[nagdu] An altercation on the bus yesterday

[Larry D. Keeler]

That one is certain'ly rare!  My wife uses a wheelchair so I know what kind 
of room they take up.  I also let her get on the bus first so as not to 
accidently run over Holly's feet.  I certainly would have opened my mouth 
and then loged a complaint with the bus company.  And, it is certainly 
public transportation!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jenny Keller" <jlperdue3 at gmail.com>
To: "the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 10:02 PM
Subject: [nagdu] An altercation on the bus yesterday


>I just had to tell you all about what happened on the bus here in Rockford 
>yesterday.
> A guy I knew with a guide dog got on the bus.  There were two wheelchairs 
> on the bus as well, so he had to walk in between them.  One of the people 
> in a wheelchair told the guy that he needed to get that dog off the bus 
> because she had allergies.  the guy told her that his dog was a guide dog 
> and continued to walk by her.  I was sitting behind her and could feel my 
> temper rising as she continued to argue with him.
>
> He continued to argue with her too and the bus driver had to tell them 
> both to quiet down and drop it.
>
> It took all I could to do not blurt out that the dog had as much right on 
> the bus as her wheelchair did, but I kept my mouth shut because it 
> wouldn't have come out in a nice and respectful tone of voice.  I kind of 
> felt like pot, meet kettle, if you know what I mean, as her wheelchair 
> took up so much space on the bus.  It angered me so much that someone with 
> a disability that caused her to use an aid that also causes inconvenience, 
> by taking up three regular seats on a bus, would make such a huge and loud 
> scene about someone else with a disability with a dog that he needed to 
> get around with.  You would think that both people would respect the 
> others needs and ways of travel and just get along.
>
> that's why I kept my mouth shut, I knew I wouldn't have handled it 
> properly.  I was beginning to feel a little militant and quite insulted 
> myself as having been a dog user.
>
> I told the gentleman to go ahead of me as we exited the bus however, 
> because I was going to make my statement known if she had said one more 
> word to him.  I had enough of that kind of attitude.
>
> Maybe I should've said something after all, but I felt my temper flaring 
> and knew that it would be in a militant and combative tone, so again, I 
> kept my mouth shut.  Making sure however, that she said nothing to him as 
> he passed her to exit the bus.  It would have been a mistake on her part 
> to utter one more word on the subject at that time, cause I was about to 
> let if fly.
>
> Anyway, just thought I'd relay the experience.  In my opinion, that dog 
> was no different than that chair.  Plain and simple.
>
> Jenny
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