[nabs-l] Fwd: [Members] Airline apologizes for forgetting blind teen

Sun May 16 19:27:22 UTC 2010

hello all,
 I'm   not quite ready to jump to a judgement here,but I certainly can
see why some  of  the  responces to this post have  taken  the tone
that they have  either way.
 If it were me, I would have  been off of that plane with the rest of
the passangers. But,  it wasn't me; it was  another person with a
different background who's  expiriences with their blindness and
around blind people are different thanmine.
 I don't know what  this young lady was thinking at the time; for  all
I know, she could be  way more independent than I and for all I know
could have other things going on  beyond blindness.
I feel like  some of our best work as federationests is in not only
education and empowerment, but guideing  others, and  doing  so with
a level of understanding and  objective thinking that    is in line
with  our movements greatest leaders.  So, if we are to interact with
a person such as the person featured in this article, I feel  like we
ought to consider how to best communicate that there are  ways to
effectivly handle situations like  this one.  If we want to  let  this
person know that  the NFB is available  (and I think that we should)
given the oppertunity is the right one,  then take advantage of an
oppertunity to expose someone  to something different.
 I know that  if I was  approached by a person who  was to say " why
don't you just do ____  this way, it's so  simple", I'm not  too sure
I'd want to  hear anything  this  seemingly   judgemental person is
saying to me; who do they think they are?
 Just my two bits and fifty cents
  Darian

On 5/15/10, Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com> wrote:
> We need to be careful to lay too much blame on her without more information.
>  First, we don't know if there were other
> disabilities involved.  Second, you have to fiercely fight for any
> independence on airlines, and the fact that we do is
> largely because of airlines' actions.  Frankly, this might be one of the
> more blatent situations I have heard of, but over
> the years I've seen and even experienced other cases where one can fall
> through the cracks when one turns over
> one's independence to the airlines.  The fact is that many blind people see
> the airlines as figures of authority who cannot
> be challenged.  This is true especially since 9/11.  Let's learn from this
> story that we need to control our own destinies
> and we need to help others know that is what needs to be done.  Let's be
> careful of condemning her, though, without
> knowing more.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
> On Sat, 15 May 2010 20:17:14 -0500, Harry Hogue wrote:
>
>>This is ridiculous.  At least be proactive in mentioning your needs, even
>> if
>>you are not comfortable with traveling off the plane yourself.  And of
>>course, if you make headlines, naturally the airline will apologize; they
>> do
>>not want the adverse publicity resulting from not apologizing, etc.
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>>Of Sarah Alawami
>>Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 6:19 PM
>>To: nabs list list
>>Subject: [nabs-l] Fwd: [Members] Airline apologizes for forgetting blind
>>teen
>
>>I think she should have gotten off the plain by her self. How hard can that
>>be? just  get off and turn right and go up the ramp thing and turn left and
>>get out and then wait for your escort. but here's the story.
>
>>Airline apologizes for forgetting blind teen
>
>>Edmonton Journal , May 15, 2010
>
>>United Airlines has apologized to a blind woman from Vancouver Island who
>>was abandoned on an empty plane in Chicago.
>
>>Jessica Cabot of Courtenay, B.C., made headlines this week after she went
>>public about being forgotten in an empty United Airlines plane on an April
>> 7
>>stopover in Chicago.
>
>>The 18-year-old was waiting for flight attendants to escort her to a
>>connecting flight to Florida when she heard the plane door seal shut. Ten
>>minutes later two maintenance staff happened to find her on an unscheduled
>>check of the plane.
>
>>She panicked in the plane, calling for help.
>
>>After a series of complaints, Cabot received a $250 airline voucher and the
>>promise of an apology. Five weeks after her flight and a series of news
>>stories later, she finally got one.
>
>>"They just called," said Cabot, on the phone from Jacksonville, Fla., where
>>she is visiting her fiance. "I can't even count how many times they said
>>sorry."
>
>
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-- 
Darian Smith
Skype: The_Blind_Truth
Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are
spiritual beings having a human experience.” - Teilhard de Chardin