NIHOSEandAFIResponse
Introduction/Definition/etc
Folllow up on ExtraordinaryMeasuresScienceInCinemaAndAFIAccommodating
http://novapeers.pbworks.com/StaringBeauracracyInTheFace2010#Two
email to NIH OSE and AFI's response
20100805 8.20 am Jerry
Body
From: ose@science.education.nih.gov
To: NoVAPeers
Date: Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 1:59 PM (2 days ago)
Subject: Re: Accessibility of AFI for Science In Cinema
Dear Jerry,
We are very sorry for any inconvenience. The staff of the NIH and AFI Silver pride themselves on making the Science in the Cinema program accessible to people with disabilities. All films are shown with captions, and American Sign Language interpreters and real-time captioning are provided for the postfilm discussions. If other reasonable accommodations are required, we ask that you contact our office at least five days before each film date. Had you contacted us in advance, we would have made every effort to accommodate you.
Sincerely,
Debbie Knorr
NIH Office of Science Education
We contacted the staff at AFI and they have provided the following response to your inquiry:
''The AFI Silver Theater manager mistook the guest's "inline mobility aid" for a bicycle and since it is the policy of the Silver not to allow guests to bring their bicycles into the theater, asked the guest about it. According to the Manager, the guest informed her that he needed the chair due to a disability. The matter was left at that and the manager insists that she did not question the gentleman any further.
We apologize for any inconvenience or discomfort the question may have created. Our intent was, is and always will be to ensure the comfort of our guests and hope that Jerry W. will come visit the Silver again soon.
The AFI Silver is fully compliant with regulations set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If you have any further need to discuss this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Adrian Spencer
Manager of Operations, AFI Silver Exhibition"
Conclusion
Summary of experience or similar
Basically I don't believe what was said in the response,
as lots was left out,
as I was there and it was much more than
what was mentioned, while the mobility
may have been one question,
a slew of other topics were pressed,
including statements and questions like
"What made you think you could bring it in?"
(showed disabled ID)
"Oh, you really are"
"I know what you do, and I don't like it"
(unless they were listening in on private conversations
in the cafe with aquaintences, I've had not told people
there about this blog, writing, publishing, advocacy or anything,
so likely fishing or prejudging)
"You're dangerous"
(WTF? The mobility aid in a wide part of the front
right of the theatre past the seats was not in anyone's way,
even less restricting of movement than the
audio captioning cords and microphone stands
and lines of people in both side isles
trying to make comments
and ask questions in the Q&A)
"We'll take it out back"
(Try removing people's wheel chairs and see
if they call the police...)
etc..
While there are not witnesses that I'm aware of,
as the other disabled people had to leave
(likely for too early MetroAccess pickups
before the Q&A even really started, much less completed)
I was cornered as leaving near last to avoid
any limited space issues getting a mobility aid
up the narrowish and steep sloped ramp...
AFI asked many more questions and stated other things beside the
mobility aid, and made it clear to me they didn't like me,
didn't respect me, and didn't want me (or people like me) there...
The response is too late to plan to attend
for that evening's show, says they require
a 5 days ahead for accommodations when they
already think there is an issue
or would not have approached me in the first place,
and I don't think people should have to make
special requests like this, as it would be entirely
too cumbersome to try contacting everyone
that a disabled person needs to visit
in order to just do day to day living.
Imagine trying to make calls 5 days ahead
requesting accommodations on your average
running errands, Universal Design and
ADA is about removing barriers not making
more...
Also on the civil rights angle, announcing
your itinerary, while Obama and other
people may have to plan ahead for security,
and have paid staff to do that for them,
imagine civil rights cases in the south
early in the movement, and having people
waiting for them (decades ago noose in hand)...
See http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/072010/07242010/563893
for some stuff that still goes on decades after
the Civil Rights and while ADA and other
disability organizations are still working
on getting people in the same doors,
the same treatment, instead of "Normals Only"
or "No Disabled Allowed"
or even "Separate But Equal"
as manual wheelchairs probably can't do that AFI
theatres steep ramps and otherwise you are in left in the back,
and if you have vision and/or hearing issue as well
as mobility, then you can't see the screen well enough,
have to rely on faulty captioning,
and generally just excluded...
Most disabled just want peaceful enjoyment
and the normal stuff others want witihout
being hassled, harrassed, profiled, or anything
requiring extra effort on their others part,
like the stereotypical elderly woman
hitting the boyscout with her cane,
when he tries to force assisting her
(likely to earn Boy Scout badge requirements),
and even more for hidden disabilities,
imagine someone coming up to an
African American or other Person of Color
much less Muslim with head coverings saying
"You're Black/African American/A Person Of Color/Muslim appearing"
"Why did you think you could come in?"
Or mockingly "Because of your
appearance, I'm here to ask what
help you need" and likely not give it,
question or harrass more,
or asking when they plan on attending
so that more issues like the questioning,
interrogation could happen again.
This is logged on the web, given that I witnessed
the week before this incident
a profoundly deaf woman being escorted out,
later learned newly Deaf, and just learning to regulate
her volume and tried assisting with a helmet light
in finding her missing glasses...
Like the MetroAccess assault and abuse cases
just hitting the front pages of local papers
(Examiner July 14,2010),
I think there is probably a pattern of how
disabled are treated in that area, and that theatre
and if it happens again, this is a public record
of some of what happened with me...
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