Category: Let's talk
I'm curious if anyone has any stories of real true discrimination that has happened to them because of being blind or for any other reason? For example, I recently heard a couple of stories of people who went to shop at one store or another, and they were told that they had to bring a sighted person with them if they wanted help because they did not feel it was their job to help blind people or just did not want to be responsible. From what I understand, this attitude has more to do with the individual's personal prejudices and not with actual official store policy. So, anyone have any stories and did you find a way to educate these people?
How is that actual discrimination? If a blind person comes into a shop at height of rush hour it's very understandable staff may not be on hand to individually assist them. I've heard stories such as certain restaurants or cab drivers not allowing guide dogs, and that's definitely discrimination but I'm not sure if blind people should expect to walk in anywhere and get personal service and assistance wherever and whenever, I think that's asking a lot. At least we could try to come during less busy times, shop online, study the stuff online etc.
I've definitely sufferred preferential treatment because of blindness, twice was upgraded to business class on aeroplanes because of my blindness, I intend to complain to the appropriate authorities of course.
This also brings up a difficult question: What if you ask someone from a restaurant (say) to assist you because you want to wait in line and be one of the first 50 who get in (say there's a game, the first 50 to get in get a free meal). What should the restaurant do, if they don't help you you'll definitely not get there, which is unfair, if they do help you and even get you in at the head of the queue, that's cheating too and preferentially treating the blind.
In the same vein, do we really need a pass to get ahead of every queue in Dysney world, aren't we just as able to stand in line and wait as anyone else?
My main point is whilst a lot of things can be better we also sometimes benefit from being blind, we can't forget that.
I honestly can't say I've been discriminated against (not that I remember) but I also realize I'm just really lucky that way and a lot of people have worse stories to tell, so I'll hand the proverbial podium over to them.
B! Hush! Of course we need passes to get to the head of the queue! You're legs are broken because of your blindness, didn't you know that?
I have to admit, i've had more preferential treatment than descrimination, but i've never been upgraded tobusiness class. The next time i fly, I shall have strong words with the flight attendants if this necessary courtesy is now shown to me!
B, why do you sound so surprised? Isn't it the nature of the beast to whine, moan and complain, rather than speak of all the perks that come hand in hand with blindness? Isn't moaning much more fun/satisfying for the soul? I think this is an inherrant trait in blind folk' to see the negative things much more clearly than the positives. Sure, i've had descrimination due to the furry friend who accompanies me everywhere. I've been refused taxis, restaurants, even buses once, but I also get into the cinema half price, get into London attractions much cheaper than anyone else, travel cheaper on trains, get to queue jump, etc, etc. So I think the two balance out.
I'm not even going to get started on how blind folks expect everybody to jump to attention to help them, even if they can see that staff in a shop, for example, are really busy. If I did, this topic would need to be moved to my favourite board... The rant board!
FM
Well, i have been into shops where they were unwilling to really help me, but the only other thing i can think of as far as this topic goes, is when i went for an interview to work on hospital radio in one of the local hospitals, and was told that they might not be able to consider me as the man felt that i was a health and safety risk and might put other people in the hospital at risk. Sure enough i didn't here from them again. Maybe he thought i would explode lol.
i've had the health and safety thing spouted at me re hospital radio too.
When I was in high school, I worked at a pizza place (a national chain). At the time, I was a high partial and other than having to put things close to my face to read (like when I checked ID's for people who wrote checks) I didn't have any trouble running the counter. I'll admit that I was a little slower than my fully sighted co-workers but still not the slowest person in the store. Since I only worked the counter on slow nights, my slowness wasn't a big deal and had no effect on my ability to do the job adequately. And for the record, I wasn't kept off the counter on busy nights because of my slowness, but because I was the fastest person they had for getting the dough stretched and put into pans, so my talents were best used there. I was also really fast on the phones. So anyway, one night when I was supposed to be working the counter, my manager suddenly changed the plan and wouldn't let me do it. As it happened, that night, I was in a really good mood and actually wanted to work the counter while most people in the store hated doing it. When I argued with him and pointed out my good mood and that I was the only person on duty who actually wanted to do it, he got a weird look on his face and said "you know, you're right" and sent me to the counter. Then during my shift, I heard him on the phone arguing with our regional manager. The main bit of the conversation I picked up was him telling the regional manager that this was his store and he'd use his employees however he wanted to. I thought it was kind of strange and had a weird feeling that the convo was about me. Sure enough, after my shift, my manager pulled me aside and showed me a comment card that some asshole sent in that said "I don't appreciate having to be waited on by a handicapped person." The card mentioned my name specifically. There was no complaint about the job that I did. The only gripe was that I was obviously handicapped. The manager told me that the higher ups in the company had ordered him to keep me off the counter after receiving the complaint. He told me at the time that he thought it was stupid and that I was one of his top counter persons and had no problem with me doing it and that he intended to keep me on the counter. He stuck by that at first, but pretty quickly, I was being put on the counter less and less. A few months later, we got a new manager and that was that. I never worked counter again.
At the time, I was pretty hurt by the whole thing. I had never thought of myself as being disabled so that nasty comment card came as quite a shock to me. It really messed with my confidence and I couldn't summon up the courage to fight it. When the counter time started going away, I just let it happen because I was young and I let that crap get in my head to the point that I didn't feel like I could do a good job on counter anymore. Looking back on it,I wish I had fought the decision and educated the morons who took sides with an ignorant customer. . Anyway, I consider that to be real discrimination. I know worse things have happened to people and I didn't lose my job or anything, but I was kept from doing duties that I was perfectly capable of doing. It was pretty humiliating and painful at the time, but Ilearned from the experience and am now better prepared to deal with something like that if it ever happens again.
that's just wrong! its time people realised that just because some people eye sight is either less than perfect or not there it doesn't mean that they can't do jobs properly! if they going to be like that in my opinion they should ban people who ware glasses.