An amputee was shamed for parking in a handicapped spot. Her response quickly went viral.

The Paralympian’s viral TikTok reminds us that not all disabilities are visible—and that assumptions can be deeply harmful.

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GOOD Staff

May 5, 2025

By GOOD Staff

May 5, 2025

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Photo credit: Canva – Powerful response to rude stranger

Jessica Long, an acclaimed Paralympic swimmer with a remarkable medal haul from the 2016 Games—one gold, three silvers, and two bronzes—relies on two prosthetic legs in daily life. But despite her athletic success, she still faces ableism.

In a widely shared TikTok video, Long recounts an encounter where a woman wrongly assumed she wasn’t disabled after seeing her park in a handicapped spot. In the clip, Long calls out these kinds of snap judgments and urges people to stop policing who “looks” disabled—because disabilities aren’t always visible, as noted by Bored Panda.

“So, it just happened again,” she says at the begining of the video. “I was parking my car—and I hope she sees this—this woman just has the nerve to look me up and down disgusted that I parked in the handicapped spot.” Then, revealing her blue handicapped parking tag, Long reiterates, “I don’t have legs. But she just kind of rolled down her window and proceeded to be like, ‘You shouldn’t park there.’” After proceeded to inform the woman that she is, indeed, an amputee with a verified pass,the woman apparently just drives off.

“I was never bullied as a kid, and I didn’t know that I was going to be bullied as an adult because I park in handicapped,” Long explains. “I get it. I’m young and athletic but I’m also missing legs.”

Her video serves as a powerful statement that disabilities aren’t always visible and no one should make assumptions about another person’s condition. Invisible disabilities are just as legitimate as those that are visible, and it’s crucial for able-bodied individuals to expand their understanding to encompass all types of disabilities, even those that don’t fit into their narrow definitions.

Diagnosed with fibular hemimelia at birth, Long has become the second most decorated US Paralympian in history. Through her social media presence, she challenges traditional views of what disability looks like. In an interview with BuzzFeed, she said: “I get it, I don’t ‘look’ handicapped, but what does that even mean?! I’ve been through more surgeries than I can count. My whole life I’ve had to adapt. I rely on my handicap pass. Every day is different… Some days my legs don’t hurt as bad, but for the most part they cause me pain. So, when I park in a handicap spot, I actually need it. There’s some people who will abuse handicap parking, but mostly I believe people need it.”

She expressed her willingness to discuss her disability, but emphasized that she does not “understand blatant rudeness, especially based on assumption … I always try to be kind and give people the benefit of the doubt first, and I hope more people will choose that as their first response,” she said. “I absolutely love sharing my story and journey with the world. I hope to educate how amputees use their prosthetic legs.”

You can follow Long on to learn more about her journey, future plans, and everyday life.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Photo credit: @midnightchef_amir on Instagram – Amir Jackson's late night cooking is going viral.

Culture, Internet

Woman documents her nephew’s late night culinary quests as the viral ‘Midnight Chef’

A 15-year-old cooking late night snacks is inspiring the Internet.

Erik Barnes

7/28/2026

One night in Apple Valley, California, Morgan Graham rose in the middle of the night. A smell had woken her up. It was pleasant, but at 11:28 p.m. she wasn’t expecting to smell delicious cooking. She went down into the kitchen to see her 15-year-old nephew, Amir Jackson, baking cookies.

This was the first of several viral videos of Graham’s nephew cooking up a storm late at night. Jackson, who has been staying with his aunt during the summer, is taking advantage of her kitchen to whip up some sumptuous snacks.

Birth of a Midnight Chef

Nearly every night, Graham wakes up around midnight to the smell of cookies, cornbread, tacos, or whatever her nephew wants to prepare.

“I don’t care,” said Graham in the initial video. “He’s very responsible. He’s not gonna burn the house down, so therefore, cook whatever you want.”

Graham further explained in the video that Jackson looks at recipes daily. He also rummages through her pantry during the day to search for ingredients for his nightly cooking fest.

“In his world, he’s having the time of his life. In my world, I just want to stop waking up close to midnight to the smell of food,” Graham joked.

Graham’s videos featuring her nephew have racked up millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. The commenters soon bestowed the nickname “Midnight Chef” upon Jackson, to general delight. In another video, Jackson explained he liked the peace and quiet of the night while preparing his dishes.

“I was like, ‘Man, I could go for some cookies right now.’ I saw they had cookie dough, so I started just making them, just randomly,” Jackson told TODAY. “I was trying to make sure nobody was up. My thought process was just like, ‘Man, why not?’”

Graham is encouraging her nephew to keep cooking even though it wakes her. In fact, Graham set up Jackson’s own Midnight Chef Instagram page for him to post his latest recipes.

“I just want to experiment while I still got the chance to experiment. I’ll maybe like branch into different fields,” said Jackson. “Explore what I can do while I still got time to.”

Why do we indulge in late night snacking?

Jackson’s popularity has brought up a commonly asked question: Why do we crave food randomly in the middle of the night?

Well, there’s actually a bit of science behind it. Turns out that late night snacking is a result of our circadian rhythm system. As part of our now-defunct survival mechanism, our ancestors would eat large meals at night to store energy in times of famine. This is also why most midnight snackers crave foods higher in fat, salt, and sugar compared to what they’d usually eat during the day. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with late night snacking, it could curb certain health goals if a person is trying to trim down.

If you find yourself getting up in the middle of the night with a hankering for a snack, it may be worth taking a peek at Jackson’s videos. Who knows what kind of late night cooking it can inspire? Perhaps you’ll become a Midnight Chef yourself.

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Photo credit: Canva – The European Union hopes to reduce fast-fashion waste.

Culture, Fashion

European Union enforces ban on destroying unsold fast-fashion clothing by major companies

Reduce waste and free up closet space.

Erik Barnes

7/21/2026

A new rule adopted by the European Union is intended to reduce landfill waste while holding major clothing manufacturers accountable.

Starting July 19, the EU prohibits large companies from destroying unsold clothing, accessories, and shoes under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The regulations will expand to cover medium-sized companies in 2030.

Fast fashion has become a major environmental concern. As retailers rapidly cycle through trends, unsold clothing often ends up in landfills or is destroyed to make room for new inventory. Many garments are made from synthetic fibers that can release greenhouse gases as they break down and shed microplastics that may contaminate soil and waterways.

What’s the ban’s purpose?

The ban is intended to reduce the amount of unsold clothing that large manufacturers dispose of. According to the European Environment Agency, between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes of unused textiles are destroyed across Europe each year.

Instead of destroying unsold clothing, companies will need to find other ways to keep those products in use. That could mean selling excess inventory at a discount, donating it to charities or social enterprises, or preparing it for reuse through repair, refurbishment, or remanufacturing. When those options aren’t feasible, the materials can be recycled.

While the regulation is primarily focused on reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact, the EU also hopes it will strengthen the economy by encouraging more sustainable business practices. The ban incentivizes companies to design products that are more resource-efficient, durable, reusable, and easier to repair or recycle. In turn, consumers should benefit from higher-quality products that last longer and generate less waste.

Companies may destroy unsold clothing and footwear only in limited circumstances, such as when the items are damaged, unsafe, counterfeit, infringe intellectual property rights, or have been rejected by charitable organizations. Businesses relying on these exemptions must provide supporting documentation, such as test results or other records, to justify the destruction. Even then, they must follow the EU’s waste hierarchy, which prioritizes reuse and recycling over disposal. Companies are also required to publish annual reports detailing the unsold products they have discarded.

National authorities will enforce the ban and may impose fines on companies that violate its requirements, including failing to maintain records for at least five years to support inspections. To help reduce the administrative burden, businesses may use existing customs and logistics codes when reporting the products they discard.

Why recycling isn’t enough

Recycling clothing can be a complicated and labor-intensive process. It often involves separating fabrics, dyes, synthetic fibers, and natural textile materials before they can be reused. That’s not to say it isn’t worthwhile. Instead of ending up in a landfill, recycled textiles can be turned into new clothing, home insulation, carpet padding, and other products.

Still, recycling isn’t a cure-all. The EU hopes the new ban will encourage companies to keep usable clothing in circulation for as long as possible through resale, donation, reuse, or refurbishment before recycling becomes necessary. In doing so, the regulation aims to create a more circular economy rather than allowing piles of unused clothing to continue growing.

This movement hopes to encourage clothing manufacturers to produce higher-quality products and reshape the industry as a whole. Making clothing from higher-grade materials with durable stitching that’s easier to repair can help reduce waste. While critics argue that doing so could reduce the number of garments sold each year, many say better-made clothing is worth the higher price—especially if consumers end up buying fewer replacement items over time.

What can you do with old clothing?

There are plenty of things you can do with old clothing around your home. If an item is too damaged to donate, its fabric can be repurposed for crafts or used as cleaning rags. And if you’re handy with a needle, there are countless ways to upcycle old clothes into new outfits, accessories, or other useful items with a little inspiration from the Internet.

Giant corporations and everyday people alike can do their best to make the most of the materials they have, helping save money and reduce waste.

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Photo credit: Canva – A new guide has been introduced on how to respectfully broadcast woman athletes.

Culture, Film & TV

European Broadcasting Union offers guide to reduce sexualizing camera angles of Olympic women athletes

Focus on the performance over the athletes’ bodies.

Erik Barnes

7/15/2026

Being an athlete is tough, especially if you’re an Olympian. They sacrifice their time and bodies in order to achieve peak physical condition. There is also the mental pressure to compete against the best. The last thing they should worry about is being objectified and sexualized online.

With this in mind, the European Broadcasting Union wants to help. They offered a booklet to broadcasters titled Raising the Bar: Guidelines for respectful media coverage in women’s athletics. The 23-page guide shows how camera placement choices and editing could potentially compromise an athlete. It also offers broadcasters guidelines for how to set up camera shots and show slow-motion replays that won’t sexualize or present athletes in undignified poses.

Screenshot

Focusing on the sport, reducing harassment

These guidelines come as multiple stories about women athletes being harassed online have surfaced. Many misogynistic posts about athletes have come from slow motion footage focused on certain parts of the athlete’s body.

“The sexualization of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts,” wrote Glen Killane, executive director of EBU Sport in the booklet. “Lingering shots on bodies, low-angle cameras that capture revealing views, and excessive slow-motion replays that serve no technical or storytelling purpose are among the issues observed in the media coverage of women’s athletics competitions today.”

These new broadcast guidelines and suggestions are backed by Serbian long jumper Ivana Španović, British Olympic pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw, and Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlašić. Vlašić has spoken out regarding the equal visibility of women’s sports. Bradshaw has spoken out against the discomfort and sexualization of Olympic women athletes due to their tight-fitting uniforms.

“I first-hand have received social media abuse and witnessed inappropriate videos online of myself and colleagues when slow motion content of us competing is captured,” wrote Bradshaw in the guide. “Athletes want to enjoy themselves doing the sport they love without feeling uncomfortable or anxious about the footage being shown live. Many athletes, myself included, have been in competitive scenarios where they are more focused on the cameras instead of their own performance.”

What the guide provides

The guide provides visual aids for broadcasters along with insights from the athletes to explain why certain shots would be preferred. Broadcasters are requested to avoid tight shots from the back of athletes. They’re also asked to avoid low camera angles from underneath. They recommend shots above the pelvis or ones that don’t linger onto commonly sexualized areas of the body. They recommend wider shots so the audience can see the technical ability being displayed by the athlete. Overall, the point is to focus on the athletic performance rather than close-ups of the athlete.

Currently, there is no enforcement of these guidelines or penalties if a sports broadcast doesn’t adhere to them. However, there is value in knowing which broadcasts will focus on the athletic contests rather than an athlete’s appearance. This will help the competitors focus on how they do rather than how they look when the cameras are on.

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