My blood is boiling folks. I went to see a movie today at Grand Lake Theatre. I have been in there before, and never had a problem. Only half the theatre is accessible so I always have to call ahead to find out which films are being played on the ground floor. I do prefer the older theatres because I HATE STADIUM seating because the only accessible seats are at the very front, and it hurts my neck to look up for two hours.
Nevertheless, I had rolled down to the theatre in my power chair, as I do frequently. On my power chair is a tall, very thin pole with an orange bike safety flag at the top. It is always there, and nobody has ever said anything to me about it, but that is probably because the other theatres have more wheelchair accessible seating at the back of the theatre.
The movie HANCOCK had just begun and a person from the Grand Lake Theatre came to ask if my flag was retractable or removeable. I said, No, it’s not. The guy came back a few minutes later and said, “Your flag is blocking the view for the people in back of you. I’ll let it go this time, but next time the flag has to come down.” I looked at the seats in the theatre and saw that there were 200 seats and probably only 60 were filled. I felt like saying, “What’s wrong, they don’t have legs? They can’t find other seats to sit in? I’ll gladly trade my wheelchair for their healthy legs.
Am I unreasonable? No. If the manager had come up to me after the movie, and asked me about my safety flag, I might have been amenable to finding out where to get one. But, I just could not get over the fact that less than half the theatre was full, and these poor people simply could not move their butts to different seats, because there are only four places for people in wheelchairs to sit, and I was in one of them, and I could not believe I was the one being called inconsiderate! Violins indeed! I felt like what those people actually wanted was for me to ask for my money back and leave. I refused to budge. I said to my helper “What? They can’t move? Where am I supposed to sit?”
I felt like Rosa Parks and all the other people of color that have been relegated to the back of the proverbial bus!
For all the owner and management of Grand Lake Theatre spout their liberal viewpoints on the marque, I find this kind of attitude mind-boggling, and inconsiderate. What’s next, is somebody going to complain about the headrest on my chair? Get over it. When I used to walk, I would move if somebody was being obnoxious, or if they were so large that they blocked my view. No big deal. But when we only have a choice of four seats in the house, or to god forbid, plunk ourselves in the middle of the aisle, well, too bad. I’m not moving.
I am an advocate, and I sit on the Oakland Mayor’s Commission on Person’s with Disabilities. I am asking everybody to either boycott Grand Lake Theatre, or write letters in favor of removing a few more of the seats to make better access for those of us who have to get around in those pesky wheelchairs and scooters! Maybe after they do that, I will get a retractable flag. It is a two-way street buddy. With a theatre that boasts a 3.2 million upgrade with 1600 seats total, there is simply no excuse for there to be only 4 accessible seats in each of the ground floor theatres. it's inexcusable!
This is going to all the local papers, my blog, as well as my network of friends via e-mail.
3200 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
Phone: (510) 452-3556
Tamar Raine,
July 4, 2008
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