[nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Fri Oct 22 01:16:19 UTC 2010


Except, what if the flight attendant isn't wearing any glasses?
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY



On Oct 21, 2010, at 9:12 PM, Judy Jones wrote:

> That could possibly be.  However, I have a comeback my husband has thought of.  I'll give up your cane if you hand me your glasses first.
> 
> Judy
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "qubit" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:26 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
> 
> 
> I have a question: Could it be that  the blind persons this happened to were
> not assertive enough to point out their rights and the regulations for
> storing white canes on board?
> I ask this because when I was in school there were about 30 blind students
> at the university I attended, and I encountered more than 1 blind student
> who flunked tests or took a zero rather than ask for the accomodations they
> needed.  I myself was a kind of over-the-top assertive individual and I know
> that I never would have completed my degree if I had been timid.  That
> doesn't mean yelling and threatening, it just means describing how you
> function and the accomodations you need.  I almost never ran into a problem,
> but I had to meet them halfway.
> Anyway, it's just a thought.
> --le
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joshua Lester" <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 10:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
> 
> 
> When I attended the Lions World Services For the Blind, in Little Rock
> AR, a gentleman told me that as he was flying from Illinois, the
> airline did the same thing. He's totally blind. This is pathetic! He
> has Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, (like myself.) This shouldn't have
> happened.
> 
> On 10/21/10, David Evans <drevans at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Dear All,
>> 
>> I have had airline people try to take my cane before and I tell them that
>> it
>> is not a weapon, but a tool that lets me travel and FAA regulations
>> specfically say that I do not have to give it up, but I do need to secure
>> it
>> for take off and landings.  I secure it either in the pocket on the back
>> of
>> the seat in front of me or the overhead bin or clipping it to some secure
>> part of my seat where it can not go flying off in a crash.
>> I have never given up my cane and if they want to call their supervisor or
>> security, let them and I will talk to them and then call my lawyer and
>> file
>> suit.  That is usually enough to send them away.  I always make sure I get
>> their name first to tell my lawyer.
>> 
>> David Evans, NFBf  and GD Jack.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Michael Hingson" <info at michaelhingson.com>
>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 12:11 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
>> 
>> 
>> Since the cane must go through Security before he boarded the aircraft
>> security is not an issue.
>> 
>> 
>> The Michael Hingson Group, INC.
>> "Speaking with Vision"
>> Michael Hingson, President
>> (415) 827-4084
>> info at michaelhingson.com
>> www.michaelhingson.com
>> 
>> 
>> for info on the new KNFB Reader Mobile, visit:
>> http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Judy Jones
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 8:49 PM
>> To: qubit; NFB Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
>> 
>> I agree, and not knowing if there are any other secondary disabilities.
>> 
>> Judy
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "qubit" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 8:34 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
>> 
>> 
>> I am wondering if there is some security issue with carrying a white cane,
>> that might look like it contains a concealed weapon -- or is a weapon.
>> That
>> is the only reason I would pardon the flight attendants for trying to
>> confiscate it.  As for the wheelchair, I think this person should have
>> objected to that as much as the white cane -- if he was wheeled onto the
>> plane in one of those chairs, he not only might be confused as being
>> sighted, but also as being nonambulatory.  There are those of us who
>> indeed
>> do need a wheelchair.  I think I would not like the ambulatory crowd using
>> a
>> finite supply of airline transport chairs.
>> Just a thought.
>> --le
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Judy Jones" <jtj1 at cableone.net>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 9:14 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
>> 
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> In reading this story, I wonder about this gentleman's skills and adapting
>> to blindness; nevertheless, he should not be discriminated against.  I do
>> believe though, that when you look and act independent and know what
>> you're
>> doing, people are going to, more or less, assume you do.  When you have
>> control over your actions, some control of the environment, or at least
>> gather the info to give you life control wherever you are, people will be
>> less likely to feel put-upon.  I've always told my daughters, when
>> possible,
>> to "take control of your environment."  That means some planning, some
>> thinking ahead of what you might need or questions you need to ask, or how
>> you want to react or respond.
>> 
>> Judy
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 8:17 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Man Asked To Give Up Cane On AA Flight
>> 
>> 
>> Why am I not surprised that it was American?
>> 
>> It's the '80's all over again.
>> 
>> Apparently, someone isn't familiar with the Air Carrier Access Act.
>> There's
>> no reason he should have given up his cane, none at all. This makes me
>> angry. If we hear the "safety concern" thing one more time. ...
>> --
>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Oct 20, 2010, at 9:55 AM, John Heim wrote:
>> 
>>> http://kdka.com/local/blind.man.flight.2.1971310.html
>>> A blind man was told if he tried to use his cane he'd be removed from a
>>> flight and arrested and now he's asking for an apology.
>>> 
>>> Bill Diamond is legally blind and sees nothing from his left eye and
>>> shadows from his right eye. He lost his sight 15 years ago due to
>>> diabetes.
>>> 
>>> He's a Navy veteran and spent 13 years in the service. It was on a recent
>>> trip to a special veterans school in Chicago to learn how to use a
>>> talking
>>> computer where he ran into real trouble on an American Airlines flight.
>>> 
>>> "American Airlines just wants customers who can see - it's not going to
>>> be
>>> a burden to them," he said. "Anybody with a disability is going to be a
>>> burden to American Airlines."
>>> 
>>> Diamond caught his flight to Chicago out of Pittsburgh. He was brought to
>>> the plane in a wheelchair. He got on board using his cane and was told he
>>> had to give it up even though it was folded up.
>>> 
>>> "I says, 'I need my cane.'
>>> 
>>> "She goes, 'Sir, if you refuse to give up your cane, I will have no
>>> alternative but to call security,'" Diamond recalled.
>>> 
>>> Faced with possible arrest, Diamond gave up the cane, sat on a nearly
>>> two-hour flight unable to get up and move around even though he needed to
>>> use the bathroom.
>>> 
>>> "The stewardess acted like, 'Oh no, not another disabled person on my
>>> flight,'" he said.
>>> 
>>> On his way back from Chicago, Diamond flew United. They had no problem
>>> with his cane. He used it to get to the men's room. He says it gave him
>>> his dignity back and his freedom.
>>> 
>>> "That's my independence, that's my mode of travel, that's how I learned
>>> to
>>> travel being visually impaired," Diamond said. "They're taking something
>>> from me that I've learned to use."
>>> 
>>> KDKA's Marty Griffin spoke with American Airlines Monday. They said they
>>> were investigating the matter and offered no further comment.
>>> 
>>> Griffin could find no evidence indicating the use of a folding cane on a
>>> flight is determined to be against the policy of any airline.
>>> 
>>> (© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
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>> 
>> 
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