[nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey maysueEurostarafterbeingleftontrain in Brussels

Marion Gwizdala blind411 at verizon.net
Tue Feb 22 14:36:47 UTC 2011


Albert,
    On the other hand, Tom Pay is purported to be a leader in the blindness 
movement, yet he behaves in this way. Though it is true there may be more to 
the story, perhaps it would do us all well to take Peter's comments as 
instructive and find out what the NFB has said about Tom Pay in its official 
publication. Frankly, I don't know what that is! However, if we were to call 
the owner of maxi Aids by the names appropriate for someone who behaves in 
such a despicable manner, it would be justified.
    I am going to send a message to the list shortly that calls the CEO of 
Fidelco a "bully". Would this constitute flaming, even though his actions 
support the label? The NFB has often called the blind who betray the blind 
"Uncle Toms". Yes, it is harsh but so is calling Mussolini a fascist! Those 
who put themselves in a highly public position and then behave poorly should 
be taken to task for their actions!

Fraternally yours,
Marion




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Albert J Rizzi" <albert at myblindspot.org>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 8:27 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey 
maysueEurostarafterbeingleftontrain in Brussels


> Julie,
>
> Again, I hope you are heard this time. all to often this list gets back 
> into
> those cycles of discriminatory and bigoted self promoting prejudices and
> dogma. I for one would be less apt to delete delete delete and forgo
> considering leaving the list all together if this simple and respectful
> approach were followed. I am called to consider, and I paraphrase,  when
> they came for the Jews, I said nothing, when they came for the blacks I 
> said
> nothing, when they came for the homosexuals  I said nothing, when they 
> came
> for the sheites I said nothing, and when they came for me there was no one
> there to say anything. Human kindness goes a long way to maintain peace 
> and
> human  dignity.
> Thank you for always trying to reign the fringe elements in on this list.
>
>
> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
> Founder
> My Blind Spot, Inc.
> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
> New York, New York  10004
> www.myblindspot.org
> PH: 917-553-0347
> Fax: 212-858-5759
> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it."
>
>
> Visit us on Facebook LinkedIn
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Julie J
> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:14 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey
> maysueEurostarafterbeingleftontrain in Brussels
>
> Apparently I am not making myself clear.
>
> When I said Peter was being harsh, I didn't mean any of the comments
> recounting actions or behavior.  The man did what he did.  It's not a
> problem to state how difficult this man has been to work with or even how
> frustrating it was for Peter.
>
> What was harsh and I have issue with is the personal insult of calling him
> an Uncle Tom.  Where I come from that is a serious slam.
> I don't know how to say this any clearer so that people will understand 
> and
> we can stop going over it.
> PERSONAL INSULTS ARE NOT OKAY.
> Yes that was in all caps, I'm shouting.
>
> Perhaps some examples will help?
> *no* All Muslims are stupid.
> *yes* I was refused a ride by a Muslim cab driver. It made me mad. I'm 
> angry
>
> at the man.
>
> *no*   Dr. Tom is stupid.
> *yes* I don't agree with Dr. Tom's assertion that guides shouldn't be on
> plane trips longer than 5 hours.
>
> *no* Joe Q. Public is stupid.
> *yes* I think Joe would benefit from some blindness skills training.
>
> Is this getting any clearer? Stop calling people or groups of people names
> and we can all live happily ever after.
>
> Julie
> NAGDU list moderator
>
>
> Peter and all my other unfans, assuming that all information I have read 
> on
> this issue to be accurate, including that offered up by peter, I find this
> so-called doctor's complaint ridiculously spurious and would be totally
> embarrassed to have him speaking and/or representing me on any level.
>
> Harsh, judgmental, damn right!
>
> Doug: Nobody's slave, and nobody's master.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, February 21, 2011 3:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue
> Eurostarafterbeingleftontrain in Brussels
>
>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> You asked for the inside scoop on Tom Pey. You got it.
>>
>> Peter Donahue
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Julie J" <julielj at neb.rr.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, February 21, 2011 12:18 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar
>> afterbeingleftontrain in Brussels
>>
>>
>> Wow!  That's harsh.
>>
>> I'm not asking that you agree with his opinions or actions, but please do
>> refrain from the personal insults.
>>
>> Julie
>> NAGDU list moderator
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 9:23 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after
>> beingleftontrain in Brussels
>>
>>
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>>
>>>    Given his track record This is classic Tom Pey. He fought against us
>>> when Mike Osborn and others worked with the UK Government to put
>>> procedures
>>> in place to permit guide dogs entering the UK accompanied by their blind
>>> handler to do so under the Pet Travel Scheme so the dogs wouldn't need 
>>> to
>>> go
>>> in to quarantine. He also sang the song probably trumpped up by the 
>>> Guide
>>> Dogs for the Blind Association that a guide dog should not travel in an
>>> aircraft cabin for no more than five hours flying time; something many 
>>> of
>>> us
>>> worked hard to debunk and were successful doing so. And so he still 
>>> feels
>>> that taking one's guide dog out of the UK and reentering under PETS is
>>> too
>>> much of a bother? If you asked me he got what he deserved. He's nothing
>>> but
>>> a big old blind Uncle tom Pey!
>>>
>>> Peter Donahue
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Julie McGinnity" <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 6:35 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being
>>> leftontrain in Brussels
>>>
>>>
>>> I am wondering why these articles never seem to be the whole story.
>>> Yes, I know that we will never know the details of any of these kinds
>>> of incidents, but in these articles, there always seems to be
>>> something that doesn't quite add up.  Does the reporter need to do
>>> more research?  Are the facts incorrect?  We don't know.  We are only
>>> given what we are given.  My first thought after reading was exactly
>>> the same as many of you:  Did he have a cane?  Why did they say
>>> stumbling?  Didn't he have proper mobility training?
>>>
>>> Although I still believe that suing may not be the answer, I cannot
>>> say about this particular incident.  It is true that in Europe there
>>> are different expectations.  If something like that happened in the
>>> US, they would be like, too bad too sad, you just get out of there on
>>> your own, which is both good and bad.  However, in Europe it is
>>> expected that if you are blind you will receive assistance.  Hmmmm.  I
>>> have mixed feelings on this one.
>>>
>>> I have to say that I like having the option of getting assistance,
>>> especially in airports.  I really don't like crowds.  They freak me
>>> out, and I usually am pleased to have someone help me to the gate.  I
>>> always laugh when they bring wheelchairs though.  What drives me crazy
>>> is how they think I can't follow them.  Then, the airport assist
>>> person tries to grab my arm without asking, or even worse tries to
>>> grab the dog's leash.  Under no circumstances is this ok in my book.
>>> That just makes me feel much jumpier in an environment where I'm not
>>> really comfortable in the first place.
>>>
>>> Really don't know about the article though.  I just remember having a
>>> similar discussion about the last one that was posted.  I just wish
>>> these articles sounded better or something.  I'm not sure what I'm
>>> looking for.  Sorry for the rant, that may in fact be pointless.
>>>
>>> On 2/20/11, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>> Hm...  Getting off a train and past all the obstacles and to the right
>>>> place
>>>> to leave the station and find a human to talk to is kind of an
>>>> impressive
>>>> feat to be described as 'stumbling."  I would not want to try this
>>>> myself,
>>>> and I am certain that I would indeed stumble now and then if I somehow
>>>> arranged to find myself in such a situation.
>>>>
>>>> In my own context, I am apparently so neurotically paranoid about
>>>> finding
>>>> myself in that kind of situation that, in addition to my guide dog, I
>>>> carry
>>>> a back pack of emergency supplies, the stuff I actually plan to use, 
>>>> and
>>>> 3
>>>> to 5 spare canes -- if not more canes than I actually own.  /lol/  This
>>>> will
>>>> surprise me when I have to dig through all the canes and other 
>>>> emergency
>>>> supplies to find something I need to actually use because I will
>>>> remember
>>>> slipping one cane into my backpack, just in case I need it.
>>>>
>>>> Waiting for someone to come to my rescue?  Again, not my style. 
>>>> /smile/
>>>>
>>>> Still, as others have pointed out, the information in the article
>>>> doesn't
>>>> give us enough to really evaluate the ins and outs of this man's 
>>>> reasons
>>>> for
>>>> taking the actions he did.  It all seems pretty foreign, frankly, but
>>>> when
>>>> I
>>>> remember that it was in what I consider a foreign land, it almost
>>>> certainly
>>>> is.  /smile/
>>>>
>>>> It will be interesting to see what happens here.
>>>>
>>>> Tami Smith-Kinney
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf
>>>> Of Lisa Irving
>>>> Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:07 PM
>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being
>>>> leftontrain in Brussels
>>>>
>>>> Wow. I'm trying to put myself in this fellow's shoes. The critical side
>>>> of
>>>> me contends he has a voice, and perhaps a cell phone. I also can't help
>>>> but
>>>> to wonder if he manipulated circumstances to slam the point home about
>>>> guide
>>>>
>>>> dog discrimination in Europe. I don't know. Obviously, we're not 
>>>> getting
>>>> all
>>>>
>>>> the facts.
>>>>
>>>> I have a problem with this educated man describing his exodus from the
>>>> train
>>>>
>>>> as, "stumbling off". I can't imagine traveling without a cane as a back
>>>> up.
>>>> I understand his concern about the possibility of being denied a cab
>>>> ride.
>>>> Denial of Cab access is still an issue in San Diego. We have a large
>>>> Muslim
>>>> population and some of these folks drive cabs. Fortunately for those of
>>>> us
>>>> who live in a large metropolitan city, we have options; other cab
>>>> companies
>>>> we can call. My final thought is this. Do you suppose there are
>>>> quarantine
>>>> issues this man had to work around.
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:35 AM
>>>> Subject: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left
>>>> ontrain in Brussels
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left on train
>>>>> in Brussels
>>>>>
>>>>> LEFT ALONE: Tom Pey, pictured here with his guide dogBy emma
>>>>> curry reporters at sevenoaks-chronicle.co.uk
>>>>> http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Blind-man-train-ordeal/article-3
>>>>> 231003-detail/article.html
>>>>>
>>>>> A BLIND man is threatening to sue Eurostar after he was abandoned
>>>>> on a train in Brussels.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dr Tom Pey, chief executive of the Royal London Society for the
>>>>> Blind (RSLB) and Dorton House in Seal, has accused the travel
>>>>> firm of disability discrimination.
>>>>>
>>>>> He was travelling to the European Parliament to press for
>>>>> improved rights for guide dog owners at a meeting of the European
>>>>> Guide Dog Federation, of which he is president, on Wednesday,
>>>>> February 2.
>>>>>
>>>>> He had left his guide dog in Seal, worried that Belgian taxi
>>>>> drivers may not want to take him, and was taken to the station by
>>>>> his secretary Alison Nield.
>>>>>
>>>>> Unable to get through the barriers, she asked a Eurostar employee
>>>>> to help Dr Pey on to the train and the train conductor to guide
>>>>> Mr Pey off the train in Brussels.
>>>>>
>>>>> But when they arrived, Mr Pey was left alone. He waited for half
>>>>> an hour before struggling out of the station himself.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dr Pey said: "It's really difficult to make your way around in a
>>>>> foreign country at the best of times, quite apart from being
>>>>> visually impaired.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I was also at a real loss without my guide dog.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I eventually managed to stumble off the train and remembered
>>>>> that the taxi rank was near a pizza restaurant. Only problem is
>>>>> there are two pizza eateries at Brussels station. It was most
>>>>> distressing."
>>>>>
>>>>> Ms Nield said: "I usually travel with him. Tom's quite brilliant
>>>>> but this situation was unacceptable.
>>>>>
>>>>> "It was luck rather than judgement that got him off that train.
>>>>>
>>>>> "At this end, Eurostar knew perfectly well he needed assistance.
>>>>> It's ridiculous."
>>>>>
>>>>> Tim Arnold, communications manager of the RLSB, said: "Eurostar
>>>>> are re-defining the word 'shameful'. They have a clear
>>>>> responsibility under the Equalities Act to make a reasonable
>>>>> adjustment for disabled people.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Tom's lawyers say he has a good case for disability
>>>>> discrimination."
>>>>>
>>>>> A Eurostar spokesman said: "This was obviously a distressing
>>>>> experience for Dr Pey and we have called him to apologise
>>>>> unreservedly.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Situations like these are thankfully rare, but are taken
>>>>> extremely seriously and therefore, together with our SNCB
>>>>> colleagues at Brussels Midi, we are investigating why this
>>>>> happened as a matter of urgency."
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nagdu mailing list
>>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>>> nagdu:
>>>>>
>>>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/lirving1234%40cox.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Julie McG
>>> Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
>>> Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
>>> Eyes for the Blind
>>>
>>> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
>>> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
>>> life."
>>> John 3:16
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
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