[nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

Thu May 20 01:52:27 UTC 2010

I googled the title "Walking Alone and Marching Together!" and found
some references including one on the NFB site that wants me to log in
with a username and password.  THe book appears to be purchasable from
Amazon. Is this book available in an accessible format preferabley
Braille?
I would love to read it.
-Kevin

On 5/18/10, Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com> wrote:
> You make some very good points here.  I don't think that some are realizing
> how little is really expected of most people who choose to sit in an exit
> row.  One thing I
> forgot to mention when I was writing about why we were as upset as we were
> about exit rows in the 80's is that there was a policy considered that would
> have not
> only prohibited us from sitting in exit rows, we would also have been
> prohibited from the row in front of or behind an exit row.  That would have
> excluded us from
> quite a number of seats on some planes.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
> On Tue, 18 May 2010 01:24:46 -0400, Jedi wrote:
>
>>PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read Walking Alone and Marching Together! Peter
>>can't have given a better suggestion!
>
>>Unfortunately folks, this is exactly the press that makes airlines
>>think we can't do for ourselves thus asking us not to sit in emergency
>>exits, asking us to preboard, asking us to deplane after everyone else,
>>and altogether treating us as though we can't handle ourselves. For
>>those who think the emergency exit row thing is not such a big deal and
>>worth fighting over, let me remind you that a person as young as
>>fifteen can sit there, a person served alcohol (either before boarding
>>or on the plane) can sit there, and anyone who judges themselves (with
>>the exceptions of the deaf, the blind, the non-English speaking, and
>>the otherwise visibly disabled) can sit there. So basically, we're less
>>competent, in the opinion of FFA, than a fifteen-year-old or a drunk.
>>Others are allowed to judge their fitness for sitting there, but we
>>cannot. Is that worth fighting about? Absolutely! Unfortunately, how
>>society thinks of us in this context is very indicative of how society
>>thinks of us in others. This might sound harsh, but it's unfortunately
>>quite true. The bottom line here is that blind people are treated
>>arbitrarily based on someone else's opinion of what we can do versus
>>our own. Arbitrary treatment of this kind is not limited to disability
>>in our past, but has also been used to separate People of Color from
>>White folks back in the day and even now to an often invisible extent.
>>That's why Federationists fought. Unfortunately, we did lose that
>>battle, but that doesn't mean that we won't reserect it someday. I hope
>>we do as I consider myself more capable of opening that exit than many
>>sighted persons I know.
>
>>Respectfully,
>>Jedi
>
>
>>Original message:
>>> Hello Peter,
>
>>> I must say that NFB's issues with the airlines are an excellent example
>>> of the need to pick battles one can actually win.
>
>>> It is my thought that the fight over the exit row was ridiculous.
>
>>> There's only one case where it might be a legitimate issue. That would
>>> be if it resulted in a blind person actually being denied the trip.
>
>>> If the blind person can be reseated or a sighted one is voluntarily
>>> bumped in order to secure the blind person's equal rights in the case of
>>> a packed flight, then the matter is resolved IMHO.
>
>
>>> On 5/16/2010 11:50 AM, Peter Donahue wrote:
>>>> Hello Briley and everyone,
>
>>>>      If people would take the time to read Walking Alone and Marching
>>>> Together they would learn of the federation's long struggle to secure
>>>> equal
>>>> access for the blind in air travel. It is a history filled with the kind
>>>> of
>>>> publicity and dribble that can result from incidents like this one, and
>>>> much
>>>> much more. Blind people had their canes taken away from them by airline
>>>> personnel, were told they couldn't sit in seat rows other than the
>>>> bulkhead
>>>> if they used a guide dog, were told they needed to preboard and
>>>> post-board,
>>>> the list goes on. Read past issues of The Braille Monitor from the late
>>>> 1980s and the early 1990s to get an idea of the kind of discrimination
>>>> heaped on blind air passengers and why today we must still be on our
>>>> guard
>>>> when stories of this kind hit the media. Blind people were arrested and
>>>> physically removed from planes and went to jail for doing nothing more
>>>> than
>>>> demanding to be treated like other passengers.
>
>>>>      We successfully closed down a US Airways ticket counter for several
>>>> hours due to their demanding a blind person move from an emergency exit
>>>> row;
>>>> a seat he was assigned in the first place. The NFB held several protest
>>>> against the FAA and the DOT due to their unwillingness to take a hand in
>>>> remedying the discriminatory treatment we experienced at the hands of
>>>> the
>>>> airlines and still do. I know because I took part in several of these
>>>> activities.
>>>> Other types of air passengers now experience similar treatment. Large
>>>> passengers are an example. The NFB can teach the flying public a thing
>>>> or
>>>> two about fighting the horrible treatment now experienced all too often.
>>>> They just need to learn to stop, as Dr. Maurer put it in 1986, "Sitting
>>>> down
>>>> and shutting up!"We as federationists need to remember these struggles
>>>> and
>>>> not take the freedom of travel we now have for granted. These nabsters
>>>> aren't just squealing over nothing but are remembering our past and
>>>> upholding our legacy of collective action by reacting the way they are.
>>>> All
>>>> the best.
>
>>>> Peter Donahue
>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Briley Pollard"<brileyp at gmail.com>
>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 9:39 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fwd: [Members] Airline apologizes for forgetting
>>>> blindteen
>
>
>>>> Valory,
>
>>>> Again, the reason this is upsetting is A, this girl, (from the way it
>>>> was
>>>> portrayed), isn't comfortable enough with herself to stand up for her
>>>> rights, and B, (the biggest issue), how we're portrayed in the media.
>>>> What
>>>> is said about one of us is perceived to be a definition of all of us.
>>>> Media
>>>> coverage of us is so often negative and condescending, and yes, it does
>>>> upset me, and yes it does push me to speak up about how this is not
>>>> acceptable.
>
>>>> Briley
>
>
>>>> On May 15, 2010, at 10:15 PM, Valerie Gibson wrote:
>
>
>>>>> I agree.  Seems to quick to point out someone else's fault and become
>>>>> indignant for all over one person's actions.
>
>>>>> There's just not enough imformation in the article to make such
>>>>> judgement
>>>>> calls.  We can only say what we would do in that situation, and while
>>>>> we
>>>>> don't know this girl's background or mental capabilities it seems
>>>>> unfair
>>>>> to point fingers.
>
>>>>> Perhaps she did not know that there are organisations like the NFB who
>>>>> could help her. Perhaps she has been told all of her life that she
>>>>> needs
>>>>> sighted help in everything.
>
>>>>> We've all been in a position where we did not know how to do things,
>>>>> and
>>>>> judging that you have found this mailing list, you've found the NFB as
>>>>> well as a sense of endependance.   Not everyone has done so.
>
>>>>> Does it look bad for the blind community? Yes.
>
>>>>> But how's this for a solution: try and find this girl and tell her that
>>>>> there are places where she can learn a bit of independance.
>
>>>>> On May 15, 2010, at 8:33 PM, Darrell Shandrow wrote:
>
>
>>>>>> Hello Sarah and all,
>
>>>>>> I think we may want to exercise care before judging this situation too
>>>>>> quickly.
>
>>>>>> Many times while traveling by air, flight attendants have asked that I
>>>>>> wait until the plane has emptied before leaving. Sometimes I do this
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> sometimes I don't.
>
>>>>>> If Jessica were asked to wait, then she were forgotten, then she
>>>>>> certainly does have a very legitimate complaint here.
>
>>>>>> We also need to keep in mind that members of the blind community have
>>>>>> wide ranging capabilities and other disabilities with which they must
>>>>>> cope.
>
>>>>>> As always, this just comes down to the fact we all must exercise our
>>>>>> due
>>>>>> diligence while performing our jobs to avoid problems of this sort.
>
>
>>>>>> On 5/15/2010 4:19 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote:
>
>>>>>>> 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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-- 
Kevin Fjelsted
B Harris, Inc.
http://www.bharrisinc.com
kevin.fjelsted at bharrisinc.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfjelsted
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