[nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Sat Jul 2 00:15:18 UTC 2011 

See, and I heard the city we were invited not to come back to was Anaheim. So which was it really? 
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY



On Jul 1, 2011, at 8:07 PM, Cindy wrote:

> I think the city where we were not invited back was Louisville, though that has since been resolved.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Jul 1, 2011, at 7:50 PM, "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com> wrote:
> 
>> ACB was in Chicago in 1994. Marion was correct in that the relief area
>> situation was horrible, one set of boxes on a 6th floor roof. Street curbing
>> was dangerous at best but no more so than in Manhattan. 
>> 
>> That hotel actually asked ACB back several years ago but rates were way too
>> high in general. I was personally shocked they'd want us back after the mess
>> but they had no qualms about it. 
>> 
>> Jenine Stanley
>> jeninems at wowway.com
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
>> Of Dan Weiner
>> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 7:40 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy
>> 
>> Just one minor correction.
>> The convention in 1994 was in Detroit, I was there.
>> The Chicago convention was 1995.
>> 
>> Dan W.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
>> Of Lyn Gwizdak
>> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 6:39 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy
>> 
>> Thank you, thank you, thank you, Marion for this post!
>> 
>> Maybe you need to hang on to this to paste it into your remeinder of the
>> policy next year and maybe the folks who complain will finally understand
>> it.
>> 
>> Have fun - I don't envy you when you have to bust people at the conventions.
>> 
>> Having close to 5,000 people this year!  Wow!
>> 
>> Lyn and Landon
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
>> To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 7:46 PM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy
>> 
>> 
>>> dear All,
>>>  I hope everyone will read this entire post and that it will give a 
>>> little perspective to the NFB policy concerning leaving dogs unattended in
>> 
>>> guest rooms during convention. Please keep in mind that this policy was 
>>> enacted in an effort to resolve some very serious problems the 
>>> organization faced in the past. It is not an arbitrary policy the 
>>> Federation issued to attempt to make life difficult for guide dog users. 
>>> Also, please keep in mind that the NFB Board of Directors is very 
>>> supportive of the National Association of Guide dog Users and its members.
>> 
>>> This year, the NFB will spend about $8500 providing relief areas for our 
>>> guide dogs. This is quite a significant investment! Now, to the purpose of
>> 
>>> this post.
>>>  In order to understand the need for the policy, we need a bit of 
>>> historical perspective. In 1994, the NFB convention was in Chicago, Ill. 
>>> During that convention, there were some very serious problems, as it 
>>> pertained to guide dog handlers. There were more than the average number 
>>> of accidents, partly due to the fact that the area around the hotel had 
>>> very little grass, except for Grant Park, which was swamped with millions 
>>> of people for the Taste of Chicago. In addition to these accidents in the 
>>> public areas of the hotel, several guide dog users left their dogs 
>>> unattended to go to the fireworks in grant Park because they knew their 
>>> dogs were afraid of the noise. A very large number of stressed-out dogs 
>>> carried on well into the night, disrupting other guests staying in the 
>>> hotel. Furthermore, some of these dogs literally destroyed the rooms. The 
>>> long story short, since the guests were unable to pay for the damages, the
>> 
>>> NFB had to cover the cost, which ran well into the thousands of dollars. 
>>> Of course, some will say that the NFB should have required the responsible
>> 
>>> parties to pay the damages, but you know the old adage of getting blood 
>>> from a turnip! If the NFB didn't pay the damages, they would have been 
>>> hard-pressed to find another hotel willing to offer us the rates we are 
>>> accustomed to receiving. Even though we did pay the damages, though, word 
>>> travels quickly in the hospitality industry and the NFB was having a 
>>> difficult time finding properties willing to host our conventions and 
>>> negotiating the rates.
>>>  The NFB attempted to assess a surcharge of $25 for each guide dog user,
>> 
>>> but this was met with a great deal of resistance and this plan was 
>>> scrapped very quickly. The resulting compromise was the policy that draws 
>>> so much contention every year.
>>>  I would like to offer a real-life analagy. Most communities have a 
>>> public intoxication law. Basically, this law says that, if you are 
>>> intoxicated and behave in a disorderly fashion, you are going to jail. The
>> 
>>> law is enacted because there was a problem with intoxicated people 
>>> behaving in a disorderly manner. Now, some could argue that it is their 
>>> right to drink if they are over the age of 21 and they would be correct. 
>>> Therefore, they would argue, it is their right to become intoxicated and, 
>>> again, they are right! However, if your public intoxication results in 
>>> behavior the community deems disorderly, impinging on the rights of others
>> 
>>> to be free from such behavior, the police have the right to impose the 
>>> remedies available under the law. at the same time, if one chooses to 
>>> become intoxicated in public and behave themselves, no one really cares. 
>>> It is only when that state of intoxication imposes negative consequences 
>>> on public order that the remedies available are imposed.
>>>  One post implied that I was only agreeing to the policy because it came
>> 
>>> from the leadership. This member is absolutely correct. Policies and laws 
>>> are enacted for the general good of the community in an effort to provide 
>>> remedies for behaviors that negatively impact that community. Barking and 
>>> destructive dogs negatively impact the NFB community and the leadership of
>> 
>>> this community has designed a policy to resolve this issue and provide 
>>> remedies. As a member of this community, you agree to abide by the 
>>> policies or laws that govern that society's behavior or face the 
>>> consequences for their violation. Whether that society is a country, 
>>> state, county, city, place of business, workplace, or the NFB convention, 
>>> there are acceptable behaviors and consequences for unacceptable behavior.
>> 
>>> Anything else is anarchy!
>>>  I reject the notion that this - or any other - policy treats one like a
>> 
>>> child. In fact, what is childish is being intentionally oppositional and 
>>> defiant of societal norms and mores. Remember that it was not too many 
>>> months ago when someone believed he had the right to insult anyone he 
>>> wanted to on this list and no one could do anything about it. How many of 
>>> you rejoiced when it was announced that he was permanently banned from 
>>> subscribing to any of the NFBNET lists? Parenthetically, he telephoned me 
>>> to advise me that he intended to disrupt the NAGDU meeting this year. the 
>>> Board has taken the measure of refusing his membership for conduct 
>>> unbecoming a member. Since only members in good standing can speak on the 
>>> floor, this effectively bars him from disrupting our meetings. Might he do
>> 
>>> so anyway? Perhaps! But there are other remedies available, too!
>>>  I hope you have a better understanding of how this policy came to be 
>>> and the practical issues it addresses. It is not an anti guide dog policy;
>> 
>>> rather, it is meant to prevent a serious issue and maintain order for the 
>>> common good of all concerned. It is unfortunate that such a policy had to 
>>> be implemented to deal with a problem created by a few. Just as most 
>>> people are generally honest, but we have laws against stealing to provide 
>>> remedies for the few that are not, most guide dog users are responsible. 
>>> The policy is to provide remedies for those who are not!
>>>  I hope that everyone has a fantastic convention. I understand that we 
>>> are expecting more than 4000 in Orlando. That means we will most likely 
>>> have close to 500 guide dog teams! I hope many of you will join us for the
>> 
>>> NAGDU meetings on Sunday & Tuesday in the Panzacola H-3 ballroom at 7:00 
>>> pm! I'll see you then or here on the list afterward! Have an awesome 
>>> Fourth of july!
>>> 
>>> Fraternally yours,
>>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>>> National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>> 813-626-2789
>>> President at NAGDU.ORG
>>> HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
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>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>> nagdu:
>>> 
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/linda.gwizdak%40cox.n
>> et 
>> 
>> 
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