Beth.Hatch-Alleyne@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Beth Hatch-Alleyne) (05/31/91)
Index Number: 15913
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Margo; you're so right. Every time I fly now I wonder if something
is going to happen, whether I'll end up in an exit row, whether
someone will ask me if I want to pre-board and insist I do so when I
decline, tell me I must sit in the bulkhead seat when I have my dog,
etc. etc. I wish it could be trivial, but it's not. I am not
defensive to these people who don't know about blindness or blind
people, I try to remain polite but firm. But this is not to say I
don't fly because of this, I just have to deal with what happens and
try to go about my business without bothering anyone else, just
getting my ticket and getting on the plane with everyone else. If
we are not treated ,like the responsible adults we are, how do we
expect any sighted passengers to treat us like adults when we apply
for jobs at their companies, or wonder why they think we can't cross
a street. Please send me another message, I've enjoyed the
discussions and technical advice I've gotten from fellow userss,
Beth.
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!207!Beth.Hatch-Alleyne
Internet: Beth.Hatch-Alleyne@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.orgBeth.Hatch-Alleyne@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Beth Hatch-Alleyne) (06/18/91)
Index Number: 16096
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Susan; thanks for your message, and I did not take it as a lecture
at all. I appreciate the importance, as you do, of having escape
routes in getting out of a fire. The data I received about blind
people in smoke filled planes is not heresay or theory, but based on
data obtained from personal accounts of a crash where a blind
individual got a bunch of panicked sighted people out of a plane.
Fire, in any cirbumstances, is dangerous. The point I was trying to
make was that blindness doesn't mean that one does not have the
presence of mind to get passengers out of a burning airplane. The
FAA has not been able to find any evidence that blind people have
impeeded an evacuation. Compitence and reflexes are the issue, as
well as having a well planned escape route, not blindness, precisely
the point I was trying to make although you made it better than I.
I appreciate your telling me and everyone else of your experiences
with fire, and I, like you, hope that others will take heed and plan
their escape routes carefully and diligently, Beth.
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!207!Beth.Hatch-Alleyne
Internet: Beth.Hatch-Alleyne@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org