Guy With One Leg Gets Questioned About Parking In A Handicapped Spot, So He Then Confronts The ‘Karen’
Interview
You’d figure some sort of empathy or even basic politeness would be in order, no matter where you are and who you talk to. Even if you’re in a parking lot where tempers can run high. Unfortunately, some folks aren’t as decent to others as they should be.
Case in point, TikTok user Pnuks whose real name is Paniora Nukunuku, shared a story that has been going viral online. He is disabled, has a fake leg, and has a permit to park in the handicapped spot. He uploaded a riveting three-part video where he vents about a rude woman who didn’t believe that he ought to use the handicapped spot. The story’s emotional. It’s honest. And it’s down below, so scroll down and check the videos out.
Paniora is a social media influencer, vlogger, youth worker, and facilitator who is based in Sydney, Australia. He knows how tough it can be to live without any support (and how much it means once you get it), so he does what he can to lend a helping hand to those in need. He’s been there himself: he was 18 when his family became homeless. In an interview with Bored Panda, Paniora revealed that he had a feeling that his videos would go viral, but what he didn’t expect was the global media coverage. So far, the reactions to the videos have been “overwhelmingly positive” and supportive.
Paniora explained to Bored Panda that the reason why he’s trying to get the video footage of the woman approaching him is to prove to everyone that she didn’t simply ‘ask’ for it. “She harassed and demanded that I disclose my medical condition as well as my permit to her. As if she has any authority to tell any random stranger that. The footage represents the daily abuse young Australian disabled people will endure. And that this footage validates their concern that this is going to be inevitable once they received their mobility permit.” He added that he’s contacted the anti-discrimination board of New South Wales and is currently awaiting a response from them.
More info: TikTok | Pnuks.com | Facebook | YouTube
Paniora Nukunuku, aka Pnuks, uploaded a video trilogy on TikTok about how he confronted a rude woman. Here’s the first part
@pnuksyou are not the “Disability Police” #pnuks #amputee #disabled @mcdonalds @mcdonaldsau #lakemba♬ Cinematic film – STARWARS
In an emotional video, Pnuks vented about how this was the very first time he was harassed like this
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The author of the videos also shared with Bored Panda that he’s a youth worker whose journey started after youth services provided breakfast clubs and mentoring support for him. “I love the opportunities my local youth center provided for me and my friends living in lower social-economical areas. These positive experiences pushed me into becoming a youth worker to help people who grew up like me.”
In Paniora’s videos, he raged at the incredibly rude woman and shames her for acting like the ‘disability police.’ He also pointed out the obvious fact that while he’s in his car, you can’t see that he’s got a fake leg. However, even if you can’t see someone’s disability, you shouldn’t question it: accept it as fact and move, the man claims.
The TikToker decided that he couldn’t just sit idly by and do nothing. He confronted the rude old lady and gave her a stern talking-to in the local McDonald’s. Paniora explained that this has been the first time that someone has directly harassed him like this. This might explain the baffled look on his face and extremely emotional reaction. The second video in the trilogy got over 1.4 million likes.
You can find the second part of the video right over here. He directly confronts the rude woman at the local McDonald’s
@pnuksReply to @lisacameron56 can we get the camera footage @mcdonaldsau ? #amputee #pnuks #lakemba #boomer #australia♬ Up – Cardi B
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While we’re advocates of diplomatically telling people when they’re wrong, we can also see that the TikToker had reached his breaking point and has had enough. He also believes that boomers wrongly think that it’s only old people who can be disabled.
The woman in question explained to him that she’d allegedly been in numerous situations where she hadn’t been able to park in the handicapped spot and assumed that Paniora was taking advantage of the situation despite having a permit to park there. She might not be quite the villain that the TikToker makes her out to be and might have had too much experience with people having fake disability cards.
Paniora isn’t letting things lie still, however. He went to the local police station to try and get the footage of the woman berating him, but they wouldn’t release the video because no crime had been committed. Now, the TikToker is asking for all of his followers to approach McDonald’s Australia to try and get their footage.
Despite being angry at the woman, the TikToker did not want to reveal her identity and kept his phone camera pointed at his feet so as to not show her face. Whether he will remain to be as courteous if he gets the McDonald’s video footage remains to be seen.
And here’s the final part of the TikTok trilogy where Pnuks urges his followers to pressure McDonald’s into releasing the video footage of what happened
@pnuksReply to @dianademeijer hey @mcdonaldsau let us see the tapes. #amputee #pnuks #justice #disability #maccas #mcdonalds #mcdonalds♬ Make My Day (V2) – Max Farrar
Some of the reactions to the videos have been mixed. While some people absolutely agree that Paniora was in the right and the woman was in the wrong, others were wondering why exactly he wanted the video camera footage of what happened.
Back when he was a teenager, Paniera had to live in youth refuge crisis accommodation with his family. He was “blown away” by the quality of the food provided by OzHarvest. Eventually, this led to him becoming a qualified youth worker and he’s “giving back to the Belmore Centre where I received so much support from an early age.”
Unfortunately, what we saw in the videos isn’t a one-off kind of situation. Stuff like this happens all the time. When you’re done reading this post, have a look through Bored Panda’s previous article about how a woman with no legs got scolded for parking in a disabled spot right here.
This is how some people have been reacting to the man’s videos on social media
He should have asked for her driving license since by her logic, "he has the right to demand to see whether she can drive".
ok, so I have a story like this that happened with my dad who cannot walk and is in a wheelchair. We were driving to the VA and I had to be with him because he needed help out and this bitch comes over to us and says just as he finished parking in a handicap spot: "Are you disabled? You don't look disabled?" as she ignores the disability card on the windshield she goes on, "only disabled people can use this place for parking." At this moment my dad shut the car off and said "hey can you help me get out of the car" to me. As he opened the door she said, "Ha! You have both legs! you don't have any disability!" Then I got the wheelchair out for him to transition into it. Her eyes were a mix of an apology and disbelief as he rolled away.
Yeah. I've had that when the disabled relative I care for is not actually with me. I've either dropped them off or are picking them up. So the person probably went on thinking I was some selfish scofflaw. Not only are there all the people with less visible disabilities, there are those of us who are caring for people with disabilities that use the placard when necessary. The placard is in my car all the time. I only use it when I need that accessible parking because my relative is with me. She may not be with me every second. With Covid, if she has a doctor's appointment, I have to drop her off and wait outside.
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I don't know how often people who aren't disabled misuse their parking spaces (the cynic in me says often) but one would think that most of them don't have disability cards. I think it's fair to approach those without cards but I think it's best left to authorities to deal with cards that are being misused. In any case, while I also prefer the diplomatic way, it's sometimes hard not to get angry and in this case, I really don't blame him.
I have a disabled placard in my car all the time and could totally be abusing it. I care for a disabled relative in my home. I only use it when I need the parking for them. Now, that may mean I'm dropping off or picking up. So you may see healthy, able bodied, non-elderly me getting in and out of my car just fine with that placard hanging in my window. That still doesn't mean I'm misusing it. You may think it's ok to approach a stranger and accuse them of unethical behavior with absolutely no evidence. I think that's appallingly rude. You are not in any position to enforce the law, so what would your purpose be in doing that? I don't randomly approach other motorists and demand to see their licenses. I don't approach random dog walkers and demand to see check their dog's rabies tag is up to date. I don't randomly ask my neighbors if they'd paid their property taxes. Do all those things affect life in my community? Sure. Do I get to appoint myself community enforcer? No.
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He should have asked for her driving license since by her logic, "he has the right to demand to see whether she can drive".
ok, so I have a story like this that happened with my dad who cannot walk and is in a wheelchair. We were driving to the VA and I had to be with him because he needed help out and this bitch comes over to us and says just as he finished parking in a handicap spot: "Are you disabled? You don't look disabled?" as she ignores the disability card on the windshield she goes on, "only disabled people can use this place for parking." At this moment my dad shut the car off and said "hey can you help me get out of the car" to me. As he opened the door she said, "Ha! You have both legs! you don't have any disability!" Then I got the wheelchair out for him to transition into it. Her eyes were a mix of an apology and disbelief as he rolled away.
Yeah. I've had that when the disabled relative I care for is not actually with me. I've either dropped them off or are picking them up. So the person probably went on thinking I was some selfish scofflaw. Not only are there all the people with less visible disabilities, there are those of us who are caring for people with disabilities that use the placard when necessary. The placard is in my car all the time. I only use it when I need that accessible parking because my relative is with me. She may not be with me every second. With Covid, if she has a doctor's appointment, I have to drop her off and wait outside.
Load More Replies... I don't know how often people who aren't disabled misuse their parking spaces (the cynic in me says often) but one would think that most of them don't have disability cards. I think it's fair to approach those without cards but I think it's best left to authorities to deal with cards that are being misused. In any case, while I also prefer the diplomatic way, it's sometimes hard not to get angry and in this case, I really don't blame him.
I have a disabled placard in my car all the time and could totally be abusing it. I care for a disabled relative in my home. I only use it when I need the parking for them. Now, that may mean I'm dropping off or picking up. So you may see healthy, able bodied, non-elderly me getting in and out of my car just fine with that placard hanging in my window. That still doesn't mean I'm misusing it. You may think it's ok to approach a stranger and accuse them of unethical behavior with absolutely no evidence. I think that's appallingly rude. You are not in any position to enforce the law, so what would your purpose be in doing that? I don't randomly approach other motorists and demand to see their licenses. I don't approach random dog walkers and demand to see check their dog's rabies tag is up to date. I don't randomly ask my neighbors if they'd paid their property taxes. Do all those things affect life in my community? Sure. Do I get to appoint myself community enforcer? No.
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