[Blindtlk] Confronting Discrimination at McDonald's

Mon Jul 14 20:48:58 UTC 2014

I, for one, believe that Mary and Marion were right in their actions. It was obvious that the manager and her co-worker were being deliberately dishonest and disrespectful. I am all for the kill them with kindness approach, where appropriate. This situation was not appropriate for that soft approach. I agree that an improperly handled situation can cause people to walk away with a bad impression of blind people and their dogs, but it was clear to me that there was no other way to handle this particular situation and still get the point across without being very firm. Mary was never yelling, nor did she ever threaten to sue. One cannot get one's rights if one is willing to sit back and take the soft approach to everything. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 14, 2014, at 3:00 PM, Laz via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Sorry to have upset you marion.
> 
> That was my take after listening and understanding both sides and
> languages of the confrontation. Anyone could tell that Merry was angry
> as it came across very clearly in the Youtube video. I didn't however
> percieve the same level of emotional response from the gentleman who
> was accompanying her. After all, he was included in the ignorance
> displayed by the lowly employee who informed them that their dogs
> could not be inside. Perhaps she should have let him do the talking if
> she was so angry. It's still my opinion that she should have at least
> counted to 10 before blasting away. Hopefully in the future, she'll
> tone down her anger and actually communicate instead. Ignorance is
> never handled with anger; it takes communication and education.
> 
> From hearing the video, it was apparent that the manager was
> flabbergasted that this situation was happening, and I don't have a
> single doubt that it was the ignorant feloow who told Merry and her
> gentleman companion that their dogs weren't allowed inside who had
> been the sole source of the ignorance and that the manager had nothing
> to do with his communication.
> 
> Pardon my ignorance here, but is it common for a blind person to carry
> a video camera? I ask because I used to be the picture taker and video
> recorder in the family until I lost my eyesight. Or is it just a tool
> to be carried and used in case some sort of perceived discrimination
> occurs? Really curious about this, as it may explain what this video
> puts across.
> 
> I would imagine that at least the ignorant fellow was dressed down for
> his ignorance and Merry's actions may have culminated in one angry
> fellow who may now harbor some ill feelings toward at least Merry, her
> companion, service animals, and other blind people. I sincerely hope
> that I'm wrong. You never know about some people. Hopefully the
> manager didn't receive more than just a communication from Caspers.
> 
> As far as discrimination goes, the subjects most discriminated against
> in history have been race, religion, and sex. Being a White-hispanic,
> yes Marion, I've run into discrimination of the actual kind not due to
> ignorance as much as due to malintent by actual racist individuals.
> Handling things properly with communication instead of firing away
> with anger has resolved some of those situations. Yes, I've been
> profiled a few times by cops and other people who were in a position
> of power an have been threatened with physical violence by such. so to
> inform you, yes I've been discriminated against for real and showing
> anger would have just ended  me up in the hospital if not killed
> outright.
> 
> To lighten this up a bit... The funniest thing I ever saw was a woman
> of obvious Irish descent yell at a young lady from Colombia to go back
> to Cuba! I was left flabbergasted and speechless at this display of
> obvious racism and discrimination and a whole lot of ignorance!
> 
> Laz
> 
>> On 7/13/14, Marion Gwizdala <blind411 at verizon.net> wrote:
>>    All I can say to this is what I have already said, It is easy to be
>> an armchair observer and criticize the way this was handled. The fact of
>> the
>> issue is that discrimination occurred and Merry took a proactive stance.
>> Was
>> she angry? Of course she was! Was she aggressive? Not at all! She was
>> assertive and took control over the situation. You may say she was ignorant
>> because she called Hispanic a race, but nitpicking such trivia only serves
>> to shift the blame away from the offender and justify the behavior. I can
>> only hope that, should you ever face discrimination, you handle it as well!
>> 
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion Gwizdala
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Laz via
>> blindtlk
>> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2014 12:35 PM
>> To: blindtlk
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Confronting Discrimination at McDonald's
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> I think perhaps what Merry was confronting wasn't actually so much
>> discrimination but plain ignorance instead.
>> 
>> Having an understanding of both sides of the communication, both English
>> and
>> Spanish in the Youtube video, I'm perhaps more able to see both sides of
>> the
>> confrontation than most. The guy who told them that they couldn't bring the
>> dogs into the McDonalds didn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer,
>> if you know what I mean. And no, the manager definitely had language issues
>> and I believe she was beinng honest when she stated that she spoke a little
>> bit of English; she's definitely not fluent in her second language and most
>> likely didn't understand half of what Merry was angrily saying to her.
>> 
>> As has been pointed out by some on this list, Merry perhaps took the wrong
>> tack in how she decided to deal with what she perceived as discrimination.
>> She needed to deal with it as what it actually was, ignorance and perhaps
>> try to educate instead of what she did. The manager was heard to say to her
>> help that whoever had said that, should come forth and help straighten it
>> out, as she had never said that guide dogs weren't allowed.
>> 
>> I also wish to point out that there was ignorance shown on both sides.
>> Merry herself showed some ignorance when she stated that hispanic was a
>> race. It's not a race at all, as hispanic includes many races in it,
>> Black-Hispanic, White-Hispanic, Asian-Hispanic, Amerindian-Hispanic or
>> "other race" Hispanic. If you're confused by what I just said, see this
>> link:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic
>> 
>> Laz
>> 
>> On Jul 12, 2014, at 2:38 PM, Marion Gwizdala via blindtlk
>> <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> Please feel free to disseminate and repost this message as widely as
>>> appropriate.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dear All,
>>> 
>>>               Some of you were unable to access the video, so, thanks
>>> to a fellow Federationist who posted it to his YouTube channel, here
>>> it is to view!I have also included a brief narrative from merry that
>>> will offer a little more background before the link.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Fraternaly yours,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>>> 
>>> National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
>>> 
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>> 
>>> call_skype_logo(813) 626-2789
>>> 
>>> call_skype_logo(888) 624-3841 (Hotline)
>>> 
>>> President at nagdu.org
>>> 
>>> http://www.nagdu.org
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> High expectations create unlimited potential for the blind!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Before everyone views the video I will give a brief description of
>>> what happened before the video was taken.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Marion and I walked into our local McDonalds- we have been in this
>>> restaurant hundreds of times.  I have lived in this area off and on
>>> since
>>> 1988 and have been a permanent resident since 1997.  Marion and I
>>> bought our house here in 2003. This area is great for pedestrians
>>> because it has  some stores and restaurants within walking distance -
>> perfect for our lifestyle.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Continuing on...
>>> 
>>> We stood together in the lobby waiting for an available cashier for a
>>> few minutes.  When we approached the counter a  young man came from
>>> the back of the restaurant and stated that the manager said no dogs
>>> allowed. We shared these were service dogs and the cashier stated it
>>> as well.  I then asked to speak with his manager, he replied that his
>> manager did not speak English.
>>> 
>>> I was actually dumbfounded by this.  We ordered our food and got our
>>> drinks and sat down to eat.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> As we ate we discussed with each other that we needed to educate the
>>> manager before we left and video this interaction.  We were going to
>>> ask for a translater.  We video recorded  an introduction before
>>> moving towards the counter area.  As we began to move toward the
>>> counter area the manager approached us.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Now some thoughts before we spoke to her.  Yes our neighborhood has a
>>> great deal of Hispanic speaking individuals, our local Latin American
>>> Grocery store has the best and cheapest Cuban sandwiches. Back to
>>> topic:  As we discussed over our meal although there is a great deal
>>> of Hispanic speaking individuals in our neighborhood there is a higher
>>> percentage of English speaking people.  It did not make sense to us
>>> that McDonalds would put a manager in a restaurant that does not speak
>>> English well.  The video will show that the manager still claims she
>>> speaks little English.  After the recording, our cashier was in the
>>> lobby taking a break and I asked her if the manager spoke English she
>>> stated she did.  Unfortunately, as the video will demonstrate, the
>>> manager took no responsibility for her employees actions and basically
>> threw them under the bus.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> We have worked in the past with this McDonalds to do local events and
>>> have contacted a member of upper management (Director of Marketing)
>>> for the Corporation.  I am sure we will hear from him on Monday.  He
>>> can view the video as well.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I was a restaurant manager in 1984 and if something liked this
>>> occurred in my store, I would have been proactive! I would have been
>>> at my customer's table while they were eating, took their receipt,
>>> reimbursed them their money, gave them tickets for free meals on their
>>> next visit,and  I would have told them my employees were wrong in
>>> their behavior and I would train them appropriately.  This manager did
>>> none of these things and only appeared to have her employees do her
>>> dirty work and then be deceitful in the area of communicating with us.
>>> Apologies are not well received when they don't appear genuine! Now for
>> the video!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://youtu.be/kePK2vedOog
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Merry Schoch, Vice President
>>> 
>>> Florida Association of Guide dog Users
>> 
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