I have a bunch of pet peeves, we all do. A pet peeve is defined as “a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to himself, to a greater degree than others may find.” (Wikipedia)
They have little to nothing to do with the LDS Church, though I supposed I have a pretty long list pertaining to that. But not today. You may choose to contribute yours in the comments below.
Handicap Placards
I do not begrudge the fact that there are truly disabled and elderly folks who benefit from the ability to park their vehicle close to a place to make it easier for them to use that facility. Whether on a temporary or more permanent basis. I had a pretty significant knee injury several years ago, which required surgery. While recuperating, first on a walker and then just with a leg brace, I had a temporary handicap placard for 3 months to allow me to use the handicap parking. At the end of the 3 months, I asked the doctor for an extension and he said “No, you don’t need it anymore. You can walk, you need to.”
So, maybe it’s just sour grapes, but it appears there are plenty of people that have (or borrow) handicap placards that use them, but do not need them. Having said that, I am sure there are folks that, despite their appearance, really do need it. I recognize that. But it still appears to me that there are plenty that abuse it. Here’s one story from the Los Angeles Times that describes enforcement over the abuse . And finally, here is a link to a report from the Inspector General of the State of Massachusetts covering the same topic.
Service Dogs
I grew up seeing blind people with seeing-eye dogs. I have been amazed and thoroughly impressed with how the dogs performed, guided and protected their owners. I am also a dog owner ( 2 dogs) and I love my dogs. But these days I see a proliferation of service animals (mainly dogs) all over the place for a variety of maladies. Now, we see service dogs for diabetes, hearing impairment, mental illnesses such as PTSD, seizure disorders, mobility issues, and anxiety.
And as such, it has become big business. There are service dog training facilities popping up all over the place. Some very reputable, others not so much. Here is a report from this year on laws being written to crack down on fake service dogs.
In many instances, like seeing impairment or mobility limitation, these animals are invaluable in assisting their masters to function in daily life. But, some people, will abuse any good thing for their own purpose. You can buy fake service dog credentials on the Internet very easily. These animals lack the proper training and give legitimate service dogs a bad name. It is a selfish act by some who feel entitled to have their pet in environments where pets are typically not allowed.
Having said that, I wonder sometimes if the service dog (animal) is used inappropriately. I can see a young child, having type 1 diabetes benefitting from a service animal whose job it is to detect low blood sugar when parents or guardians are not present. But I question the same use by an adult, who should be responsible enough to keep themselves properly tested and medicated. I’m sure there might be exceptions, but they should be rare.
Medical Marijuana
I live in Colorado, which is one of the States that legalized the recreational use of Marijuana. I could go on and one about that, but not now. Prior to that, the medical use was permitted with a card issued by a medical doctor. As a result, retail outlets for the dispensing of this medical marijuana are everywhere throughout the state.
It has been shown that the use of medical marijuana is good for certain chronic illnesses and conditions. We had a child in our Ward where the parents moved to Colorado to be able to get Cannabis Oil to treat his severe epilepsy. This cannabis oil is very specialized and does not contain any THC, which is the part of marijuana that gets people high. It is hard to get, expensive and but can work wonders on this terrible condition.
But again, there is or was tremendous abuse. At first, a small number of doctors in Colorado were issuing the majority prescriptions for medical marijuana. This prescription allows the patient to obtain a license from the State to purchase medical marijuana. More than 80% of the reasons for the use is “severe pain.” Of course, the severity of pain is impossible to diagnose. So, they use marijuana. I suppose it might be better than to get addicted to opioid drugs. But, you wonder.
The other ironic part is that month to month, the county with the most patients is my county, El Paso County, which is one of the most conservative places in the US. There are 2X as many republicans as Democrats.
So what are your pet peeves? What do you think of mine?
Wheat & Tares 
I agree with all of yours. As a hobbyest in the animal training world, I’ve seen people ask in our online groups how to get service animal licenses for their already owned (aka pet) dogs. You can apparently just buy them, which makes those that are training true services animals (often these animals are specially bred, specially trained for years, etc.) livid.
My biggest pet peeve is bad/aggressive driving. I live in a small town in CA that has had a population explosion (err… which small town in CA hasn’t lately). Our two lane neighborhood road has turned into an 80 mile an hour speedway. Drivers from town (trying to bypass the traffic on the highway) use the left turn lanes to pass me (and I’m driving 60 – which is still way to fast for a road with driveways on each side.
A related pet peeve that my hubby pointed out is the number of driver’s that when two lanes are merging together on the freeway, will drive down the center (so two wheels in each lane – essentially blocking both) so that those in the faster moving lane can’t get ahead of them in ‘line’. This just happened to me the other day. I was behind the driver who decided to hog the road, so I had no need to fight him, but I wanted to pull around him just to make a point. Merging is supposed to work like a zipper people! Anything else just makes it slower for all.
(I could also go on and on about school drop off lines, but I’ll hold it in for another day.)
Today my pet peeve is conspiracy theories.
What do I think of your pet peeves? They all seem to originate with other people getting away with something.
Mine seem to have to do with stress (software not working like I think of should *and* I have a tight deadline) and sensory overstimulation (babies crying, garment bottoms).
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js
MH, have you been watching Alex Jones talk about Hurricane Irma? Don’t go down that hole, man.
Never would.
People who walk slowly in front of me. Makes me completely nuts.
When backpacking the fake service animals who aren’t on leash are a real thing.
“Having said that, I wonder sometimes if the service dog (animal) is used inappropriately. I can see a young child, having type 1 diabetes benefitting from a service animal whose job it is to detect low blood sugar when parents or guardians are not present. But I question the same use by an adult, who should be responsible enough to keep themselves properly tested and medicated. I’m sure there might be exceptions, but they should be rare.”
This is all BS
@MH that’s what They wanted you to say.
Fake service dogs are definitely on my list. I don’t mind seeing dogs in Home Depot–but they absolutely shouldn’t be in grocery stores and places with food unless they are truly service animals. It got to be quite common in the grocery store closest to my house so I did some research. Regulations vary from state to state. Store owners are not allowed to ask customers about medical conditions–but what they can do is ask the customer if “that is a service dog,” and “what is it trained to do?” A couple of times while shopping I asked a dog owner those questions. They couldn’t answer the second question–except one said the dog “comforted its former owner.” Clearly not a service dog. The problem has gotten much better.
Another pet peeve of mine is any truck that has garbage flying out of the back. Once my car windshield was broken from something that fell off a truck. Another time there was a large package of toilet paper in the middle of the freeway, causing traffic to slow down. Some places trash lines the freeways here in CA–much of it from the backs of trucks.
I hate it when people merge onto the freeway at 40 mph for no reason. I’ve discovered my favorite time to drive is 6 am because there are no slowpokes clogging the passing lane–everybody is in a hurry to get somewhere.
OP, I gotta say, I don’t like your pet peeves. Probably because my pet peeve is people thinking they have a right to interrogate me about my disability. I work a full time job and on the outside I look like a fully functional human, albeit one carrying a few extra pounds around. My medical condition doesn’t so much limit what I can do as how much. This means I have to be really strict about when I need to stop doing a particular thing or call it a day. But since I look like a sturdy built, healthy 30 year old people constantly harass me for doing the necessary self care. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” or “that’s medically inadvisable for me right now,” should be sufficient in my mind. It’s true that some days I can do a 5k and others I have to dig the disability placard out of my console. I get that it doesn’t make sense to the casual observer, but it really doesn’t have to because it’s between me, my body, and my medical team. It’s no one else’s business.
Elizabeth St Dunstan,
“Probably because my pet peeve is people thinking they have a right to interrogate me about my disability.”
I am curious, what part of the post said anything about interrogating anyone? You seem defensive.
Jeff, I think I recognize myself in your pet peeves. I don’t look disabled, but I do need a placard sometimes and I can’t wait for medical marijuana to become legal in my state. I get a lot of stares that seem to say “ugh. Another disability faker.” So when I read a post about people disliking disability fakers, it seems like they mean me. I know you don’t. I know you mean actual fakers. But the strangers who look at me like a faker aren’t entitled to my medical information because it’s not their job to gatekeep my usage of services. It touches a nerve for me.
My pet peeve is using initials for everything: from medical conditions like ED and IBS, to text message shortcuts like idk and omg, to ward announcements like FHE and HT/VT. It shouldn’t bug me at all but it does. Idk why….
As for the diabetic dogs, I am a Type 1 adult diabetic. There are many adults who literally cannot feel when their sugars are going dangerously low. The go from normal talking to passed out. The properly trained service dogs can help warn them. It’s not just for kids.
I completely agree about the service dogs. They’re everywhere and for every supposed condition. I just don’t buy it. I also echo what Lois said about dogs/animals in grocery stores. I’m all for service animals;I just think that many, many people take advantage of it and it’s gotten out of control. I suppose another pet peeve of mine is that most people with “service” animals assume everyone else adores their animal too. I don’t. I’m probably in the minority, but I don’t think they’re cute in the produce section at the store or seated next to me on a plane.
Another pet peeve is chewing gum. It’s like cows chewing cud with all the popping, slurping, and snapping. It fills me with rage.
Although I understand where you’re coming from regarding medical marijuana, I’m strangely not too bothered by it. I work in the Colorado court system, and I’m much more concerned with the absurd lack of mental health and drug treatment resources in our state. Far more people pass through the system who need help overcoming opioid, cocaine, and meth addiction, often with a mental illness component involved. It has its issues, but I lump marijuana in with alcohol and cigarettes: should be legal but regulated- and very heavily taxed.
Rockiesgma:
“My pet peeve is using initials for everything: from medical conditions”
People in the medical field–nurses, physicians, etc. have long used initials for charting and communicating with other medical professionals. Hence, a heart attack–myocardial infarction–becomes MI. Physician instructions for a prescription, say, “take twice a day” will be written “take bid”–to the pharmacist. Guess people have just pick it up the medical shorthand from healthcare workers.
Well, to be frank, almost all of your pet peeves involve policing the disabled. Should that not be troubling?
Yup Kullervo. Each individual in my family is medically disabled and no disability is evident to the eye. We face other’s judgements as to our rights and abilities every day. It hurts for me but it hurts worse for my children.
Maybe we should get a dog, drive in the fast line and give the gripers some fuel.
Kullervo,
“Well, to be frank, almost all of your pet peeves involve policing the disabled. Should that not be troubling?”
Actually, no. But if you are a perpetually negative person, you might say that. In fact, while these pet peeves involve things related to the disabled, my issue is not disabled people, but people who abuse things meant to be helpful to the disabled.
Read it again with a different attitude. It might change the way you see it.
Exactly. You are policing the line between disabled and non-.
I see you are still choosing not to get it.
Or maybe this is an opportunity for you to examine what feelings motivate your thinking Jeff. Might be useful information.
Minor pet peeve – seeing the same post on more than one lds blog 😉
handlewithcare,
“Or maybe this is an opportunity for you to examine what feelings motivate your thinking Jeff.”
1. What are you talking about?
2. You might try to live up to your handle, handle.