[nagdu] Questions about Federal regs regarding paratransit

[Chasity Jackson]

Great job Marion! That's awesome.

Chasity
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 5:39 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Questions about Federal regs regarding paratransit


> Angie,
>    I had a flight attendant tell me the same thing about being a Federal 
> regulation that I sit in the bulkhead seat. I told her that I thought I 
> knew a little more about my civil rights under the Air Carrier Access Act 
> than she did! I further told her that, if she could show me the regulation 
> in writing I would be more than happy to comply but, until then, I was 
> staying in the seat I was assigned. About fifteen minutes into the flight, 
> another attendant came over to apologize to me. I was very gracious with 
> this second flight attendant and stated, "You aren't the one that owes me 
> an apology." Five minutes later I received an apology from the first 
> flight attendant. I replied, "I accept your apology. In the future, 
> though, don't make pronouncements you know nothing about. You never know 
> who you are talking to!"
>
> Fraternally,
> Marion
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Angie Matney" <leadinglabbie at mpmail.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 12:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Questions about Federal regs regarding paratransit
>
>
>> Hey Chacity,
>>
>> Good post. While I do think that, like it or not, people *do* draw 
>> impressions about all blind people from how a single one of us behaves, 
>> this doesn't mean that we have to inconvenience ourselves in order to 
>> avoid making a fus. You stated that you
>> had logistical reasons for wanting to stand due to the luggage. It is 
>> perfectly reasonable for you to refuse an "accommodation" that you didn't 
>> ask for and that would have inconvenienced you. This right is guaranteed 
>> us by the ADA.
>>
>> On one of my last flights, the gate agent informed me that he'd noticed 
>> I'd been assigned a window seat, and he'd gone ahead and "fixed" it so 
>> that I would get a bulkhead seat. I explained to him that I had reserved 
>> that particular seat ahead of
>> time. (And let me just add here that figuring out how to do that with 
>> JAWS and the seating map on the web site was not easy! So I was 
>> especially proud of myself. /grin/) I told him that I wanted him to 
>> change my seat back to the one I had reserved.
>> He refused. He said that regulations required I sit in the bulkhead. I 
>> said that no, they don't, and it's my business to be especially aware of 
>> this as a traveler with a disability. He wouldn't change the seating 
>> assignment, but fortunately teh flight
>> attendant understood the situation, and I was able to take my original 
>> seat. I didn't complain about this guy. I sure do wish I had. But it 
>> would not have been appropriate for me not to tell him that he was wrong 
>> and that I didn't have to sit in the
>> bulkhead.<mental note: print up regs next time you fly.>
>>
>> Again, I'm not suggesting that we have to blast every person who offers 
>> us assistance or accommodations we don't need. But we are deserving of 
>> respect, and we are entitled to let people know that.
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:36:21 -0600, Chasity Jackson wrote:
>>
>>>Hi Linda,
>>
>>>No, I don't think I should have smiled and handled it later. I think 
>>>that,
>>>blind or not, we're human, and we have crappy days like the rest of 
>>>society.
>> <snip>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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