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

Thu Oct 21 15:37:02 UTC 2010

On 21/10/2010, Nimer Jaber <nimerjaber1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> This all depends on the person. Just saying, if you need to get
> somewhere, you need to catch a connecting flight or something,
> sometimes the best thing to do is to get on the plane, pursue the
> issue at another time which this man is doing, and get to wherever
> he's going. It's unfortunate, but as he points out, they could have
> held up the plane and possibly removed him for not following the
> instructions of a flight attendant even though they were against the
> law.
>
> Thanks
>
> On 21/10/2010, qubit <lauraeaves at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> 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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>>>
>>>
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