cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/news@lemmy.world/t/584100

Airline was forced to apologize to Rodney Hodgins who flew to Las Vegas with his wife to celebrate their anniversary in August

      •  cole   ( @cole@lemdro.id ) 
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        38 months ago

        I don’t really know if this hate is warranted. The ADA is a really nice and forward looking piece of legislature. We do better for accessibility than most countries

        • The existence of legislation doesn’t mean it is widely enforced, nor does it reflect public nor institutional attitudes towards disabled people, which I guarantee are much worse than you’re comfortable acknowledging. (ETA: also being a highly litigious society doesn’t equal being a fair or inclusive society. Potentially being awarded money after the fact doesn’t take away the pain, distress, and other long lasting effects of being discriminated against and excluded)

          We do better for accessibility than most countries

          lmfao, maybe go ask some actually disabled people (like this one, from the UK, where we have even “better” laws than yours, and yet disabled people are some of the most discriminated against in society) if they agree with you, they’ll probably laugh as hard in your face as I am at my screen.

          But hey, if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy and completely absolves you of taking any responsibility to actually learn about what disabled people deal with daily (never mind do better, which it’s clear from your comment you could), that there are “laws” in place (just like there are against racism and sexism, and transphobia and so on, because those do just as great a job as the ADA at actually protecting anyone), who am I to bring you down with reality… 🙄

          Or you could check your privilege?

          Lol, as if… But hey - you’ve made me laugh twice in 5 minutes, so at least you have that going for you…

  • This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Rodney Hodgins, 49, a hardware salesman from British Columbia who requires the use of a motorized wheelchair, flew to Las Vegas with his wife, Deanna, to celebrate their anniversary in August.

    When the attendant said Hodgins would have to pull himself off the plane alone, the couple at first thought she was joking – but then she repeated the request.

    Hodgins was forced to use his upper body strength to haul himself past 12 rows of seats, with his wife holding his legs.

    In her Facebook post, Deanna Hodgins said the event left the couple devastated.

    She said the couple had planned the trip for eight months and made sure they took care of all requirements on their end.

    “We use the services of a third party wheelchair assistance specialist in Las Vegas to provide safe transport on and off aircraft,” the statement read.


    The original article contains 435 words, the summary contains 144 words. Saved 67%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!