Disabled couple who served their country finds racist, insulting note on their car
Marqueena and Kenneth Moore found an ugly note left on their car when they parked in a disabled spot. But the person who wrote it failed to see that they are in fact disabled veterans
A suburban Houston couple believes they were targeted with a racist note referring to where they parked their car while they were grocery shopping.
Marqueena and Kenneth Moore, both disabled veterans, told Austin station KVUE that they parked their car in a handicapped spot at the HEB grocery store in Cypress, Tex., and when they returned, they found a yellow sticky note of the most insulting kind attached to their car.
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“Just because you’re black and have a nice car does not make you handicapped :-;,” the note read.
The Moores, who both served in the Navy, indeed are disabled, despite the assumptions made in the caustic note.
Kenneth Moore suffered a traumatic brain injury and both of the Moores suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, an ailment recognized as a disability by the American Disability Association, KVUE reports. Marqueena Moore served eight years in the Navy and Moore served 12. The highlight of their time in the military was that they met while serving in Japan. The couple has been married 15 years.
They have suffered physically as well as mentally, and their experience in combat has made it difficult for them to be in crowded spaces — like grocery stores — they said.
While they don’t have a handicapped parking permit hanging from their rearview mirror, their license plate that bears the letters DV for “disabled veteran” as well as the phrase “Disabled Veteran U.S. Armed Forces” is clearly visible.
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“Myself and my wife served this country,” Kenneth Moore said, according to Yahoo! Lifestyle. “So please, before you are bothered or angry about seeing a disabled veteran plate in a handicap spot, this is to remind people of the sacrifice we made and should be thanked, not slandered with false information.”
About his time in the military, Kenneth Moore said: “It has been amazing, but it does take a toll on your body mentally and physically.”
When the Moore’s found the note, they went to HEB store management, which helped them figure out who left it. They then called Harris County authorities, who began an investigation into the incident.
The couple says although it may not be outwardly apparent that they have a disability, it can still exist.
“You may not physically see their disability,” Marqueena Moore said to KVUE. “But everyone wears their scars differently. You just have to simply go back to the Golden Rule: treating people how you want to be treated.”
