[stylist] disability law advice

Thu Nov 25 01:24:03 UTC 2010

Donna, Agreed.  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 7:32 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] disability law advice


> Anita,
> I think there's a little line where I may disagree here. The important 
> thing to me is not to limit those who aren't skilled or to force them to 
> get training they don't want, but that the bus company policy should be 
> clear that it is the wishes of the person as an individual not a policy 
> that is imposed unilaterally.
> Let us know how it works out. I'm sure that it is just this kind of 
> interaction and your response to it that makes the difference in 
> grassroots advancements.
>
> Donna
>
> Read Donna's articles on
> Suite 101:
> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
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>
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>
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>
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>
>
> On 11/24/2010 6:16 PM, Anita Adkins wrote:
>> Sounds as if you and I agree.  I am glad I asked the question because you 
>> told me what I had mentally thought to do in the first place.  As someone 
>> who is interested in the field of blindness and in teaching about 
>> blindness, I do want to see what the bus company believes and why they 
>> believe it. Maybe, the bus company has a policy this driver had been 
>> instructed to folow, and he simply believed it to be law.  Either way, I 
>> need to find out what their policy says and educate them about blindness 
>> and why asking a sighted person to move for a blind person is 
>> unacceptable.  Also, I need to be persistent and to insist I be heard 
>> about what it means to be blind.  I agree that if there is such a law, it 
>> needs done away with.  Not being that knowledgeable about laws and how to 
>> learn if they exist, I wanted to bring it up to the list because if such 
>> a law did exist, someone on here would know it.  One thing that crosses 
>> my mind is that blind people who have not received training in 
>> alternative techniques may not be skillful enough to move or control 
>> balance as a result of the bus movement when walking back, and so their 
>> policy might be useful for this person.  But, in my mind, if a blind 
>> rider is not capable of successfully and independently riding the bus in 
>> a safe way, he or she should receive training on how to do so and he or 
>> she should not ride the bus unassisted if he or she is not confident 
>> enough to do so.  My point in reference to requiring a sighted person to 
>> move for a blind person is that blind people are thought of as helpless 
>> with such a procedure, and therefore, the procedure needs to be changed. 
>> Drivers need to be trained.  Also, it seems to me that if we ask someone 
>> to move just so we can sit there, we are saying to them that we are 
>> helpless, and this is why I would rather say thank you, but to move to a 
>> different seat further back.  I have no problem with sitting in the front 
>> seat as I generally prefer it; I do have a problem with someone thinking 
>> I should sit there because I am incapable.  Thanks for your response, and 
>> thanks in advance for all other responses.  Anita
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 5:03 PM
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] disability law advice
>>
>>
>>> Hi Anita,
>>> I've been traveling with a guide dog for 40 years, having lived in the 
>>> Philadelphia area for most of that time. I used public transportation a 
>>> lot, and your experience and question bring up many thoughts.
>>>
>>> First, I've never heard of such a law and will be outraged into action, 
>>> if I find it actually exists. The best I can come up with in trying to 
>>> make sense of it is that there might be something about asking someone 
>>> to move if a person has a disability which would make navigating further 
>>> back in the bus particularly difficult. If there is, he could have 
>>> placed his own assumptions upon it and come up with his current beliefs 
>>> that this is necessary for all blind people.
>>>
>>> When I was using the commuter railroads, I often encountered conductors 
>>> who wanted me to sit in the first seat in a given car. I refused. My dog 
>>> was trained to find me an empty seat and I was not about to allow 
>>> someone to tell me where to sit. Additionally, the first seat had less 
>>> floor space for the dog (heat vent, if I recall).
>>>
>>> On the other hand, I had a friend who used a cane and who later became a 
>>> lawyer. I found out one day that she had allowed someone to escort her 
>>> off a bus several blocks before she had intended to get off. She said it 
>>> happened a lot, but she just couldn't get her point across without being 
>>> rude.
>>>
>>> Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to be on the abraisive side. I 
>>> understand the importance of courtesy, but it's a two-way street. I 
>>> often had problems with people grabbing my arm to help me across the 
>>> street. I stood my ground and had an evasive maneuver to get them off 
>>> me. I also insisted on waiting for the next light so my dog could truly 
>>> do his job. Grabbing a person who can't see you and hasn't had the 
>>> benefit of hearing your voice and the courtesy of being asked if they 
>>> want help seems like the height of rudeness and stupidity. How am I 
>>> supposed to know in that instant if the person is seeking me harm. If 
>>> someone was, I wouldn't have but a split second to extract myself from 
>>> the situation.
>>>
>>> I think we all have to make up our own minds about how to handle these 
>>> situations. For your current question, though, I would contact the bus 
>>> company and get the contact info for the highest up person there and 
>>> write about what happened to you, suggesting that drivers may need a bit 
>>> of a refresher course on dealing with people with disabilities. Again, 
>>> if there is a law or something, we need to speak out about it. Black 
>>> people were forced to the back of the bus, and blind people to the 
>>> front. I don't see the difference. In both cases we are asked to accept 
>>> less freedom and inclusion than the general society.
>>> Best,
>>> Donna Hill
>>>
>>>
>>> Read Donna's articles on
>>> Suite 101:
>>> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
>>> Ezine Articles:
>>> http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
>>> American Chronicle:
>>> www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>>>
>>> Connect with Donna on
>>> Twitter:
>>> www.twitter.com/dewhill
>>> LinkedIn:
>>> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
>>> FaceBook:
>>> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>>>
>>> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
>>> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>>> Apple I-Tunes
>>> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
>>>
>>> Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
>>> Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
>>> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
>>> www.padnfb.org
>>>
>>>
>>> On 11/24/2010 4:01 PM, Anita Adkins wrote:
>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>
>>>> I am hoping it is okay for me to ask this on this particular list.  It 
>>>> is a writing list, and I prefer to write down my more serious thoughts 
>>>> at times.  I didn't know which list would be appropriate for it, and so 
>>>> please forgive me if this is not the appropriate way to ask about this.
>>>>
>>>> Today, I took the bus to and from another town in my area.  On the way 
>>>> home, I caught the Grene line.  Using my cane, I identified an 
>>>> individual in seat 1 behind the driver.  My other favorite choice is 
>>>> the first seat on the left, but this was also taken.  After this, I 
>>>> just remain on this side and check each seat until an empty one 
>>>> presents itself.  In this case, it was the very next seat, and so I sat 
>>>> down and buckled up.  As I was doing this, the bus driver proceeded to 
>>>> tell the lady who was sitting behind him that it was the law that she 
>>>> move and allow a blind person to have that seat.  Stubborn me 
>>>> immediately spoke up and said that was discriminating against the 
>>>> blind.  It is also probably discriminating against this lady who had 
>>>> every right to sit where she was sitting. Having a sighted person move 
>>>> so a blind person could sit in the front seat is also offensive to the 
>>>> blind because it suggests they are helpless, which is not true.  I 
>>>> tried to tell the driver how this w
>>>>   as discrimination, but he kept speaking about how it was the law and 
>>>> how it would be so dangerous if a blind person was moving back on the 
>>>> bus, and he had to slam on his brakes.  I let him have the last word 
>>>> because having the last word isn't always my goal.  Now, my sollution 
>>>> to this situation is to first identify is such a law does exist.  I 
>>>> think he said it was a federal law, but he may have said public law.  I 
>>>> googled a touch, but one of my weaknesses is dealing with laws and all 
>>>> that, and so I could not find anything.  The rest of my sollution is 
>>>> for us blind to purposefully choose to sit farther back on the bus if 
>>>> the seats in front are taken.  By farther back, I mean in the first 
>>>> available seat we happen to come to.  Also, I believe that training for 
>>>> bus drivers about blindness and somehow building their confidence in 
>>>> the blind is in order. I am not angry with this particular driver 
>>>> because I realize he holds negative views of blindness as a result of 
>>>> the lesson taug
>>>>   ht to him by society.  He was not purposefully discriminating against 
>>>> me, and he certainly wasn't intending to offend me and other blind 
>>>> people.  However, I feel he and other bus drivers need enlightened to 
>>>> our capabilities.  My question for you is:
>>>> What should be done about this?
>>>> One answer is nothing.
>>>> Another answer is just to move back and take up a different seat, 
>>>> refusing to sit in front even if the person does move.  In addition, 
>>>> one would simply say thank you to the person.
>>>> Another sollution would be to train bus drivers about blindness.
>>>> Another answer might to do what I just said, but to include blindness 
>>>> training shades to develop confidence.
>>>> IIn my opinion, the real answer, whether it be dealing with school 
>>>> teachers who will be likely to work with blind children, or public 
>>>> employees who will deal with blind customers, is to train them so that 
>>>> they develop confidence in the blind.  However, I am afraid this real 
>>>> sollution is impossible due to finances and for other reasons.  I think 
>>>> we are changing what it means to be blind over time, and I am hoepful 
>>>> that this attitude of blind people being helpless will decline and 
>>>> disappear in the future.
>>>> Finally, the final sollution might be to make sure there is not a 
>>>> federal or public law stating that sighted passengers must move for a 
>>>> blind passenger.  And, if there is, then this law needs to be 
>>>> eliminated.  How do we do this?  I am extremely inexperienced in this 
>>>> area.  Please share your thoughts and/or expertise on any of this. 
>>>> Maybe, I am overreacting to this situation, and I need to know that as 
>>>> well.  Also, there may be other sollutions that I have not thought of, 
>>>> which is why it is wonderful to have others to listen to my concerns. 
>>>> Thanks.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Anita
>>>> Remember, Jesus Loves You.
>>>> Anita Adkins
>>>> 81 E. Mechanic ST
>>>> APT 207
>>>> Frostburg, MD 21532
>>>> p: 301-689-5212
>>>> c: 301-876-8669
>>>> aadkins7 at verizon.net
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>>
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