tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post8607694681801005453..comments2024-03-16T19:36:23.953-04:00Comments on Of Battered Aspect: And AgainDave Hingsburgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11918601687946534172noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-16589916910003843482011-12-21T23:50:22.597-05:002011-12-21T23:50:22.597-05:00I know. Boy, do I know.
Send a copy to this with ...I know. Boy, do I know.<br /><br />Send a copy to this with a letter to the CEO (or whatever). They take action when you let them know you've told the public about it. And it can make a real difference so next time, you (or someone else) won't experience this.<br /><br />It's exhausting and demoralizing and sad-making, but we who have a voice have to.Lene Andersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11223128667829847717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-63332750142888002772011-12-21T14:16:40.591-05:002011-12-21T14:16:40.591-05:00Accessibility is a myth.
Yesterday I was droppi...Accessibility is a myth. <br /><br />Yesterday I was dropping a client off at school after his yoga class. While the handicapped parking spots are located in front of the school, they are also, as I discovered, located behind the drop off lane which resulted in all the parking spaces being completely blocked off that day (most of the high school had a half day.<br /><br />After driving around for about 30min hoping traffic would clear up I gave up and ended up using a space near the field (I figured that it was at least big enough to fit the van). I would have driven longer but unfortunately I had a doctor's appointment that day.<br /><br />All the while I kept on thinking. "What if I was in a wheelchair, was by myself, and was visiting the school?" <br /><br />I thought about this as an impatient parent honked at us as we walked across the crosswalk. <br /><br />I continued to think about this as I searched for a path to accommodate his wheelchair, and wouldn't result in us having to walk along the rather crowded parking lot. <br /><br />And when the receptionist shrugged my concerns off, I really thought about it. <br /><br />People who use wheelchairs, have seven options as to where they can safely park. Seven.<br /><br />It is a big deal.Crow Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00990955864204229815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-85061824746811363412011-12-21T07:51:06.379-05:002011-12-21T07:51:06.379-05:00Dave,
Love reading your posts, they are NEVER bor...Dave,<br /><br />Love reading your posts, they are NEVER boring!! <br />Sorry you were treated so badly and that it spoilt the first half, at least you have enough will power that the second half was enjoyable!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-40532361563517831762011-12-21T07:43:34.173-05:002011-12-21T07:43:34.173-05:00i meant very BUSY inboxi meant very BUSY inboxnycivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06859320328941470255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-50783487278325179142011-12-21T07:41:21.538-05:002011-12-21T07:41:21.538-05:00Dave, I just wanted to chime in and add to the cho...Dave, I just wanted to chime in and add to the chorus about your blog. It is the first thing I look for when I check my very buys inbox. I truly enjoy reading about all your adventures and even the down times like this one because I admire the way you conduct yourself.<br /><br />Please dismiss the idea of not writing.<br /><br />thanks<br /><br />ivannycivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06859320328941470255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-87984412110637355322011-12-20T19:56:10.233-05:002011-12-20T19:56:10.233-05:00Dave, sometimes I feel like the only wheelchair-us...Dave, sometimes I feel like the only wheelchair-user who has these things happen. Just as you describe. <br />I book tickets carefully and make a point of making suitable arrangements and arrive to find that nobody has any idea about the wheelchair booking and no the seats haven't been taken out and yes we will do it but it's really an imposition. I am treated as if my being a wheelchair user is just something I am doing to annoy others. I am treated as if I am less than.<br />It's wrong, Dave. It's wrong when it happens to you and it's wrong when it happens to me. And thanks to your blog, I know that I am not alone in the world. I am not the only person who is being discriminated against in this way. <br />Thank you and please keep on writing.wheeliecronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10570378001102933660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-36545216935304786002011-12-20T19:36:36.845-05:002011-12-20T19:36:36.845-05:00Hope you also let Roy Thomson Hall know, I think ...Hope you also let Roy Thomson Hall know, I think that some places have the idea that it wouldn't occur at their location and they need to know it can. A big hurdle seems to be people's attitude and that takes repeating and focusing on them. Maybe you should offer to do a workshop for them.<br /><br />Hope you and Joe have a great Holiday Season with lots of good music and friends and laughter. And a gift I get abd love is your blog each day even when it pulls me up short or saddens me. Best wishes.Flemisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-45423294062428830692011-12-20T19:27:40.475-05:002011-12-20T19:27:40.475-05:00You were writing my story (as well as your own) an...You were writing my story (as well as your own) and the story of my two children who use wheelchairs. After 16 years of dealing with this same cr*p, I too am really tired of it all.Ashley's Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05621835327282616218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-5275344984479306382011-12-20T17:11:16.807-05:002011-12-20T17:11:16.807-05:00My theatre problem (or more precisely, my foster s...My theatre problem (or more precisely, my foster son's) is that removing one seat does not make for accessible for all. He sits in a shell in a wheelchair, and is tall. I ring ahead, I explain his situation (he doesn't speak easily). I say he won't fit into a one-seat space and needs either to be in a front row or to have a seat removed in front of him as well. They assure us they have the facilities. We arrive, invariably, to find he needs to sit sideways and watch the performance out of the corner of his eye. Note he is not in an especially inclined chair, or a bed on wheels, or anything particularly unusual. Just tall, and not able to tuck his legs under his seat. <br />I guess the battle just keeps on going - each time, maybe, one more person understands...... and it's certainly so much easier than it was 35 years ago when he and I first started hanging out together!Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05460117480302002841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-27399865541012810682011-12-20T17:10:53.575-05:002011-12-20T17:10:53.575-05:00. . . interesting that they consulted with Yitzak .... . . interesting that they consulted with Yitzak Pearlman when they built RTH back in the 70's - to be sure that it was fully accessible!! How much further could they have strayed from their current status!!!!<br />Sorry that your performance was so hard to enjoy!!! You pay full price for your tickets - you should be able to get full benefit!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-81749392471369786372011-12-20T15:57:42.699-05:002011-12-20T15:57:42.699-05:00Dave, I also have problems in theatres. I am able ...Dave, I also have problems in theatres. I am able to walk without support or aid. However I suffer a severe phobia with a fear of heights (steepness of theatres within a closed in area)and whenever I ask for help I get treated like a problem rather than a customer / human being.<br />Sometimes when flush with money, I can offer to pay to get over my problem. But this rarely solves the issue. Dave, UK DevonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-58667313776635929142011-12-20T15:03:01.291-05:002011-12-20T15:03:01.291-05:00Please keep writing. You speak for so many of us....Please keep writing. You speak for so many of us.<br /><br />There are times I tell my husband I don't want to go out for the evening because I don't want to have to fight for the right to be in a restaurant with my service dog. I just want a date night dinner with my beloved, not another argument. So instead we stay home because I have no more energy in me to fight. I get so tired of fighting for things that are my legal right! I get so tired of being told I expect too much or that I see discrimination too easily.<br /><br />Keep writing Dave, please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-8638906242842889222011-12-20T13:42:57.496-05:002011-12-20T13:42:57.496-05:00I love that you write this blog, there are posts t...I love that you write this blog, there are posts that makes me sad, angry, happy, hopefull.<br /><br />I like reading about things that I am totally ignorant of, like acessibility for people with physical disabilities, it makes me really angry to read that you and others have so many problems but I wish people learn and improve, today I notice things I never noticed before because I learned reading here.<br /><br />I do understand part of your frustration since in today's world I can't go to many places because my type of autism doesn't let me tolerate things like background music (placed everywhere) and sounds, smells, etc, but that is not classified as acessibility and nobody would understand why I can't go to most places.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-64734399337379851062011-12-20T12:57:02.838-05:002011-12-20T12:57:02.838-05:00Oh, Dave. Keep on blogging and sharing your experi...Oh, Dave. Keep on blogging and sharing your experience. It helps all of us who share your frustration feel like it's not just us who feel these things, that things actually are broken (we aren't broken, the systems and thinking/non-thinking of organizations and such are).<br /><br />I have spent all of my professional career being frustrated by organizations that do not treat me as a human being with needs. I changed jobs every year or two for the past 15 years, never building my career or advancing because of it. While I excelled in all of my positions and had nothing but glowing performance reviews and the esteem of my colleagues, simple requests of the organization to accommodate my physical needs are treated as huge issues, and I become a "problem staff". <br /><br />Because I could no longer endure the frustration without opening my mouth (I lost my filter after years of feeling shat upon), I retired 20 years earlier than I had planned.<br /><br />From HEALTHCARE. That speaks volumes.<br /><br />I gave up. Which is not OK, but I just couldn't do it anymore. After years of coming home daily in tears, and being treated as a second class citizen because of my medical needs I could no longer fight.<br /><br />But I know that all of us have to. That the fight isn't over, that the only way that systems, organizations, and people will become more considerate and understanding is with education.<br /><br />Some day I may have it in me again to go back into the fray. For now, I capitulate. I give.<br /><br />Please don't do the same. You have the connections, clear voice, and power of your organization behind you. Your everyday experiences and stories mean something, and teach us all what it means to live in this world with disability.<br /><br />Because my disability is invisible, I have different challenges than you do. But, the challenges are there nonetheless. Inconsiderate people are there no matter the disability.<br /><br />We all root for you, Dear Dave.<br /><br />Don't quit.Jazzhttp://fightinthefibro.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-28199449468983121332011-12-20T12:47:09.437-05:002011-12-20T12:47:09.437-05:00Please keep writing it helps us all keep righting....Please keep writing it helps us all keep righting...<br />LAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-47355382384971981422011-12-20T11:27:47.659-05:002011-12-20T11:27:47.659-05:00What a shame. I mean, it is not acceptable that sm...What a shame. I mean, it is not acceptable that small places with little budgets have difficulty adapting their environments into ones that are accessible for all. For a huge place like Roy Thompson hall this is utterly unacceptable.<br /><br />In some ways though it is the human component - one of the most transcendant musical experiences possible was ruined by human inaction, incompetence and thoughtlessness. <br /><br />As a person who has been in choral performances at a high level a number of times in my life - you are so busy focusing on the music that you would never notice someone getting up to pee. This is a ridiculous rule.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-7921864561721976332011-12-20T11:03:53.320-05:002011-12-20T11:03:53.320-05:00I feel such gratitude for your telling your story....I feel such gratitude for your telling your story. Because of you, every day I actually notice what I didn't notice before. I notice steps, and missing ramps, and missing curb-cutouts. <br /><br />I notice displays blocking aisles, and I notice broken doors.<br /><br />And, because of you, I speak up.Liz Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09469435277058701080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-90701316483273231272011-12-20T10:50:54.881-05:002011-12-20T10:50:54.881-05:00To me, your blog has a nice balance of uplifting, ...To me, your blog has a nice balance of uplifting, entertaining and, yes, sometimes, infuriating snippets of real life. It's usually the first thing I read each morning when I get to work and there are days when it may be the one thing that keeps me form turning around and going back home! <br /><br />I have worked in the field of services to people with disabilities for over 20 years and, in addition, my partner is disabled due to liver failure. I see our lives and daily struggles reflected in your blog over and again. It's not easy, but it's much harder when I feel like I am doing it alone. <br /><br />Your blog helps me feel like I am not alone in my expectation that people deserve dignity, compassion and equitable treatment. Thank you, TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-74136255896671014402011-12-20T10:34:35.926-05:002011-12-20T10:34:35.926-05:00I guess I've just gotten used to it, as I was ...I guess I've just gotten used to it, as I was born with what I've got. I've never expected to be properly accomodated because I so rarely have been. It doesn't even take much for me, but even that little bit is too-often nonexistent. Wanted to be, yes, but never ever expected. That sounds sad but I've always just assumed deep down I had to be the one to do all the adapting unless somebody went above and beyond.<br /><br />Keep writing, you've gotten me thinking differently about these things! Really. Your experiences come from a huge change in perspective I never had, which is very valuable to me.Rachel in Idahonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-40219636187250863492011-12-20T09:09:57.056-05:002011-12-20T09:09:57.056-05:00Not just listening but feeling sad and ashamed (I ...Not just listening but feeling sad and ashamed (I don't know why--but I would be proud if they had got it right) that such an event was spoiled.Belindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251920708783268740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-20067890073473037672011-12-20T08:50:00.994-05:002011-12-20T08:50:00.994-05:00Dave it may be repetitive to you, but that is why ...Dave it may be repetitive to you, but that is why it matters. Because none of us get upset about a single incident, it could happen to anyone. What is draining is that it happens so often, and despite all the effort it takes to avoid it happening and the only thing that will change it is an understanding of the toll it takes. To be excluded constantly is overwhelming and soul destroying. Keep writing. Nobody will change unless they begin to understand. Thanks for being brave enough to tell it.Naominoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-28026966804606160422011-12-20T08:47:41.956-05:002011-12-20T08:47:41.956-05:00It's posts like these that really make me MAD ...It's posts like these that really make me MAD Dave. How hard is it to show kindness to another human being? I get mad at all the people who treat you like an inconvenience. The response would have been "Well I'm very sorry about this sir. I understand that the fact that the bathroom is far far away is unacceptable. Here's what we'll do. You go, and regardless of when you get back, I promise you that I will guide you back to your seat because YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING WHO DESERVES TO HAVE FUN AND BE ABLE TO PEE WITHOUT BEING STRESSED."<br /><br />Oy vey. is that so hard? <br /><br />I'm glad you share these stories. You've really opened my eyes. I remember one time, I hit the handicapped/automatic doors button on a school building and they didn't open. I thought "this would make things harder for Dave" and I called maintenance and asked them to fix it, so that the next person who needed to get through those doors didn't have to be inconvenienced. <br /><br /><br />It irks me to no end that people act like you are an inconvenience. YOU ARE DAVE. plain and simple.Mollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15881590483174001768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-87395290237318582252011-12-20T08:16:43.806-05:002011-12-20T08:16:43.806-05:00You've never bored me, thanks. Any repetitiven...You've never bored me, thanks. Any repetitiveness in your blog -- which is actually less than you think, even though the 'barrier' incidents are altogether too repetitious on their own -- just serves to keep getting my attention.<br /><br />Speaking as a 65-year-old TAB, I need t have these issues brought to my attention. First, because I have been appallingly indifferent to my privilege as a member of the 'exclusive able-bodied club'. And then, because one day I may need to deal with the same barriers myself, and forewarned would be good.<br /><br />Reading your blog for the past 3 years has me speaking up in all sorts of situations: <br /><br />* No, we can't hold a conference in a second floor room with no elevator<br /><br />* No, we can't require conference calling for every online class -- some of our folks don't do audio and we've never stipulated they should<br /><br />And so on.<br /><br />Keep wriing, keep venting. Maybe someday we can all celebrate Universal Design occurring universally!Maggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-6031835765934572462011-12-20T08:09:35.062-05:002011-12-20T08:09:35.062-05:00It's really important that you keep writing yo...It's really important that you keep writing your blog because it helps people like me who are ignorant about these issues to understand better and I hope it will bring about change. <br /><br />No one can really understand what it is like to be disabled until they are put in that position so posts like yours do wonderful things. <br /><br />I'm heavily pregnant at the moment and I struggle to walk far these days. It's been like entering a different world even though I'm walking about in the exact same world. I realise now how tiny little accommodations can make a huge difference to my day.<br /><br />For example when I walk into a large shop I want clear signing of where items/collections/themes of things are so I can take the most direct and easiest route to them. Frustratingly there are often no signs at all and I'm left with two choices (as there are never members of staff by the door), give up and leave the shop or wonder around aimlessly until I find what I'm looking for - ultimately tiring myself out and putting myself in pain. <br /><br />To other people it probably sounds petty (and I'm not for a moment trying to suggest that it compares to having to navigate the world in a wheelchair) but it really impacts my life. I used to love going into town by myself, doing a little shopping and sitting down for a coffee somewhere. I haven't done that in months because the world just isn't as accessible to me as it used to be. I've stayed in for the last few months because I can't guarantee a seat on the bus and I can't guarantee the shops will be accessible. The pleasure I used to take in this activity is now totally overwhelmed by the potential stresses and strains it puts on me. <br /><br />What's sad is it needn't be like this if just a little thought and planning was put into the little things.Housewife83noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-8202256043811367052011-12-20T07:14:11.094-05:002011-12-20T07:14:11.094-05:00So very often, when I arrive at a hotel, the accom...So very often, when I arrive at a hotel, the accommodations I have requested have not been put in place. Sometimes the deaf accessibility kit has not even been put in the room. Sometimes it is there but has not been set up--they leave it to me to set up! These days (unlike the first few years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed) the accessibility equipment they use at hotels works very differently from the equivalent equipment I use at home, which means I have trouble figuring out how to set it up, so I ask someone at the hotel to set it up. They do, but often the ONE employee who has supposedly be trained in how to set it up is not there, so the person who comes in to fix it doesn't have a clue, figures something out, but sets it up wrong. For example, I have had equipment that picks up every single cough, clap, or other silly little noise I make and flash the light for all of them, which gets very annoying and distracting. But it will still fail to flash for an actual knock at the door that it is SUPPOSED to flash for. So I often end up turning off the equipment and just not using any of it -- meaning I don't know if someone is knocking at the door to get my attention, or if the fire alarm is blaring meaning I should evacuate. Even the accessible (vibrating) alarm clock is often so impossible to figure out that I have simply given up counting on the hotel to provide me with a clock I can actually use. I now have my own portable vibrating alarm clock that I bring with me on all trips, even when I have bothered to ask for ADA accommodations in the hotel room.<br /><br />Television is usually easier because these days (since a US law was passed and implemented from July 1, 1993, onwards) all TV sets 13 inches and larger now have a built in caption decoder--it's no longer separate from the TV like it usually was in the 1980s. So at least I can count on the TV having the caption decoder. EXCEPT THAT, some TV models make it basically impossible to figure out how to turn on the caption decoder: I have sometimes spent as long as 15 minutes experimenting with different options in the menu before finally figuring out how to turn on the caption decoder. It shouldn't be like this--every remote should have a button on it that turns the caption decoder on or off, they should not bury such an essential device under 15 layers of menu options.<br /><br />And EVEN THEN ... sometimes in hotels, the caption decoder STILL does not actually work because occasionally a hotel will have its own internal cable TV system that for some reason strips the captions off all incoming TV programs.<br /><br />My situation is different from yours in that I can still get by without the accessibility equipment if I must, which gives me the option to just put up with not being able to actually use any of the equipment they give me for their intended purpose. But when I do this, I still end up with a sub-standard experience. And as you say, all of these things should just be there when I have specifically requested for them to be.Andrea S.http://gdrl.orgnoreply@blogger.com