the only thing you did wrong is that you told your helper "what, they can't move?" you should have told the theater employee "what, they can't move?"
givem hell mag.
--- On Fri, 7/4/08, Tamar Raine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: Tamar Raine <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: The Sparks are Flying!
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Friday, July 4, 2008, 10:02 PM
> 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
> [log in to unmask]
>
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