[blindlaw] Text of a pending complaint

[Angie Matney]

Hi Mark,

I totally understand. In an extreme example, airline personnel refused to tell me the direciton to my gate. It was a simple question: Do I go left or right? When they refused to tell me, I decided to go on my own. One woman decided to leave her post to follow me, 
and she was snippy with me because of this. I told her I accepted no responsibility for this decision of hers. I didn't formally complain about this issue because it was so quickly resolved. I agree that insisting we take help we don't need is something that shouldn't 
always be swept under the rug.

Angie

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:15:51 -0700, Mark BurningHawk wrote:

>I *CAN* understand the station personnel's concern  When Osaka missed the 
>escalator and I doubled back, they did not understand.  Given the noise 
>level and the number of people who were talking at me all at once, I chose 
>to concentrate on making sure my dog was not overly stressed and that he 
>knew what I wanted.  I can understand that they don't know how a guide dog 
>and handler team works, that it looked like I was lost or confused and that 
>they wanted to help.  That part is reasonable; what is NOT reasonable is to 
>insist that I take their help or else, and to refuse my calm assurances that 
>I was okay.  I should point out that once m the platform I did not walk 
>around on the platform and in fact was standing quite still waiting for the 
>train when the cop approached me.   I'm not faulting them for wanting to 
>help; I'm faulting them for insisting that I accept their help and 
>threatening me with disciplinary action.  That's what I hope to change; 
>nothing more.

>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Angie Matney" <angie at mpmail.net>
>To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 10:50 AM
>Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Text of a pending complaint


>> This will be quick, so I can't fully respond. I will do that later.
>>
>> Steve said in part:
>>
>>>It is my understanding that nothing in the ADA implies that someone else 
>>>is responsible for your safety.  In fact, the NFB worked hard to get a 
>>>provision added that
>>>gives us the right not to accept an "accommodation."  Someone more 
>>>familiar with the law can probably point out where this can be found or 
>>>maybe you are already
>>>familiar with that part of the law.
>>
>> Actually, there has been some case law that says an employer can refuse to 
>> hire someone because they believe their safety is at risk due to their 
>> disability. The case is Chevron v. Echazabal (or something similar). This 
>> extended the concdept of someone posing a
>> threat to others (for a contageous disease, for example) to someone posing 
>> a threat to their own safety. Mark's situation is very different, byt this 
>> case law does exist.
>>
>> But I am a 1L, so I have nothing more to say. (grin)
>>
>> Mark, sorry this happened to you. I have had some dehumanizing experiences 
>> as well, and it is very hard.
>>
>> Angie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindlaw mailing list
>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw
>> 


>_______________________________________________
>blindlaw mailing list
>blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw