[nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

Fri May 21 00:26:50 UTC 2010

thanks Melissa for posting this link.

Corey Cook
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-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Melissa Green
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 5:41 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

Hi all.
Here is the link to  walking alone and marching together.
You can download the book in Mp3 files.
Go here,
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/WAMT.asp
HTH!

Melissa Green
No person has the right to rain on your dreams.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melissa Green" <graduate56 at juno.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 10:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

>I believe that this book is also an MP3 download.  I got an e-mail about 
>this about two or three months ago.
> I wonder if its still available somewhere?
>
> Melissa Green
> No person has the right to rain on your dreams.
> ----- 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 7:52 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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>>
>>
>> -- 
>> 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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