To FASTEN A SEAT BELT: THE AIRLINE NURSERY

To FASTEN A SEAT BELT: THE AIRLINE NURSERY

Braille MonitorMarch 1986
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To Fasten A Seat Belt:
The Airline Nursery

Baltimore, Maryland
January 3, 1986
Miss Peggy Pinder

Grinnell, Iowa
Dear Peggy:
United Airlines has done it again!
On Sunday, December 22nd, my wife and
I traveled from Baltimore, Maryland, to Denver, Colorado, on United Airlines
flight 209 (Baltimore to Chicago) and
United flight 297 (Chicago to Denver).
On flight 209 I had a pre-assigned window
seat in a 3-seat row. While I removed
my top coat, I leaned my cane
against the middle seat of the row.
Before I had my coat off, a flight
attendant asked whether the cane was collapsible. I informed her it was not.

She then said she would take the cane
and stow it during the flight. At this
moment I heard the chain on my cane
rattle and realized she had taken hold
of the cane. I informed her that I
would stow the cane between my window
seat and the wall of the plane, and I
requested her to give the cane back to
me. Apparently she had let go of the
cane and she replied that she did not
have it. I then stowed the cane between
my seat and the wall of the plane.
As we were taxiing, the head flight
attendant gave the usual briefing over
the public address system to all passengers.
She then came back to where I was
sitting and stated that she was sorry
for the confusion concerning the cane
and went on to say that it was her
responsibility to give me a personal
briefing. I told her that I understood
that she might be required to do this,
but it was unnecessary, because I have
traveled extensively and was familiar
with the location of the exits, the
oxygen masks, and the seat belt.
Despite my statement, she gave me the
full briefing, insisting that I feel the
oxygen mask.
She then asked me if I knew how to
unbuckle the seat belt. I assured her
that I did and also I pointed out that
since I already had the seat belt closed
across my lap, it was clear I also know
how to buckle it. She then stated that
it was necessary for me to demonstrate
how to unbuckle the seat belt. She
insisted until I unbuckled my seat belt
and also buckled it again.
I told her that this was totally unnecessary
and that she was equating
blindness with mental retardation. She
kept repeating that she was required to
do this and that she was responsible for
my safety. She then left me alone. To
my knowledge no other passenger was
required to demonstrate their ability to
buckle and unbuckle their seat belts.
In Chicago we changed planes and
boarded United flight 297 for Denver. I
again had a pre-assigned window seat.
On this flight, with a different crew,
no mention was made of the cane, and
there was no personal briefing for me.
The head flight attendant, of course,
gave the briefing to all passengers over
the public address system.
Since flight 209 was almost full, I am
sure that passengers sitting around me
heard the flight attendant insist that I
demonstrate my ability to buckle and
unbuckle my seat belt. The flight
attendant did not appear to be aware of
the indignity and embarrassment involved
in her performance. I have traveled by
air regularly since 1943, and for a
period of approximately twenty years I
traveled by air an average of 150,000
miles per year. Never before have I
been requested to demonstrate my ability
to buckle and unbuckle a seat belt.
Once Again United Airlines' inconsistency
in the treatment of blind passengers
is evident--harassment on flight
209 and no reference to the cane and no
personal briefing on flight 297. This
is one more proof of the fact that we as
blind travelers never know what to
expect from United Airlines. On one
flight we may be treated the way we
should, and on the next flight harassed,
embarrassed, and treated as though we
are mentally retarded.
Sincerely yours,
W. Harold Bleakley

President

Aids Unlimited, Inc.

Grinnell, Iowa

January 10, 1986
Dear Hal:
As you say, United did do it again to
you. Reading your letter is another of
the ways that any sentient being in this
nation has of learning that the blind do
suffer discrimination. The comforting
part of your letter is that the blind
who do suffer the discrimination also
know it and stand up for their rights
and their dignity.
I have recently found some flight
crews overly willing to insist on the
specialized briefings and have checked
the Federal Aviation Regulations concerning
this matter since I feel, as you
do, that it constitutes a general public
humiliation. There once was a requirement
in the Federal Aviation Regulations
that each blind passenger be given a
personal briefing. There no longer is.
I now tell anyone who wants to give me
one that I am a lawyer and I know that
the briefing is not required. This does
not, of course, deter the zealous flight
attendant who assures me that, even if I
don't believe it, he or she is required
to give the briefing. I then tell the
flight attendant that, though he or she
is going to give the briefing, I am not
required to listen. I then proceed to
read, and this sometimes involves my
putting on ear phones. I explain before
I do this that I understand the flight
attendant believes that his or her job
requires the briefing but that I know I
am not required to have it or to listen.
I explain this very nicely and with a
real effort to convey my understanding
of an employee's concern that he or she
retain the job. Then I start to read.
While some flight attendants take this
as an unkindness (some simply laugh, shorten the briefing, and leave), I,
like you, intend to stand up for my
rights and my dignity and to do it as
nicely but as firmly as I can. It is
all of us working together and calmly
standing up for our dignity as you did
that ultimately will change the world.
Sincerely,
Peggy Pinder
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