Via Negativa @paranoidshellyjohnson - Tumblr Blog

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Alien planets at night

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A Nightmare On Elm Street Directed by Wes Craven (1984)

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dude imagine if a hog saw this

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wouldn't be nearly as many mushrooms is all I'm saying

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons to be Featured in Upcoming Issue of Nintendo Dream After an influx of accessories, pre-order bonuses and other Animal Crossing related news, it may have finally slowed down on the Animal Crossing front… at least until the next issue of Nintendo Dream releases on January 21st.

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Dr. Fell, do you believe a man could become so obsessed with a woman, from a single encounter? Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for her and find nourishment in the very sight of her? I think so. But would she see through the bars of his plight and ache for him?

Hannibal (2001) dir. Ridley Scott

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After watching a very early gig by the Sex Pistols in an empty hall on Hastings Pier, 17 year old Mari Elliott decided that “anyone could do what they were doing” and placed an ad in the paper for ‘young punx who want to stick it together’ to form a band. As singer with X-Ray Spex, Mari chose the punk name Poly Styrene because it represented what pop stars were to punks: “a lightweight, disposable product.” She was described by Billboard as the “archetype for the modern-day feminist punk”; because she wore dental braces, stood against the typical sex object female of 1970’s rock star, sported a gaudy Dayglo wardrobe, and was of mixed race. She was “one of the least conventional front-persons in rock history, male or female.”

Saluting one of my all-time faves, Poly Styrene: 1957-2011. (history from wikipedia).

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Planning for a flight now consists of planning out how to document the legal violations the airline is inevitably going to commit.

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Since I started using a wheelchair, I have had exactly one (1) flight where an airline didn’t break the law.

The question isn’t “Are airlines breaking the law?” They absolutely are, on almost every flight. The questions are “Does the wheelchair user know their rights?” (most don’t), and “Are they physically and mentally able to document the violations and report them to the DOT?” (most can’t).

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[ID: @diffusedmuse “One question if you have a moment: do you confront airlines themselves or go straight to the DOT? For example, they often push me into signing a release of liability in case they wreck my wheelchair, which I’m fairly sure is illegal but I’m afraid to say anything and be denied my flight.”]

Under US law, it is definitely illegal for an airline to make you sign a release of liability for transporting your wheelchair. I would definitely advise you not sign any release of liability. The newest statistics show that airlines damage or lose 25 wheelchairs per day. (Source) You can’t afford for them to not fix or replace your wheelchair if they damage it.

“§382.35 May carriers require passengers with a disability to sign waivers or releases?

“(b) You must not require passengers with a disability to sign waivers of liability for damage to or loss of wheelchairs or other assistive devices.”

(Source)

I always insist on having my wheelchair in the cabin, but if the flight has less than 100 seats they’re not required to have space in-cabin, and if you have a power chair it’s not going to fit in the in-cabin wheelchair closet. So I realize some people have to put their chairs in cargo.

Personally I’d pocket whatever release form they gave me, scan it in when I got home and include it in my DOT complaint. I bet the DOT would be very interested to see what release they’re trying to get you to sign.

I have on several occasions had airline employees threaten to not let me fly, try to maneuver me into agreeing to take a different flight, or insinuate that if I continue to insist they follow the law they won’t let me fly. This is illegal, and I let them know that I know that it is illegal.

“§382.11 What is the general nondiscrimination requirement of this part?

“(4) You must not take any adverse action against an individual (e.g., refusing to provide transportation) because the individual asserts, on his or her own behalf or through or on behalf of others, rights protected by this part or the Air Carrier Access Act.”

(Source)

So yes, I confront the airline employees myself, although I realize not everyone is able to do so. I always have a copy of the law with me - I have a document where I put together the clauses that I know they’re going to violate, and I print out a couple copies before I fly. I also have the full ACAA on my phone. Only once has an airline employee ever looked at the law - they generally just flat out refuse to read it - but I have it with me so I can prove I know what the law says. That means that can’t say “that’s not in the law,” they can only say “I don’t care what the law says,” and that is not going to show in their favor when they have to justify their actions to the DOT.

I definitely also report the airline to the DOT after I get back from my trip. The DOT’s formal investigation process is to have the airline investigate themselves and report their findings back to the DOT. IME the airline always, every time, lies and claims they didn’t break any laws. They generally accidentally admit to breaking a couple laws, but for the majority it ends up being a he says/she says situation.

Personally, I want the airline to get fined for every clause of the ACAA they break when I fly, not just the ones they accidentally admit to because they are that ridiculously unfamiliar with the law they’re required by law to know. (The record so far is fourteen clauses broken on one flight.) So as of my last flight I now record every interaction I have with an airline employee. On that flight, the minute I realized they had found a new and ridiculous way to violate the ACAA, I set my phone to video and put it in a shallow outside pocket in my personal bag with the camera facing out. When I got home, I extracted the audio file from the video, made a transcript, and forwarded both the audio file and the transcript to the DOT along with my complaint. When the airline investigated themselves and lied about what they did, I then forwarded the audio file and transcript to them as well and proved that their employees lied. It was interesting watching them scramble to explain themselves.

The DOT takes a year to process complaints, so I haven’t heard back from the DOT on that one yet, but I’m particularly interested to see how this complaint turns out as it’s going to be impossible for them to squirrel out of any of their violations. I have proof.

After that last flight I bought myself an audio recorder (like the kind you use to record lectures in school) which I now have hanging from my personal bag. Some airlines prohibit photography and video in their contract of carriage, but I have yet to find one that prohibits audio recordings. Part of my prep for this trip has been testing that audio recorder to see what the range is and how well it records, so I know where on my bag to hang it to be sure it records everything that happens.

If you’re recording audio, keep that in mind when you’re dealing with airline employees. Ask for names or read out their name badge (”Jane Smith, right?”) and describe what’s happening if it’s not apparent from what they say. (”Wait, so you’re telling me I need to sign this release of liability form before you’ll transport my wheelchair? You do realize that’s illegal, right?”)

I have an audio recording of an airline employee on my last flight saying “I don’t care what the law says!” and my response which was “I don’t think the DOT is going to be very impressed with that.” I’m pretty sure they’re not. I can’t wait to see the DOT’s response to the airline.

muddiedclarity

It makes me sad that people have to do this, but good for holding the airlines accountable. If anyone else chooses to follow this and is within the US/flying out of a US airport, please please please be sure that you’re not in a two-party consent state: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations

I’m not a lawyer and would love to be wrong about this, but as I understand it if you’re in a two-party consent state you’re obligated to have that person’s approval to record their voice (with some exceptions provided in the law when they’re in a public place with no reasonable expectation of privacy, if I’m reading it correctly). Don’t put yourself in a position to be sued by a corporation’s legal team because you didn’t make the other party aware of the recording!

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JFC for the 118th time, I have yet to find a state that prohibits audio recordings unless there is “a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Conversations held in a public place in front of a crowd of other passengers do not carry a reasonable expectation of privacy.

“There are also exceptions to two-person consent when there’s no ‘reasonable expectation of privacy.’ For example, a conversation at a legislative hearing could be recorded without informing all parties, since recording things is what people do in legislative hearings. Same with public speeches, shouting matches on the street, or any other scenario where you simply can’t expect privacy.” (Source)

Isn’t it amazing how nobody knows disability law but everyone’s suddenly an “expert” on recording law when you start recording people violating disability law.