[NAGDU] My Thoughts on the NAGDU Seminar

[Charlene Ota]

I know fakers still get their documents on the internet or from
organizations that provide them documents based on some sort of so-called
training that they can show.  Those fakers still travel on the airlines, no
problem.  The problems have not been solved at all with the forms because
the fakers still get their faker ids and documents from services boldly
advertising their services on the internet.  I have a friend who has
traveled and taken her fake service dog wherever she wants to go and I have
spoken rather vehemently with her about how hard we as guide dog handlers
have worked so hard and so long for the right to have our dogs in public and
then she comes along with her dog and lets people pet and play with it, lets
it sit on furniture and in chairs in restaurants, etc. She claims she goes
to some service dog accrediting place near by.  Personally, I don't think
we've even begun to really deal with the issue and we've lots our rights as
guide dog users as a result.

At present, because of health reasons, I don't have a guide dog, but it
concerns me what sort of challenges I'll have to face if and when I am able
to get a dog again.

We have become second class citezens yet again!

I know we have resisted having some sort of identification, partly to
protect owner trained dogs, but sadly, maybe that might be part of a
solution so that we can push out the fakers!


I don't mean to be offensive, just am concerned and frustrated at what I see
happening to the rights of guide dog handlers.
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, July 2, 2023 10:16 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sherry Gomes <sherry.gomes at outlook.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] My Thoughts on the NAGDU Seminar

I feel exactly the way you do, Michael. Since when does the NFB not protest
when facing such blatant and long term discrimination. In the world of civil
rights, protest have won the day far more often than giving in to policies
that take away rights. And what the airlines expect service dog/guide dog
handlers to do in order to fly is demanding that a subgroup of a minority
group jump through hoops that no other person who wants to fly has to jump
through. Can't we do *something*? How about get other service dog handler
groups involved too? Or reach across the aisle and work with other orgs with
lots of guide dog handlers. How can we just take it that we are expected to
participate in processes that demean us and take away our rights? I'm so
frustrated.



-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Michael Forzano via
NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, July 2, 2023 7:56 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Michael Forzano <michaeldforzano at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] My Thoughts on the NAGDU Seminar

It was nice to see quite a bit of discussion about what are arguably the
biggest issues of discrimination facing guide dog users today, rideshare and
the airlines. Unfortunately, there was not a whole lot in the way of even
working towards solutions that truly eliminate these problems. What I heard
is that the best hope of changing the airline situation is a pilot program
in the FAA reauthorization Act that would create essentially TSA pre-check
for guide dogs. This would make things easier for frequent travelers, but
what about folks who don't travel often? What about folks who aren't good
with technology? And at the end of the day, it still leaves the door open
for discrimination at the airport. On rideshare, we are working with Uber on
a pilot program where riders can identify themselves as service animal users
before a ride and have reports automatically filed if they are denied.
Considering some of the drivers I've encountered, I would not be surprised
if drivers continue to deny us even if they're threatened by a message in
their app. And when they do, Uber has a terrible track record of handling
reports and taking action, as we all know. Even during the settlement period
when Uber was required to deactivate drivers in certain situations, they
rarely did.

It seems to me that the NAGDU board has taken the position that we now live
in a world where these discriminations are our reality. As was pointed out
by a NAGDU member, guide dog access was better 25 years ago and our rights
are being rolled back. But there is no realistic way to go back to "the good
old days".  We are so afraid of losing more, that we're not willing to
demand back the rights that the blind fought so hard for. While that's a
perfectly valid position for someone to take at an individual level, is that
the position we want the NFB, the voice of the nation's blind, to take?

Protesting was brought up multiple times during the seminar. The response
from our leaders was that they did not think it would be effective. The fact
is that we don't know if it will be unless we try. Protesting has helped
advance civil rights causes in the past, including those of the blind. In my
opinion, the NAGDU board should not be worrying about members traveling
across the country for a protest that turns out to be ineffective. Advocacy
takes work, and I'd like to think that people signing up for a protest are
well aware that it probably won't yield immediate results. As was pointed
out, we would not have the ADA if disabled advocates hadn't crawled up the
steps of the capitol. The NFB has protested on a number of issues as well.

 Particularly when it comes to Uber, I think a protest is long overdue.
We've sued them, settled with them, and tried to work with them for almost
10 years. It is long past time to change our strategy, and yet we're too
afraid because of their PR resources.

Another argument that I heard was that we would be unable to advance
legislation due to Republican control of Congress. My question is, do other
civil rights orgs put their advocacy on hold when the party that most
supports their cause isn't in power? The split in Congress is quite narrow
and I doart think it's that far fetched that we could convince some
Republicans on the importance of some of our legislation.

I am curious if other members have similar sentiments, and thoughts on what
actions we can take. I have thought about bringing a resolution to the
convention to make these issues a top priority for the NFB as a whole but I
assume it's too late this year. Open to ideas, and happy to help in any way
I can. That said, doing this work as an individual doesn't make a lot of
sense, we need to be aligned as an organization in order to make real
progress.

-Mike

Sent from my iPhone
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