Lexi Baskin found herself the victim of anonymous shaming when her car was decorated with signs attacking her for parking in an handicapped spot.
Social media has become an outlet recently for people to communicate via public posts in hopes of social reform or understanding. For many individuals fighting “invisible” diseases, the issue surrounding their use of a handicapped spot can cause a lot of anxiety. Lexi found out first-hand what can happen in those situations.
Lexi is a student at University of Kentucky. After meeting with a professor she returned to her car to find it plastered with hateful messages. Lexi’s car was covered with multicolored paper stating “Shame on you” and the handicap symbol with “Not handicapped, just lazy”. Instead of someone accepting that she must need to use the handicapped spot, they assumed she was taking advantage. Their choice of actions were uncalled for, especially as so many disabilities are internal.
credit: Facebook/Lexi Baskin
Her experience was so shocking that she decided it was time to say something. Lexi posted a polite note on Twitter to remind others that a handicap could be unseen. Originally, she only expect her friends to notice her tweet but within hours it had gone viral.
Reminder that you have no idea what’s going on in people’s lives. I have cancer and radiation treatment. I’m legally allowed to park here pic.twitter.com/00pGG2MNZt
- Lexi Baskin (@lexa_baskin) October 26, 2017
Then Lexi expounded on her Facebook account in hopes of making her friends aware and remind other’s to be more sensitive. In Lexi’s Facebook post, she shared the reason she is currently using a handicapped spot (legally).
“Just because I look fine in the 2 minutes I walk from my car to the building does not mean I am not battling cancer and undergoing radiation treatment.”
RELATED: Woman Harassed For Looking Too ‘Normal' For Handicapped Parking
Since sharing Lexi found mostly support. Love What Matters, CBS and several other outlets picked up her story and have shared on their pages. Viewers are finding Lexi’s post an encouraging opportunity to share their personal stories. It isn’t just the handicapped parking spot that people experience shaming, but also the use of motorized scooters in stores.
And many notes of personal encouragement!
Lexi shared on her Facebook page how touched she was from the outpouring of love.
“Thank you so much for all your support and I’m so excited that I was able to bring awareness to something that I had so many people come forward and tell me they also faced. I hope I made a positive impact on the world!”
WATCH: Lexi Talks To LEX18 News About Her Experience
h/t: LEX18 News
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credit: Facebook/SteWalker