[Blindtlk] Making a Difference, trying to be constructive

[Steve Jacobson]

Eric,

Since I only know you by email, I don't know much about your physical capabilities, so I don't feel it is fair for me to judge whether you should sit in those seats.  Like others, I feel fairly strongly that I don't want to 
be told where I should sit, and frankly, I don't like sitting sideways with my feet out in the aisle.  Still, I was wondering if you tried to determine if there were any other empty seats in the designated area.  I don't 
think the law mandates that someone move from a seat if there are other seats available.  I also don't think that there is any mechanism in the law that requires that someone prove a disability to sit there.  It is left 
to people to decide if they need to sit there.  Therefore, it is really impossible to know if someone sitting in a designated seat fits the definition or not and whether you really have a greater right to that seat than 
they do.  With all of this in mind, what troubles me the most is that you would see your encounter as a positive attempt to change attitudes, even if you meant to be positive.  Just as I cannot fairly judge your need 
for that seat, I can't judge the need of the other person, either.  I can see that if I were asked to move by someone who was only riding a few blocks, and if there were other seats available, I might feel put out.  Is 
there more to this story that I am missing?  It has always been important to me that we don't just take a service because we are owed it, but that we look at what our needs are.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson
  
On Tue, 2 Sep 2014 19:37:55 -0500, Eric Calhoun via blindtlk wrote:

>I was asking her to give up her seat so I could have it.  I was only going
>4 stops.
>..

>..

>Sighted and blind people, Eric from Los Angeles.  Here's where you can
>find me: The all-new Stairs to Heaven Christian Line, 712-432-4808, Room 9;
>the all-new Eric Calhoun Magazine; to subscribe, send a message to
>eric at pmpmail.com, with the subject line, "The Eric Calhoun Magazine.";
>talking Dodger Baseball, let's talk Dodgers!:
>lets-talk-dodgers-subscribe at emissives.com, or go to www.emissives.com, and
>click on Directory of Lists; my general-interest group,
>erics_chat_session-subscribe at emissives.com, or go to www.emissives.com and
>click on Directory of Lists, and on Facebook at eric at pmpmail.com.  The Eric
>Calhoun Magazine is free of charge in your email!  You are the star of the
>show!  All we ask is that when you submit a Special Notice, that it is free
>and legal.  You may also submit articles, Pen Pals, and tidbits.  In 2014:
>Try to be good to each other!
>_______________________________________________
>blindtlk mailing list
>blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindtlk:
>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40visi.com