Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Our Special Olympics athletes are taking to email and social media like never before empowered to sp




Many of you have heard the disturbing news  about Bede Vanderhorst, air tickets a 16 year old boy with Down syndrome, who was traveling with his parents when they were denied permission to board an American Airlines flight from New Jersey to California despite having paid for their first class tickets.
Much has, rightfully, been said in the media about this injustice. When you hear about the Vanderhorst family being rebooked onto another flight in the last row of the coach section with, reportedly , no other passengers allowed to sit within two rows of them, it is nearly impossible not to draw a parallel to the days of racially segregated buses.
For many, it might seem shocking that injustices like these continue to persist. Yet in Special Olympics we hear about way too many similar occurrences. Fortunately, like all civil rights movements that fight to create lasting air tickets change, our dignity revolution is finding air tickets its voice and demanding that voice be heard.
Hundreds of people with special needs and those that love them continue  signing a petition on Change.org calling for American Airlines to immediately change any policies that allowed this particular injustice to occur.
Our Special Olympics athletes are taking to email and social media like never before empowered to speak their minds, stand up for their rights and demand fair treatment and equal opportunities as valued members of society.
I heard a story about a family with a young boy who took their son who has an intellectual disability to a concert. And while they were in the airport air tickets waiting to board the plane with their son who was sitting in a chair quietly waiting to get on the plane with which he was causing no  trouble at all. And when it came time to for everyone to board the plane the gate agent told the family that they couldn t get onto the plane because of their son who has an intellectual disability and it was all taken by video with this mother s cell phone.
And they tried to get their way but couldn t and to me that is so discriminating and disrespectful and the parents of the young boy plan to sue American Airlines because of what happened and it s a violation of the Americans air tickets with Disabilities Act and people who have a child or an adult with a disability should be allowed to travel on an airplane because as a person with an intellectual disability I have never been told that I can t be on airplane and go somewhere with family or with someone I know.
This entry was posted in Advocacy and tagged air tickets American Airlines , buses , civil rights , Dignity Revolution , discrimination air tickets , Martha Hill , racial segregation , Vanderhorst . Bookmark the permalink .
Martha is a formidable woman. She knows her rights, she is an informed voter and she is not afraid to speak on behalf of her friends. She has felt the sting of ridicule air tickets and the pain of being left out and has risen above it all. She exemplifies courage and defines conviction. No one, no one ever, has the right to deny her the rights guaranteed under the law or those granted by her creator. She lives her life to the very best of her ability. The rest of us might learn from her example.
It takes a big person (or big corporation) to admit failure. air tickets All American needed to do was to say they made a mistake and would work hard to ensure that it didn t happen again. We re waiting American.
I really thought that we were beyond the prejudice. At least in the way things are handled by major corporations. And honestly, it doesn t sound like anything, or anyone, needed handling ! Shame on AA. I ll be choosing other airlines in the future.

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