[NAGDU] American Airlines and My Blind Spot join forces....

Wed May 16 14:49:24 UTC 2018

The text was on the message body. But for some reson, your response had a
quoted message with no text. For some reasong you did not get it. Here I
copy it for you:

I get my emails in digest form so going to respond en-masse to come of the
feedback my post generated:

  1.  David, this is not a training video, it is an announcement about why
American is doing something about the abuses perpetrated by people trying to
pass off their pets as service animals.
  2.  Aleeha, thank you for stating the obvious. The video is meant to serve
as a brief mention of changes happening within the company and why. It is
not a training video at all. Only training
  3.  The piece serves as an internal PSA off sorts, and is being shared via
social media, so it is a PSA for public consumption as well.
  4.  Marion, in no way did I promulgate dependency on anything but our
choices in mobility aids. A cane is something we are "dependent" on just as
I and others are on our guides. A simple good job, great step in the right
direction would have sufficed sir. You may not see this as a good thing, but
many others do. Thank you for what you do, but I feel good about all that
was accomplished at American through open dialogue and a respect for the
multitude of people using a service animal for any number of legitimate and
legally protected reasons, and the NFB is not the only voice in the world
and to think so is not realistic or anything I subscribe to personally or
professionally.
  5.  Ricky, thank you, thank you, thank you. Marion's statement totally
confused me as well. Dependency and reliance is not a bad thing and does not
minimize our independence, especially when we are exercising our
independence by choosing the mobility supports of our liking.
  6.  Marion, semantics my friend. You would no sooner leave the house your
mobility tool, cane or dog, then you would without a pair of shoes or pants.
So, you say one thing and we are saying another. Either way we use them to
get around, and I for one, have no problem appreciating the reliance and
inter dependency I and my guide have with one another. This is why the NFB,
at times, can be such a bitter pill to swallow.
  7.  Michael, Ricky did not ask nor need your help. Again, you are
splitting hairs. Were you dependent on your guide dog that day you walked
out of the Twin Towers on 9/11 or were you independently devoid of the dog
that day? Why are we splitting hairs over a word that absolutely serves the
discussion well? I agree that most people hold low expectations for the
community, and the disability community in general, but how has what you've
been doing working for you? have you succeeded at correcting these
misperceptions and antiquated perspectives on our ability? I am guessing not
as much as you would have liked since you are saying the same thing
repeatedly about the lack of appreciation people have about our ability.
Maybe we need to change the narrative a bit just to try and nurture the
results we desire.
  8.
And the only thing that seems to be too bad, is that Marion and NAGDU or
GDUI, organizations that should have been on top of this years ago, were not
at the table. Had they been there, I am sure the video would have been
hailed a success worthy of an Oscar or something. At least I can say, in the
short 10 years My Blind Spot has been advocating for authentic inclusion and
respect for our community we have managed very well. We have made 30 year
old software programs accessible and usable, we have worked with global
giants to ensure Ability is celebrated alongside Race, Gender, Orientation
and Religion in both our social and corporate cultures. The NFB and the ACB
do not have the exclusive on any of this. so instead of stomping on such
things, why not reach out to those of us being the change we want to see in
the world to find ways to collaborate instead of negate and minimize our
efforts.

I, personally and professionally, feel we made great advancements with
American Airlines and will continue to do what we are doing in this
partnership because the proof is in the outcomes, and the outcomes have been
impressive. Peace and to be continued, and keep on fighting the good fight
one and all, even when our peers question what we do.

Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
My Blind Spot, Inc
Founder and CEO

NYC Office
90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
New York, New York  10004
Tel: 212.363.0330

Long Island Office
175 West Main Street
Babylon, N.Y.  11702
office: 631.620.3483
fax: 631.620.3481

e-mail: Albert at MyBlindSpot.org<mailto:Albert at MyBlindSpot.org>
website: MyBlindSpot.org<http://www.myblindspot.org/>
C: 917.553.0347
P: 212.363.0330
Certified Professionals in Accessibility

The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it. - Ancient Chinese Proverb We need to make every single thing
accessible to every single person with a disability. - Stevie Wonder
| Like us on 
| Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Blind-Spot/179273234423> | 
| Follow us on Twitter<https://twitter.com/MyBlindSpotOrg>  | Connect 
| with us on 
| LinkedIn<http://www.linkedin.com/pub/albert-j-rizzi/13/142/0> |
[Access=Ability infinite possibilities logo.jpg]  My Blind Spot is a 501 (c)
3 tax exempt organization

-----Mensaje original-----
De: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> En nombre de Julie Johnson via NAGDU
Enviado el: miércoles, 16 de mayo de 2018 11:42
Para: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
CC: Julie Johnson <julielj at neb.rr.com>
Asunto: Re: [NAGDU] American Airlines and My Blind Spot join forces....

I am not able to read Albert's messages.  When checking for attachments, all
I see is a button to view a slide show.  I am interested in this topic and
would like to read all the messages.  Any ideas why the message content is
not appearing?

Julie
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
<https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=19
16046>
-----Original Message-----
From: Albert Rizzi via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2018 8:12 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Albert Rizzi
Subject: [NAGDU] American Airlines and My Blind Spot join forces....

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