[nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

Thu May 27 06:56:01 UTC 2010

Hi,

Jedi, I wonder how you find yourself more capable to open the door, and the 
slide ramp better than many people you know if you haven't actually had the 
experience of, thus the ability to learn to deal with the equipment before.

Just as there are capable, and not so capable sighted people, many of whom 
can not open the door and the slide, there are many blind people who are not 
capable of performing the duties.

I for one don't mind, and don't care to sit in exit sitting, as long as I 
can sit in a place more or less determined by me. That would mean I would 
not choose to sit in a bulk head seat.

If the airline can pre-screen for likely liabilities, IE. blind passenger 
who can't see the handle for the ramp, they will. And if I can be seated in 
a reasonable fashion, and get to my destination without snag, I am fine, and 
feel treated fairly for the services the airline offers.

Antonio M. Guimaraes Jr.

Student, Western Governors University
(617) 744-9716
Eastern time zone
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 12:18 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Airlines and Federation History

> 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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