be squeezed by other parkers.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Let's be frank, fat people, who need to do the walk more than most, even if it's 50 feet.
And if they have a handicap that makes it impossible for them to walk even an extra 50 feet? Just asking.
As a fairly young disabled person, I totally understand this feeling. I used to try and go to the gym to go swimming and packed in a disabled space, put my disabled badge out and got out the car, a man comes up to me, loudly and rudely told me that I can't park there. When I said I am disabled he replied where is your disabled badge, I pointed it out on my dashboard and he just walked off. People need to learn to admit when they are wrong and apologise.