[il-talk] Fw: [Nfbc-info] Blind couple barred from bus

Wed Dec 31 22:01:43 UTC 2014

Riding the bus while blind.  That sucks.  I think we should have bus-ins 
like the dy-ins that have been happening recently.  We have to be 
reminded of these things so we can stand up for ourselves.

R H

On 12/31/2014 10:15 AM, Kelly Pierce via il-talk wrote:
> If the pair boarded the bus, the driver could have contacted police,
> demanding their arrest.  The argument being that the couple was
> informed that their personal safety as well as that of the public
> would be endangered if they were to have ridden that specific bus.  If
> they were to have ignored these specious warnings, the couple would
> then be trespassing on public property, a criminal misdemeanor in
> Illinois.  Whether or not someone engages in civil disobedience is a
> personal choice.  I do not make judgments on that decision, which may
> not be appropriate at a particular place and time for even the most
> strident activists.
>
> I do question though the need to take time and attention from Illinois
> Issues to an isolated incident by a nasty bus driver in a distant
> state.  I don’t want this list to be a forum for every hassle and
> discriminatory ill of thousands of blind persons around the country.
> I wish we could keep the list confined to issues impacting people in
> Illinois.
>
> Kelly Pierce
>
>
>
>
> On 12/31/14, Gregory Chang Patti via il-talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Pls sign il-talk messages.
>>
>> "The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
>> characteristic that defines you or your future."
>>
>> Patti S. Gregory-Chang
>> NFBI Treasurer
>> NFB Scholarship Comm. Chair
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Dec 30, 2014, at 8:10 PM, Rob Kaiser via il-talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hello my friends from Illinois: This was sent out to the California list
>> serve. I wanted to send this out to the Illinois list serve as well. Enjoy
>> this. It really gets to the point regarding the earlier article I sent out.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Rob Kaiser, President National Federation of the Blind of California Orange
>> County Chapter cell#(760)792-0525 email;
>> rcubfank at sbcglobal.net
>> -----Original Message----- From: Frida Aizenman via Nfbc-info
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2014 5:48 PM
>> To: Tina Thomas ; NFB of California List
>> Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Blind couple barred from bus
>>
>> A Little Bit of Inspiring History:
>>
>> *Blindness: The Coming of the Third Generation *
>>
>> An Address Delivered by Kenneth Jernigan
>> President, National Federation of the Blind
>> At the Banquet of the Annual Convention
>> Kansas City, Missouri, July 3, 1986
>>
>> When Terry McManus rode on a city bus and the driver and the other
>> passengers tried to make him play the part of the helpless blind man, he
>> remembered---and refused. Here is his letter:
>>
>> I am writing to relate a blatant incident of discrimination which
>> occurred against me on Tuesday, January 14, 1986. I think you will find
>> it strikingly similar to the outrages blind people have experienced at
>> the hands of airline officials.
>>
>> On that afternoon at about 5:15 I boarded a standing- room-only Port
>> Authority Transit Bus. Just as I stepped through the door, the driver
>> shouted, "Handicapped passenger; give him a seat." I explained to him
>> that blindness did not in any way limit my ability to stand, that I had
>> good balance and preferred to stand. At this he became quite irate and
>> proclaimed that if I didn't immediately take a seat, he would not move
>> the bus. calmly told him that I would continue to stand. He began
>> apologizing to the passengers for the inconvenience I was causing them.
>> Then, he spotted a supervisor on the street and got off to consult with
>> him. Meanwhile, the other passengers began bitterly attacking me,
>> calling me "crazy," "inconsiderate," "ignorant," "arrogant," and a few
>> other things which are not printable. One man sarcastically said that he
>> hoped I would sleep well that night. I tried to explain to them that it
>> was not I, but the driver, who was inconveniencing them, and that it was
>> a matter of discrimination and a violation of my civil rights that was
>> involved. They didn't want to listen and grew angrier. I was frightened
>> but knew that I had to continue standing.
>>
>> You see, this was not the first time I had been harassed by a bus driver
>> in this manner. It had happened a number of times in the past, and on
>> each occasion I sat down after a violent argument. Each time I was
>> embarrassed and humiliated and felt that I had sold out my blind
>> brothers and sisters, who were courageously battling similar
>> discriminatory actions. The last time it happened I promised myself that
>> it would never happen again.
>>
>> The driver returned with the supervisor, who said he concurred with the
>> driver's decision not to move the bus if I didn't sit. I told him I
>> would stand. He said the seats in the front of the bus were reserved for
>> handicapped persons. I told him I was not handicapped in my ability to
>> stand. I said that if I was breaking some law, he should have me
>> arrested and that if I was not, he should order the driver to move the
>> bus. He obviously knew that I wasn't doing anything wrong because he did
>> not call the police. He said there was an empty bus behind the one I was
>> on and that I could get on that one and sit without feeling that I was
>> being discriminated against. I said I would stay where I was. The driver
>> and the supervisor conferred a bit longer and then decided to take all
>> of the other passengers off the bus and put them on the one behind. They
>> all filed past me, continuing to pour out abuse and make disparaging
>> comments, until only an elderly woman and I remained on board. She
>> explained that she was not able to stand on the other bus. The driver
>> went to see if there was space and returned to report that there was
>> room but that he didn't want to inconvenience the passengers by asking
>> one of them to stand for her. How ironic! He created a major incident by
>> harassing a blind person who was perfectly capable of standing but would
>> not ask passengers to stand for someone with a legitimate reason for
>> requiring a seat. Finally, another bus came, and the elderly woman left.
>>
>> The supervisor returned, and he and the driver continued to badger me
>> with excuses for their actions:
>>
>> Since, as the supervisor put it, I didn't have the "privilege of
>> seeing," I wouldn't know when people wanted to get past me and thus
>> would create an obstruction. (They obviously had no trouble filing past
>> me to get to the other bus.)
>>
>> People are crazy and might knock me down. (I weigh close to 200 pounds,
>> so that is not likely.)
>>
>> I was standing too close to the driver and obstructing his view. (Other
>> people were standing as close to him as I was, and I would have been
>> happy to move; but the bus was jammed, and there was nowhere to go.)
>>
>> I had been standing there for about thirty minutes and was beginning to
>> fear that I would spend the rest of the evening on that bus, being
>> badgered to sit---or something even worse. Finally, believe it or not,
>> they decided to take the bus out of service for the general public and
>> drive me to my stop. In retrospect I guess that this is no more
>> unbelievable than cancelling a flight to get rid of a blind passenger.
>> Of course, I continued to stand as we drove to my stop.
>>
>> The driver went on harassing me about what an ignorant and inconsiderate
>> person I was. I again repeated that it was a question of civil rights. I
>> explained that this was just a small part of a large pattern of
>> discrimination faced by blind people every day. He said that, as a black
>> man, he had been facing discrimination for four hundred years---but of
>> course this was different since sitting down would have in no way
>> prevented me from reaching my destination. I explained that this was
>> precisely the argument used against blacks who dared to object to being
>> forced to sit at the back of the bus, but he refused to see my point. I
>> told him that all of the employers, landlords, insurance carriers,
>> airline officials, and other service providers who practice
>> discrimination feel that their situations are also "different." He
>> informed me that if he ever saw me waiting for a bus again, he would
>> pass me up, and he hoped and anticipated that other drivers would do the
>> same. He further stated that I might have "signed my own death warrant,"
>> because the passengers I had inconvenienced would remember me and take
>> action against me on the street. I asked for his bus number, and he
>> sarcastically replied that I should "go out and look at it." Finally, we
>> reached the stop, and I bade him good day. He said I had already ruined it.
>>
>> As I began walking up the hill toward my home, the shock began to take
>> full effect, and I felt badly shaken by the brutal and dehumanizing
>> treatment I had just received. At the same time I was grateful that my
>> involvement in the National Federation of the Blind had given me the
>> courage to endure such an experience---not only for myself but for all
>> blind people. I was also grateful for the hard work of the members of
>> the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania in securing passage
>> of the amendments to our state's human relations act, which outlaws this
>> type of behavior. I determined to file complaints with both the city and
>> state human relations commissions, requesting the following relief: 1)
>> The Port Authority be required to issue a clear policy statement
>> indicating that its drivers may not order blind passengers to be seated
>> on buses when no seats are available and when other passenters are
>> permitted to stand, and that drivers may not in any way treat blind
>> passengers differently from others; 2) The driver be required to publish
>> in the newspaper a public apology for his abusive behavior; and 3) the
>> Port Authority be required to pay me fifteen hundred dollars in personal
>> damages.
>>
>> I also decided to bring the matter to the attention of the media. The
>> story received coverage on radio, television, and in the press with
>> varying degrees of support. At first the Port Authority refused to
>> comment, saying that I had threatened legal action. (I never made such a
>> statement to them.) Later they began to claim that I had refused to
>> stand anywhere but in the front of the bus and that I was obstructing
>> the driver's view. (As I have already said, this is not the truth.) The
>> company refused to have a representative appear on camera, but they
>> issued a written statement to the media which claimed that their policy
>> was that elderly and handicapped passengers could stand on buses,
>> provided that they did not interfere with the operation of the bus. In
>> the opinion of the driver, I had done just that. Later, on a call-in
>> talk show, the president of their board of directors indicated that it
>> was the company's policy that handicapped passengers be required to sit.
>> This further demonstrates the need for a clear policy statement. About
>> two weeks later their director of public relations appeared on a talk
>> show, gave a total fabrication of the incident, and poked fun at me.
>>
>> Thus far, the pain I have suffered has borne some fruit. I have been on
>> several buses since then where the drivers have allowed me to stand.
>> They may have learned something.
>>
>> *Blindness: The Coming of the Third Generation *
>>
>> An Address Delivered by Kenneth Jernigan
>> President, National Federation of the Blind
>> At the Banquet of the Annual Convention
>> Kansas City, Missouri, July 3, 1986
>>
>> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/banque86.htm
>>
>>
>>> On 12/30/2014 12:43 PM, Tina Thomas via Nfbc-info wrote:
>>>
>>> Here is the article from komonews.com.
>>>
>>> SEATTLE -- A blind Seattle couple says they were barred from a bus by a
>>> driver who insisted the seats for people with disabilities were full.
>>>
>>> Cindy Bennett and Michael Mello were trying to catch the bus on Capitol
>>> Hill
>>> Sunday when they say the driver insisted they get off the bus and wait
>>> for
>>> the next one because no priority seats were available.
>>>   "He was making an assumption that the only seats we could sit in were
>>> those
>>> designated as ADA seats," Bennett said. "We felt that it was a pretty
>>> clear
>>> indication that we were not welcome on that bus."
>>>   "He started kind of getting louder and more irate with me and saying,
>>> 'the
>>> ADA section is full.' I said, 'that's fine. We can sit anywhere else on
>>> this
>>> bus. It's no problem,'" added Mello.
>>>   King County Metro Transit, which operates buses in Seattle, apologized
>>> to
>>> the couple Monday and said it would investigate what happened.
>>>   The Americans with Disabilities Act <http://www.ada.gov/>  says that
>>> people
>>> who are blind and visually impaired have the right to use public transit
>>> but
>>> that they do not have to ride in special seating, said Marci Carpenter,
>>> president of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington.
>>>   "For us, it's the same as African-Americans being told they have to sit
>>> in
>>> the back of the bus. Mike and Cindy were told, 'you have to sit in the
>>> front
>>> of the bus or you cannot ride,'" Carpenter said. "It's a civil rights
>>> issue."
>>>   "What happened is unacceptable and we apologize," said Jeff Switzer, a
>>> spokesman for Metro Transit, in a statement. "Blind passengers are not
>>> required to use the ADA priority seating area. We've identified the
>>> operator
>>> and his chief will be working with him on this issue and will take
>>> appropriate action."
>>>   Switzer declined an on-camera interview.
>>>   Bennett and Mello, who live in Seattle, were catching the number 11 bus
>>> Sunday near the intersection of Pike and Broadway on Capitol Hill. They
>>> had
>>> just left brunch with friends, they said.
>>>   "We were so shocked when we got off the bus because we hadn't
>>> experienced
>>> that before and we didn't know what to do," said Mello. "I mean, the
>>> point
>>> of public transit is to provide us with more independence. That's what it
>>> does on a regular basis."
>>>
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