[nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

Anjelina anjelinac26 at gmail.com
Thu May 20 03:36:01 UTC 2010


Walking alone and marching together is available on Web-Braille.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kevin Fjelsted" <kfjelsted at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:52 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History


>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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>>
>>
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>>
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>>
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>
>
> -- 
> Kevin Fjelsted
> B Harris, Inc.
> http://www.bharrisinc.com
> kevin.fjelsted at bharrisinc.com
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfjelsted
> Phone:   612.424.7333 EX. 301
> Direct:  612.424.7332
>
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