Meir and Jonathan,

Karen Selick's reaction to the Canadian airline ruling is similar to what's
happened in the US, in some cases, with the ADA.  A really good book on this
is:

*Make Them Go Away: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Reeve and the Case Against
Disability Rights (Paperback) *by Mary
Johnson<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/103-8560560-2897411?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=mary%20johnson>(Author).
 The courts in the US have rendered a lot of decisions that have
weakened the ADA.  (Littleton v WalMart is a very recent example).

Unfortunately, Selick's reaction has done people with similar viewpoints a
lot of "good" in the US.  I don't know what the appellate process or climate
is in Canada, but please keep us informed on this, Meir.

On 1/15/08, Jonathan Rand <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> sorry baby...  lady luck didn't go your way this time.  tuff nuggies for
> you.  you lose.
>
> you're long winded email (with a reactionary slant) will do you no good.
>
> > Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:06:38 -0500
> > From: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Robbing (able-bodied) Petra to pay (disabled) Paula
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> >
> > http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=238201
> >
> > Article rank
> > DARREN STONE / CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
> >
> > Joanne Neubauer
> > Robbing (able-bodied) Petra
> > to pay (disabled) Paula
> > KAREN SELICK
> > National Post [log in to unmask]
> > Joanne Neubauer of Victoria must be happy today. She's the wheelchair
> user whose
> > complaint to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) resulted in last
> week's
> > decision requiring the airlines to give her a second seat, without
> charge, for
> > her travelling attendant.
> >
> >
> > "It means we have the same rights as everyone else," Neubauer said.
> "I've always
> > wanted to go to the Maritimes myself. I've seen pictures but I've never
> been,
> > because I haven't been able to afford [two seats]."
> >
> >
> > In my view, Neubauer's satisfaction with this ruling is extremely
> short-sighted.
> > Ultimately, the erroneous thinking that gave rise to this ruling
> threatens the
> > security of able-bodied and disabled individuals alike.
> >
> >
> > The CTA probably had no choice but to rule as it did, given the content
> of the
> > governing legislation and case precedents. However, Neubauer's
> conclusion that
> > she was given the "same rights" as everyone else is incorrect.
> >
> >
> > The right that able-bodied passengers have is to consume whatever
> services an
> > airline willingly provides at a particular price - in other words, the
> right to
> > engage in voluntary trade. The disabled now have something different -
> the legal
> > power to consume services in excess of what an airline willingly
> provides at
> > that price. They have the power to coerce others into parting with their
> > property, against their will.
> >
> >
> > This power is clearly a privilege, not a right. If it were a right,
> everyone
> > would have it - universality is what distinguishes rights from
> privileges. But
> > if everyone had it, Canadian society would rapidly disintegrate into the
> chaos,
> > brutality and destitution that characterizes societies where private
> property is
> > not secure but can be seized against the owner's will by whoever comes
> along
> > with superior power.
> >
> >
> > The philosophical error underlying this ruling is the widely held notion
> that
> > justice consists in our following Lady Luck around and trying to undo
> what we
> > perceive to be her injustices. Neither Air Canada nor WestJet (the
> defendants in
> > this case) had anything to do with causing Neubauer's rheumatoid
> arthritis. Most
> > likely, nobody did. Neubauer was simply unlucky in falling victim to
> this
> > crippling condition.
> >
> >
> > No matter how we may seethe against the seeming unfairness of her
> situation, we
> > must accept that there is no element of morality or justice involved.
> Lady Luck
> > is not an entity - merely a metaphor. But morality and justice are
> concepts that
> > apply only in judging the deliberate actions of conscious entities. We
> don't
> > call a tree immoral or unjust if it falls and kills someone. Trees
> aren't
> > conscious and their falling is not deliberate.
> >
> >
> > The fact that Neubauer became disabled through sheer bad luck is morally
> > neutral. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the CTA's decision to
> shift
> > the burden of Neubauer's disability to others. In concert with the
> lawmakers who
> > passed the Canada Transportation Act and the judiciary that has
> interpreted
> > those laws, the CTA has taken deliberate steps to harm others who are
> innocent
> > of any wrongdoing. If the airlines raise fares for other passengers,
> then it is
> > other blameless travellers who will be victimized by this decision. If
> the
> > airlines absorb the costs themselves, then it will be their shareholders
> who are
> > victimized.
> >
> >
> > Surely, we must acknowledge that deliberately harming innocent
> bystanders is not
> > an act of justice - that it is morally wrong no matter how sympathetic
> or
> > appealing the intended beneficiary may be. Otherwise, the thug who
> steals your
> > wallet in a dark alley and gives the money to his ailing grandmother
> should be
> > lauded as an agent of justice rather than punished as a criminal.
> >
> >
> > Nor does it help that the state's decision to redistribute wealth has
> been made
> > using the democratic process. If democracy remedied this injustice, then
> two
> > thugs in the dark alley could justify taking your wallet simply by
> letting you
> > vote with them on it, and outvoting you two to one.
> >
> >
> > The moral course of action for people to take if they wish to help the
> disabled
> > is to donate their own resources, not to commandeer someone else's for
> that
> > purpose. Charities like Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, for example,
> convert
> > voluntary donations into invaluable assistance to blind people. Neubauer
> would
> > have done a genuine service, rather than a disservice, to the country if
> she had
> > organized a similar voluntary organization to fund travel expenses for
> the
> > disabled.
> >
> >
> > As for that trip to the Maritimes, I' ll bet there are many able-bodied
> people
> > in Victoria who can't afford it either. The proper course of action in
> such
> > circumstances is to save up until you can. Neubauer apparently expects
> to be
> > able to save enough for one ticket. She should simply save twice as long
> and buy
> > two.
> >
> >
> > Karen Selick is a lawyer in Belleville. (ONTARIO, CANADA
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----------------------
> >
> > To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here:
> >
> > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy
> >
>
> -----------------------
>
> To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here:
>
> http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy
>
>


-- 


Kendall

An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

-----------------------

To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here:

http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy