[Ohio-talk] Deborah Kendrick Column Please read

Wed Oct 7 14:26:04 UTC 2015

Deborah and all, Paul thinks we should pull out our phones and begin
video recording it.  I think this could be a great idea.

Deborah, you are welcome to use it.

On 10/7/15, Deborah Kendrick via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Marianne,
> This is so funny that I just might have to quote your idea in a future
> column!  Make everybody take a white cane, oh yeah!  Brilliant!
> Actually, I have noticed a distinct difference between airlines and have
> done a little informal digging, which is why the reference in the column to
> some getting it right and others not.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> barbara.pierce9366--- via Ohio-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2015 8:18 AM
> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
> Cc: barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Deborah Kendrick Column Please read
>
> Maybe we should demand oxygen and a gurney as well. We might as well make as
> big a splash as possible.
> Barbara
> Barbara Pierce
> President Emerita
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
> 440-774-8077
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
> blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>> On Oct 6, 2015, at 4:25 PM, Marianne Denning via Ohio-talk
>> <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> I have done just a little research and it seems like rules are
>> different from airline to airline and maybe even from air port to air
>> port.  That makes it impossible for us to know what to expect as we
>> travel. When should we stand up and refuse the wheelchair and when
>> should we just let it go? I think the next time I will not only demand
>> a wheelchair but also a communication device because I obviously can't
>> hear and maybe an interpreter because I can't speak English either.  I
>> think all people in wheelchairs should have to use a white cane too.
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 6, 2015 at 4:16 PM, Debra Baker via Ohio-talk <
>> ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>>> I wouldn't be surprised at all if that were their thinking.  Injury
>>> or not, as a result of the escort's help.  They're seeming to run
>>> scared of being fired; thus, liability.
>>>
>>> Debbie Baker
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>> Marianne Denning via Ohio-talk
>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 3:52 PM
>>> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
>>> Cc: Marianne Denning
>>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Deborah Kendrick Column Please read
>>>
>>> I wonder if they insist that we ride in a wheelchair because of
>>> liability if their escort injures us in any way?  It is crazy but just a
>>> thought.
>>>
>>> On 10/6/15, Deborah Kendrick via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> Cheryl,
>>>> If you could locate that block of text, I would be inclined to send
>>>> it to the offending airline along with my column.
>>>> I didn't name them because I was already over allotted length and to
>>>> name the bad guy would have led to naming the goodguys, too, and
>>>> there just wasn't room.  But it has occurred to me that I should
>>>> figure out how to get this info to the folks who might do something
>>>> about it.
>>>> And Marianne, do please tell us the Philadelphia story!  Reading
>>>> your last comment has me on the edge of my proverbial seat!
>>>>
>>>> Deborah
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>>> Cheryl Fischer via Ohio-talk
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 3:09 PM
>>>> To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
>>>> Cc: Cheryl Fischer
>>>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Deborah Kendrick Column Please read
>>>>
>>>> What about the line(s) in the ADA that say that a person with a
>>>> disability should have say in what accommodation they receive, if
>>>> any, and that no accommodation that the person with the disability
>>>> says is inappropriate for them may be forced upon them?  I wonder if
>>>> a page or so of the ADA with this part highlighted might help, if
>>>> not at the moment we are treated wrongly, then afterward if we make
>>>> a public issue of the incident and/or the ongoing problem.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>>> Marianne Denning via Ohio-talk
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 12:14 PM
>>>> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
>>>> Cc: Marianne Denning
>>>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Deborah Kendrick Column Please read
>>>>
>>>> You are so right about that Barbara.  I don't think the Philadelphia
>>>> airport will ever let me back in again because of the reputation I
>>>> earned on my last trip through there.  (smile)
>>>>
>>>> On 10/6/15, barbara.pierce9366--- via Ohio-talk
>>>> <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> This is a home run. I love the way you capture the exhaustion and
>>>>> desperation. These things never seem to happen when we are fresh
>>>>> and patient.
>>>>>
>>>>> Barbara
>>>>> Barbara Pierce
>>>>> President Emerita
>>>>> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>>>>> Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
>>>>> 440-774-8077
>>>>> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not
>>>>> the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we
>>>>> raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations
>>>>> create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live
>>>>> the life you zwant; blindness is not what holds you back.
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Oct 5, 2015, at 10:26 PM, Marianne Denning via Ohio-talk
>>>>>> <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This is excellent and so true.  Next step, what can we do about this?
>>>>>> I have had the same thing happen on many occasions.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 10/5/15, Eric Duffy via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>>> This is a good read. The problem Deborah describes continues to
>>>>>>> be a problem for many of us. Spread the word. Let people know
>>>>>>> that Deborah’s experience
>>>>>>> is not an    isolated incident. .
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Eric
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Deborah Kendrick commentary: Airports can mean humiliation for
>>>>>>> some travelers. A recent midnight flight from San Francisco to
>>>>>>> Cincinnati held the elements all blind travelers dread most: The
>>>>>>> moment when one disability is mistaken for another, and
>>>>>>> deep-rooted misconceptions engender humiliation. When the last
>>>>>>> plane landed, I'd been traveling for 13 hours.
>>>>>>> It
>>>>>>> was 11:00 a.m., and I was exhausted. Here is the scenario. My
>>>>>>> ride home is in the cell phone lot. I ask the gate agent if
>>>>>>> someone can walk with me.
>>>>>>> This is a simple enough request and one I have made hundreds of
>>>>>>> times in dozens of airports. I am a blind person carrying a long
>>>>>>> white cane. My request is for someone to walk with me who knows
>>>>>>> the way. The gate agent is smart, courteous, eager to assist. She
>>>>>>> makes the call. ... And another.
>>>>>>> ...
>>>>>>> And another. When five minutes has gone by, I am impatient. At
>>>>>>> ten, I am agitated. At twenty, with a red-eye flight behind me
>>>>>>> and the knowledge that my ride home is just a few minutes' walk
>>>>>>> away, I am close to meltdown. I hear the agent say into the
>>>>>>> phone, "No, she doesn't need a wheelchair.
>>>>>>> Just
>>>>>>> needs someone to walk with her. At 25 minutes, the somewhat
>>>>>>> embarrassed gate agent comes over where I am leaning on the wall,
>>>>>>> trying not to cry, wishing I weren't so tired and could just
>>>>>>> start walking, exploring, figuring it out.
>>>>>>> "The problem," she informs me, "is that they won't come unless
>>>>>>> you will sit in the wheelchair. She is apologetic, sees the folly
>>>>>>> of this supposed "rule". But I am ready to disassemble with
>>>>>>> fatigue and humiliation and thus I acquiesce. The young woman who
>>>>>>> comes with the wheelchair tells me that if I don't sit in it, she
>>>>>>> will be
>>> fired.
>>>>>>> She will either leave me here or I will ride. I sit down. For the
>>>>>>> half-mile distance from gate to exit, I pray no one sees me who
>>>>>>> knows me. Don't get me wrong. There is no shame in using a
>>>>>>> wheelchair. For my friends who use them with purpose, the
>>>>>>> wheelchair is a tool of freedom and flight and euphoria. No, for
>>>>>>> me, the shame was rooted in the fear that others would think me a
>>>>>>> shirker, a faker, a jerk able to walk who commandeered some
>>>>>>> deserving passenger's wheelchair. The subtext here, the message
>>>>>>> conveyed, is
>>>>>>> this: Because I happen to be blind, I am not worthy of the same
>>>>>>> respect as any other paying passenger. If I need assistance, I
>>>>>>> will shut up, sit down, be addressed like a child (or piece of
>>>>>>> furniture), and be grateful. This, regrettably, is not an
>>>>>>> isolated incident. I have scores of stories from others - blind
>>>>>>> lawyers, athletes, and CEO's -- recounting similar nightmares.
>>>>>>> Kaiti Shelton, a University of Dayton music therapy major,
>>>>>>> returned from a college abroad trip in June. The emotional high
>>>>>>> sparked by success in another country, the joy of having been
>>>>>>> treated as an equal by the residents there and her fellow college
>>>>>>> students, plummeted quickly in an American airport. She, too, was
>>>>>>> given the ultimatum "no wheelchair, no assistance. Eric Duffy of
>>>>>>> Columbus, president of the National Federation of the Blind of
>>>>>>> Ohio, says the wheelchair argument has happened more times than
>>>>>>> he can count. "I can be coming back from a powerfully positive
>>>>>>> experience, meeting with members of Congress on Capitol Hill or
>>>>>>> participating in negotiations with other leaders, and then the
>>>>>>> [emotional] balance shifts at the airport. The disrespect leaves
>>>>>>> me feeling insulted and angry. The only consistency in flying, if
>>>>>>> you happen to be blind,
>>> is inconsistency.
>>>>>>> Sometimes, the curb to curb process is rich with encounters of
>>>>>>> mutual respect, jumpstarting your business trip or vacation with
>>>>>>> a general love of humankind. Another time, the misconceptions
>>>>>>> held by airport workers result in degradation. You are grabbed,
>>>>>>> pulled, talked about in the third person, and given inappropriate
>>>>>>> "assistance". One TSA worker might allow you to move through the
>>>>>>> line without any particular notice, while another wants to hold
>>>>>>> your hands and talk to you in the sing-song tones reserved for
>>>>>>> preschoolers. One flight attendant might order you into the
>>>>>>> bulkhead row while another just as quickly orders you out of it.
>>>>>>> One day you might ask for someone to walk to the gate with you
>>>>>>> and the employee who arrives is so engaging that you have
>>>>>>> exchanged life stories by the time you arrive. And another day,
>>>>>>> the request results in a stripping of dignity.
>>>>>>> Disability awareness varies widely from one airline/airport to
>>> another.
>>>>>>> Not
>>>>>>> surprisingly, that difference seems to be in direct correlation
>>>>>>> to the source of training for employees. If you want to know how
>>>>>>> best to treat people with disabilities, ask them. And then listen
>>>>>>> to what they say.
>>>>>>> Deborah Kendrick is a Cincinnati writer and advocate for people
>>>>>>> with disabilities. .
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>> e
>>>>>>> nningweb.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>>>>>> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>>>>>> (513) 607-6053
>>>>>>
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>>>>>> rc
>>>>>> e
>>>>>> 9366%40gmail.com
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>>>> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>>>> (513) 607-6053
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>>> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>>> (513) 607-6053
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>> (513) 607-6053
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>
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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053