[submitted 7.10.19] Anxieties Parked

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Inspired by new legislation in the UK

DRAFT 3: 17.9.19

TITLE:
Lots of Anxiety

VALIDITY:
reasonable levels of inclusiveness, cars

DESCRIPTION:
It's long been the case that vehicles with mobility-impaired drivers and passengers get special permit-controlled parking privileges, often including entitlement to free parking and access to disabled-only spaces. Now there's calls for the criteria for accessing these permits to be broadened to include less-visible disabilities, including learning disabilities, dementia, mental illness and even severe anxiety.

OPTION 1
Campaigner and activist @@randomname@@ confidently strides up to you to speak first, firmly shaking your hand and fixing you with a winning smile. "Not every disability is visible, @@LEADER@@. Why, I myself suffer from crippling social anxiety that makes it impossible for me to even speak to anyone but the closest of friends. A @@MAN@@ like me needs the compassion and recognition of society as much as a crippled veteran or hemiplegic accident victim does. So broaden those criteria, and give me access to those free parking spaces already. I have a singing class to teach, and it's be really handy to be able to park outside the studio."

OUTCOME:
stress over finding a parking space is considered a reasonable justification for parking in a disabled bay

OPTION 2
Another activist interjects, rising from @@HIS@@ wheelchair to jump inbetween you and the first speaker. "Look, I'm not saying that there aren't people with genuine invisible disabilities, but you're risking leaving those of us with real mobility problems without a needed space. Before you start giving out more permits, you need to legislate to significantly increase the number of disabled parking spaces. Once we're sure there's spare capacity, we can look at this again."

OUTCOME:
car park planners seem to believe that two out of every three drivers are disabled

OPTION 3
"Honestly, I'm sick of trying to work out who is disabled and not," complains Permit Assessor @@randomname@@, whose hair is falling out from anxiety and who is on crutches from the chronic back pain thirty years of deskwork has given @@HIM@@. "Let's just make a nice simple test. If you can walk ten yards without falling over, you pass; if not, you don't. That'll keep the admin costs down, right?"

OUTCOME:
having your shoelaces tied together is officially a disability

OPTION 4
"You're looking at things from the wrong direction," counters baseball enthusiast @@randomname@@. "If someone wants a badge and they haven't got obvious mobility problems, you break their knees with a bat, and then they qualify. That's called logic, you government types should try it sometime."

OUTCOME:
it's always crunch time in @@NAME@@

DRAFT 2: 11.9.19

TITLE:
Lots of Anxiety

VALIDITY:
reasonable levels of inclusiveness, cars

DESCRIPTION:
It's long been the case that vehicles with mobility-impaired drivers and passengers get special permit-controlled parking privileges, often including entitlement to free parking and access to disabled-only spaces. Now there's calls for the criteria for accessing these permits to be broadened to include less-visible disabilities, including learning disabilities, dementia, mental illness and even severe anxiety.

OPTION 1
Campaigner and activist @@randomname@@ confidently strides up to you to speak first, firmly shaking your hand and fixing you with a winning smile. "Not every disability is visible, @@LEADER@@. Why, I myself suffer from crippling social anxiety that makes it impossible for me to even speak to anyone but the closest of friends. A @@MAN@@ like me needs the compassion and recognition of society as much as a crippled veteran or hemiplegic accident victim does. So broaden those criteria, and give me access to those free parking spaces already. I have a singing class to teach, and it's be really handy to be able to park outside the studio."

OUTCOME:
stress over finding a parking space is considered a reasonable justification for parking in a disabled bay

OPTION 2
Another activist interjects, rising from @@HIS@@ wheelchair to jump inbetween you and the first speaker. "Look, I'm not saying that there aren't people with genuine invisible disabilities, but you're risking leaving those of us with real mobility problems without a needed space. Before you start giving out more permits, you need to legislate to significantly increase the number of disabled parking spaces. Once we're sure there's spare capacity, we can look at this again."

OUTCOME:
a new four-acre parking lot can accommodate up to sixteen cars at a time

OPTION 3
"Honestly, I'm sick of trying to work out who is disabled and not," complains Permit Assessor @@randomname@@, whose hair is falling out from anxiety and who is on crutches from the chronic back pain thirty years of deskwork has given @@HIM@@. "Let's just make a nice simple test. If you can walk ten yards without falling over, you pass; if not, you don't. That'll keep the admin costs down, right?"

OUTCOME:
having your shoelaces tied together is officially a disability

OPTION 4
"You're looking at things from the wrong direction," counters baseball enthusiast @@randomname@@. "If someone wants a badge and they haven't got obvious mobility problems, you break their knees with a bat, and then they qualify. That's called logic, you government types should try it sometime."

OUTCOME:
it's always crunch time in @@NAME@@

DRAFT 1:

TITLE:
Lots of Anxiety

VALIDITY:
reasonable levels of inclusiveness, cars

DESCRIPTION:
It's long been the case that vehicles with mobility-impaired drivers and passengers get special permit-controlled parking privileges, often including entitlement to free parking and access to disabled-only spaces. Now there's calls for the criteria for accessing these permits to be broadened to include less-visible disabilities, including learning disabilities, dementia, mental illness and even severe anxiety.

OPTION 1
Campaigner and activist @@randomname@@ confidently strides up to you to speak first, firmly shaking your hand and fixing you with a winning smile. "Not every disability is visible, @@LEADER@@. Why, I myself suffer from crippling social anxiety that makes it impossible for me to even speak to anyone but the closest of friends. A @@MAN@@ like me needs the compassion and recognition of society as much as a crippled veteran or hemiplegic accident victim does. So broaden those criteria, and give me access to those free parking spaces already. I have a singing class to teach, and it's be really handy to be able to park outside the studio."

OUTCOME:
stress over finding a parking space is considered a reasonable justification for parking in a disabled bay

OPTION 2
Another activist interjects, rising from @@HIS@@ wheelchair to jump inbetween you and the first speaker. "Look, I'm not saying that there aren't people with genuine invisible disabilities, but you're risking leaving those of us with real mobility problems without a needed space. Of course, give out more permits more broadly, but also set rules to increase the proportion of extra-wide parking spaces that must be set aside for the disabled. That way, everyone wins."

OUTCOME:
a new four-acre parking lot can accommodate up to sixteen cars at a time

OPTION 3
"Honestly, I'm sick of trying to work out who is disabled and not," complains Permit Assessor @@randomname@@, whose hair is falling out from anxiety and who is on crutches from the chronic back pain thirty years of deskwork has given @@HIM@@. "As far as I'm concerned everybody is disabled by something. Just give raise the price of the permit application fee, and give it to anyone who is willing to pay that fee. All that extra funding can be used to offset taxes, and maybe give a decent wage increase to us poor welfare workers."

OUTCOME:
it's officially a disabling burden to be rich

OPTION 4
"We don't need disabled parking spaces: honestly, too much of nature has been covered with asphalt already," counters environmentalist and devoted cyclist @@randomname@@, doing one handed push-ups on your office floor. "We should be taxing the construction of parking lots, and directing that funding into public transport and the protection of green spaces in urban environments. If fewer people used their cars, we wouldn't need all this parking."

OUTCOME:
wheelchair-bound commuters are encouraged to cycle to work

[Australian rePublic]

Parking in reserved spots? That's just unfair. Here in Australia, disabled permit holders are exempt from parking metre fees, and they already have wider parking spots, but they can't park in reserved spots. Also, are we really equating anxiety with depression? As someone who (most likely) suffers with both, they are very different rhings (and if I don't have depression, my dad and sister, whom I live with, do)

[Daarwyrth]

The issue is incredibly well-written, I aspire to reach this level of issue drafting one day!

Parking in reserved spots? That's just unfair. Here in Australia, disabled permit holders are exempt from parking metre fees, and they already have wider parking spots, but they can't park in reserved spots.

Well, you do need to keep in mind not the entire world functions like Australia. Every country has different habits when it comes to this and what the issue describes doesn't sound that odd to me, rather, it sounds familiair to how things are handled here in the Netherlands. It depends on where you are from, I think, and it's impossible to appease every country's habits and customs.

Also, are we really equating anxiety with depression? As someone who (most likely) suffers with both, they are very different rhings (and if I don't have depression, my dad and sister, whom I live with, do)

I think it is very reasonable to equate severe anxiety with depression. Both can be incredibly crippling in day-to-day life and have severe impact on one's health, both mental and physical. Severe anxiety can lead to depression and depression can lead to anxiety. They are intertwined from what I have seen and experienced, so I don't see why it would be a problem to equate both conditions.

[Australian rePublic]

The issue is incredibly well-written, I aspire to reach this level of issue drafting one day!

Parking in reserved spots? That's just unfair. Here in Australia, disabled permit holders are exempt from parking metre fees, and they already have wider parking spots, but they can't park in reserved spots.

Well, you do need to keep in mind not the entire world functions like Australia. Every country has different habits when it comes to this and what the issue describes doesn't sound that odd to me, rather, it sounds familiair to how things are handled here in the Netherlands. It depends on where you are from, I think, and it's impossible to appease every country's habits and customs.

Also, are we really equating anxiety with depression? As someone who (most likely) suffers with both, they are very different rhings (and if I don't have depression, my dad and sister, whom I live with, do)

I think it is very reasonable to equate severe anxiety with depression. Both can be incredibly crippling in day-to-day life and have severe impact on one's health, both mental and physical. Severe anxiety can lead to depression and depression can lead to anxiety. They are intertwined from what I have seen and experienced, so I don't see why it would be a problem to equate both conditions.

F&&k! What I meant to say was "Are we going to equate autism with depression, as someone who probably suffers from both, they are very different..."

[Daarwyrth]

The issue is incredibly well-written, I aspire to reach this level of issue drafting one day!



Well, you do need to keep in mind not the entire world functions like Australia. Every country has different habits when it comes to this and what the issue describes doesn't sound that odd to me, rather, it sounds familiair to how things are handled here in the Netherlands. It depends on where you are from, I think, and it's impossible to appease every country's habits and customs.



I think it is very reasonable to equate severe anxiety with depression. Both can be incredibly crippling in day-to-day life and have severe impact on one's health, both mental and physical. Severe anxiety can lead to depression and depression can lead to anxiety. They are intertwined from what I have seen and experienced, so I don't see why it would be a problem to equate both conditions.

F&&k! What I meant to say was "Are we going to equate autism with depression, as someone who probably suffers from both, they are very different..."

Well, you can't say they're the same thing, yes, but both are a condition that severely impact day-to-day life. Each does so in a different way, but I think it would be fair if both would receive the care and attention in the form of special accommodations.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Aussie, the issue never mentions autism once.

Re: reserved spaces, I meant spaces reserved for disabled users, which you DO have in Australia. I'll clarify that by amending "free parking in reserved spaces" into "free parking and access to disabled-only spaces"

[USS Monitor]

The issue is incredibly well-written, I aspire to reach this level of issue drafting one day!



Well, you do need to keep in mind not the entire world functions like Australia. Every country has different habits when it comes to this and what the issue describes doesn't sound that odd to me, rather, it sounds familiair to how things are handled here in the Netherlands. It depends on where you are from, I think, and it's impossible to appease every country's habits and customs.



I think it is very reasonable to equate severe anxiety with depression. Both can be incredibly crippling in day-to-day life and have severe impact on one's health, both mental and physical. Severe anxiety can lead to depression and depression can lead to anxiety. They are intertwined from what I have seen and experienced, so I don't see why it would be a problem to equate both conditions.

F&&k! What I meant to say was "Are we going to equate autism with depression, as someone who probably suffers from both, they are very different..."

Depression, anxiety, and autism are all quite different from one another. I recently had a short-lived relationship with someone that had an anxiety disorder -- something I did not have any previous experience with -- and it is completely different from depression.

This guy was pretty upbeat, clearly NOT suffering from depression, but you know how sometimes on a first date you get nervous and it's totally awkward? It was still like that after knowing each other for a month, and he would still be too nervous to say things to my face, even simple things like suggesting things to do next time we saw each other -- so he'd wait till I left, then text me 10 minutes later.

It is possible for one person to have issues with both depression and anxiety, but it's also very much possible for them to exist separately.

I don't think this draft is conflating any of them, though. It's just giving some different examples of invisible disabilities, not implying they are all the same.

[Daarwyrth]

F&&k! What I meant to say was "Are we going to equate autism with depression, as someone who probably suffers from both, they are very different..."

Depression, anxiety, and autism are all quite different from one another. I recently had a short-lived relationship with someone that had an anxiety disorder -- something I did not have any previous experience with -- and it is completely different from depression.

This guy was pretty upbeat, clearly NOT suffering from depression, but you know how sometimes on a first date you get nervous and it's totally awkward? It was still like that after knowing each other for a month, and he would still be too nervous to say things to my face, even simple things like suggesting things to do next time we saw each other -- so he'd wait till I left, then text me 10 minutes later.

It is possible for one person to have issues with both depression and anxiety, but it's also very much possible for them to exist separately.

I don't think this draft is conflating any of them, though. It's just giving some different examples of invisible disabilities, not implying they are all the same.

Very much agreed! The premise only lists them but doesn't conflate them, as you said.

The situation you described is very relatable, albeit from the perspective of the anxious one for me hehe... he...

[USS Monitor]

The situation you described is very relatable, albeit from the perspective of the anxious one for me hehe... he...

Sorry to hear it.

It obviously was a real lifelong struggle for that guy. He was obsessed with self-help seminars and ayahuasca because those were his coping mechanisms. He said the ayahuasca helped a lot, which really makes me wonder how bad he was before he tried that.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Interestingly, anxiety and depression have massive overlap in physiological and biochemical terms, with most of the treatments for one condition working for the other, which suggests that anxiety/depression is largely the mindstate lens through which you experience a baseline neurochemical status, with that lens shaped by experiences, expectations and conscious and unconscious choices. Ayahuasca, for example, is basically a monamine oxidase inhibitor, which is a second or third line of antidepressants, and that class works equally well for both anxiety and depression, as do most antidepressant classes.

[Trotterdam]

There's always the retroactive solution: if people park in disabled parking spaces who aren't disabled, break their legs so they are disabled. Problem solved!

Though more seriously, I looked at the draft and there doesn't actually seem to be any option for keeping strict limitations on who's allowed to count as disabled. The options are "loosen restrictions, loosen restrictions and build more disabled parking spaces, loosen restrictions entirely, render the point moot by letting fewer people use cars at all regardless of disability".

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Ha! I like the legbreaking option. Might make for a good replacement for option 4, as it has more entertainment value. Will think on that.

You're right about there being no option about keeping things strict. I almost felt it was so obvious that it wouldn't make for interesting reading, but I guess I could try to replace an existing option.
I'm not 100% it's needed though. In the real life political debate, nobody seems to be adopting that position, just because it's so obvious that there is such a thing as non-visible disability. Maybe I could work it into #3.

[Trotterdam]

You're right about there being no option about keeping things strict. I almost felt it was so obvious that it wouldn't make for interesting reading, but I guess I could try to replace an existing option.
I'm not 100% it's needed though. In the real life political debate, nobody seems to be adopting that position, just because it's so obvious that there is such a thing as non-visible disability. Maybe I could work it into #3.

Sure, but just because a disability exists doesn't necessarily mean it's relevant to parking. Being deaf is a serious disability, but it doesn't mean you need to have stuff in Braille. That's for blind people.

As for replacing options, I think options 1 and 2 are largely redundant. If you increase the amount of people allowed to use disabled spaces without increasing the amount of disabled spaces, then they'll just fill up too quickly and most disabled people will still have to park in normal spaces.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Options 1 and 2 mirrored the real life debate, where those in favour of the change heralded it as a boost to inclusiveness, and those against it felt like it was going to leave people with more physical disabilities unable to find a disabled space.

Besides, I like the approach of having two disabled people being the main arguers here.

[Trotterdam]

Options 1 and 2 mirrored the real life debate, where those in favour of the change heralded it as a boost to inclusiveness, and those against it felt like it was going to leave people with more physical disabilities unable to find a disabled space.

And the people concerned about that latter thing feel the appropiate response is "have more disabled parking spaces" rather than "prevent people with non-physical disabilities from grabbing ours"?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Right, the two sides boil down to:

Pro: Yes, clearly, this is good as not all disabilities are visible. Inclusive, compassionate, etc.
Con: You can't implement this unless you first legislate to increase the number of spaces. Do that first, and then do this thing.

I'll amend #2 to make that position more distinct.

[Fontenais]

I really like this issue, it's very well-written. I just have one issue with the effect line for option 2:

OUTCOME:
a new four-acre parking lot can accommodate up to sixteen cars at a time

Option 2 is about increasing the number of disabled spaces, not the size of disabled spaces. And surely disabled car parks wouldn't be that big. Perhaps an alternative effect line could be something along the lines of 'Non-disabled people are forced to take the bus as all the car parks are disabled spaces'?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

You're right. A previous draft asked for bigger spaces, but I snipped that and didn't change the effect line. I'll come up with a new one.

...and done.