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

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Thu May 17 05:18:59 UTC 2018


To add to what Marion says here, as I’m so fond of saying (C’mon, all the Buddy Brannan fans, OK, both of the Buddy Brannan fans, say it with me), words mean things. I think it’s fair to say that what Marion says, Marion means. It’s equally fair to say that what Albert says, Albert means. 

While it’s true that all of us are dependent on something, and all of us use, and are somewhat dependent on, all manner of technology and tools that humanity has invented, or domesticated, to do all manner of things,  it’s equally true that that dependence isn’t measured in the same way by all people. 

OK, let’s take an apples to apples comparison. Umm…well…maybe not exactly apples to apples. 

Fred is doing something. Fred drops his glasses. Fred then steps on his glasses, bending their frames out of any sort of recognizable shape and grinding the lenses to a fine powder (because he’s wearing big heavy boots). Fred cusses a blue streak, and says:

“I can’t see a damned thing without my glasses.” 

So. Is Fred dependent on his glasses? Well, yeah, he probably is. He’ll probably have to ask his pal George for a ride to the optician’s, you know, one of those “we can make your glasses in an hour” places or something and get some new ones. His glasses are a tool. Yet, so is his pal George…except that sounds totally wrong, given the popular slang of the day. Not like that. George is a perfectly nice guy and didn’t mind taking Fred to get new glasses. 

But what did George think of this? Likely he thought, “Aw, man, bad luck. Dude. Sucks to be you, let’s get those replaced and you’ll be good as new.” 

I’m fairly sure in such a scenario that Fred would never say, or even suggest, that his mobility is impaired to such a great degree that he would call himself totally dependent on his glasses. Oh sure, he’s damnably inconvenienced, but it’s an easy enough problem to fix.

But what effect does this have on others? Yep. Sucks to be Fred, ouch that hurts, he’ll be all right in no time…he’s still the same guy as ever. It’s a pretty lousy inconvenience though, right?

But let’s say that Fred had to retire his guide dog instead. Hey, we’ve all done it. Our reactions may vary quite a lot. Some of us really have a hard time, and others of us pick up and go on until they get a class date. Most of us fall somewhere in between. But what’s the general public’s reaction? When do you get another one? How will you manage? And all of those people who pretty much left you alone to navigate (we’ll put aside the public interference, talking to/distracting your dog, etc. for the moment) crawl out of the woodwork to, like a trade-in on a used car, push, pull, or drag you to wherever it is they think you’re going. Because you’re dependent on your dog, and that dependence runs deep. After all, he’s the brains of the operation, isn’t he? You and I know that the relationship we have with our guides is more nuanced than that, it’s an interdependence, it’s a partnership, and it’s one with very well-defined roles. Even so, it isn’t seen in any ways similar to the role that any other sort of technology or tool use is seen by the rest of society. It simply isn’t. So the way we frame that relationship is really important. Sure, we depend on our guides. They depend on us. But that isn’t the connotation that people will generally get from a statement like “I am dependent on my guide dog”. So I think that really, Marion has the right end of this thing. 

—Buddy

> On May 16, 2018, at 12:22 PM, NAGDU President via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> David,
> 
> 	I appreciate your reasoned response and support. All too often
> individuals with their own agenda and personal perspective attempt to assert
> their individual opinions as speaking for a group when no group has given
> them authority to do so and they have no accountability to any group. Mr.
> Rizzi will never lose his position with Blind Spot because he has appointed
> himself the CEO. Though Mr. Rizzi, like so many others who disagree with our
> collective, coordinated, effective methods for change questions what NAGDU
> and the NFB are doing, asserting we are not doing anything or enough. This
> arbitrary inference is disputed by the fact that we have been advocating for
> the blind to the airline industry to treat us with dignity and respect since
> the 1970s. Most recently we have been actively sitting at the table of the
> process of negotiated regulations with the DOT, the airline industry, and
> other disabled stakeholders. I have personally discussed proposed policies
> with United, Southwest, Alaska, and, of course, Delta Airlines. On May 7,
> the National Federation of the Blind met with the Office of Information and
> Regulatory Affairs to offer input and suggestions on the interim regulations
> concerning service animals and emotional support animals that will be
> released soon. 
> 
> 	Mr. Rizzi's assertion that the NFB and NAGDU are not at the table
> are arbitrary inferences; they have no foundation in fact but only serve to
> enhance his importance by attempting to diminish another's. Mr. Rizzi may
> say that it is only a matter of semantics. This sort of minimization is the
> type of irrational thinking that compromises our work to raise the
> expectations of blind people and the community. Mr. Rizzi asks, "have you
> succeeded at correcting these misperceptions and antiquated perspectives on
> our ability?" My answer is that we have come a long way in doing so. At the
> same time, though, we bump up against those who would play upon those low
> expectations by stating we are dependent upon our guide dogs and then, when
> we object to this assertion,  state it is only a matter of semantics. Mr.
> Rizzi is absolutely wrong! Semantics refers to the meaning of a word and
> dependency does not describe the healthy relationship most of us have with
> our guide dogs. 
> 
> 	Mr. Rizzi will criticize the NFB and NAGDU and feels so comfortable
> using our resources to do so. Mr. Rizzi can say what he wants about us but
> we know who we are and his opinion will not change that! The National
> Federation of the blind is the leader in the affairs of the blind in the
> United States and the National Association of Guide Dog Users is the leader
> in issues of guide and service animal advocacy and policy.
> 
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
> National Federation of the Blind
> (813) 626-2789
> President at NAGDU.ORG
> Visit our website
> Follow us on Twitter
> 
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
> expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people
> and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
> you back.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David via NAGDU
> Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2018 11:06 AM
> To: Albert Rizzi via NAGDU
> Cc: David
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] American Airlines and My Blind Spot join forces....
> 
> Well, Albert, the clip clearly states at the beginning that the series 
> is being done for American Airlines team members.  If they use it for 
> other purposes, so much the worse.  It is a very confusing mishmash of 
> information that, in my opinion, does not further the message you claim 
> it does.
> 
> I agree with Marion that it is not helpful to claim to speak for 
> communities to which you are not held to account, except by being a 
> peripheral member. As individual members of these communities, we have 
> every right to express out opinions, and many of us do, without claiming 
> to represent them.
> 
> The USDOT is responsible in large part for the lack of clarity in the 
> ESA/Service Animal issue.  Their materials identify ESAs as service 
> animals (albeit a different kind of service animal) in their 
> informational tri-fold and on their site.  In my opinion, only 
> representative organizations can effectively confront government and 
> large corporations.
> 
> I take exception to those respond to these important issues with vitriol 
> and their own personal agendas.
> 
> 'Nuff said.
> 
> *David in Clearwater, FL*
> *david at bakerinet.com
> 
> *
> On 5/16/2018 9:12 AM, Albert Rizzi via NAGDU wrote:
>> 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.
> 
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