[nagdu] An altercation on the bus yesterday

[Larry D. Keeler]

There is no offense.  They do take some room!  But, the woman was 
deffinetely out of line!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jenny Keller" <jlperdue3 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 10:39 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] An altercation on the bus yesterday


> Please don't take offense to what I said about wheelchairs.  I wasn't 
> trying to be disrespectful of people who use them.  I have friends who use 
> them, and that really wasn't the issue.
>
> My point only was that the chair, and the dog serve the same purpose.
>
> If I offended anyone, please except my sincerest apology.
>
> Jenny
> On Jun 6, 2012, at 9:20 PM, Larry D. Keeler wrote:
>
>> That one is certainly 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 accidentally 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
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nagdu mailing list
>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>> nagdu:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/lkeeler%40comcast.net
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jlperdue3%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/lkeeler%40comcast.net