Discrimination at a County Fair
Hi y'all,
I'm writing this because I need some advice, and I need to do
something about it. For once, I want to win this, and I want future
people who have my circumstances to not go through what I went through.
So, as we all know, the county fair every year is hosted in my city. I had gone there yesterday evening to use the ticket I had boughten on-line.
http://www.bigfairfun.com/ I also looked at the complete list of rides so I
could keep track of the rides I wanted to go on and which ones I had
already gone in the past. However, the problem is that I can only go
once a year because of budget reasons, so I have to choose which rides I
want to sacrifice over others and leave those for next year, if they
will still be there. Well, I was not expecting to find something that I
have longed for ten years to be there at last.
I'm not sure if I told y'all this yet, but there was a ride I was obsessed over. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitron Well, at the time when I was
still a young child, I was not all particular in knowing the names of the
rides that I went on, and hence I did not pay attention to them so I
could research them. I was only nine at the time, plus I didn't have internet, let alone a computer to begin with. On Friday, July 2nd,
2004, my mum and I stumbled upon this interesting ride and we rode it. At the end I asked the operator what it was called, and he said it was a star ship or something. I would
never forget the sensations I got when I rode it. It made me feel like I
was lying down flat on the ground, when in reality I was still
diagonal. Well, my mum and I got off. I'm not sure if you know this,
but when you're young, you can't feel any tightness in your chest than
when you are an adult. Tonight I felt that. This is why my mum did not
like the ride at all and she would not go on it again. Well tonight, my
mum and I were walking around, looking for one ride in particular, until
she happened to stumble on a ride called the Thriller. She described it
as being like an astronaut's house, which is like a space ship. That
immediately got my attention. I knew where this was going. At last,
tonight would be the day that my long-time dream would be realised,
today I would have made history, and my mother agreed. She knew that I
was obsessed about the ride ever since I read about it in a book that I
read in 2012. You see, between 2004 and 2012, I did not even think about
the ride. It was just in the back of my mind. I started growing
suspicious of the ride when I researched it further, until I was
absolutely certain that the ride I had heard about and the one I had
been on since 2004 were exactly the same. I knew I had to do something
about it. I would not rest until I found a chance to get on this ride.
So, we finally went upstairs and I got inside and I walked over to the
first panel to the right of the entrance. I took out my iPod and I
started talking about how the Gravitron was set up, describing every
texture, every move that I would soon feel. Then came the notice: My
mother told me I had to get off the ride. Still recording, I reluctantly
got off, asking why. My mother told me to just get off and that she
would explain. I persisted until she finally told me that the operator
told her I am not supposed to ride alone. All that information was
enough to shatter my emotions of excitement, longing, happiness, and
satisfaction to bits. First, sadness. Then sadness was taken over by
anger and surprise. I tried to reason with my mum, asking why the
operator thought it unsafe for me. Then she told me that they were
afraid that I might get hurt. So what? Anyone else can get hurt. Were
they afraid that because of my blindness,I would be more prone to get
hurt than the sighted because I would not see if something happened to
me, or even hear them? Maybe what they fear is being sued, but they can
also be sued for discrimination against people with disabilities. I
totally felt violated and more so when my mother betrayed me. She didn't
take my side. She took on the side of those who told me I shouldn't ride
alone. What's wrong with that? I'm twenty years old, five foot three
inches, and they think that I can't be alone on this particular ride
because of my blindness and hard-of-hearing? Or is there a completely different reason? I am
aware that some rides require two people simply for the sake of
balancing equilibrium, but I don't' think that was necessary in this
case. Also, I am aware that a spotter is required, even if you are completely enabled, for certain sports. What was the operator referring to when
they told my mother I shouldn't be by myself? All my mother said was
that there were rules, and that I should follow them. That's when I felt
betrayed. I vowed to myself and to my mother that I was not going to let
them get away with it. I recorded a little bit of the words she and I
had so I could use it as proof in court if I had to, but it would have
been better if I could capture what the operator had said, which I
didn't because I was engaged in describing what the Gravitron was like.
I threatened to call the police in two hours if something was not done.
Since we had come with my aunt and cousin, we ended up looking for them
since they had lost sight of us. Still, I was not about to be
sidetracked. I was going to go on that ride even if it meant spending
the night there. I was going to protest, to fight with all my might. I
wanted those people to hurt just as bad as they had hurt me. Finally, my
mother found the only way out, which was when she happened to run across one
of our neighbours who lives across the street. The latter volunteered to stay
with me throughout the whole ride. She and I didn't talk much, mainly
because conversation was hard, but I told her about how I was so anxious
to ride this ride, and that I finally deserved to fulfil my long-lost dream.
On board the ride, I told her what I had learnt, and when we started
spinning, I sat up when the force was strong enough, but I guess the
rider next to me didn't like the way it looked. I mean, can you imagine
sitting on a wall as if it was a floor? It's all because of centrifugal
force. I wanted to do some of the tricks like go upside down, but I
didn't get to do those. Also, my iPod had died by the time I wanted to
use it on the second time I went on the ride with the other person.
So although I got what I wanted, I still feel a sense of distress
because of what happened, and I want to be repaid in some way to make up
for all the trouble that I went through, and to make sure no one who has
similar disabilities has that kind of experience. After all, I was able
to ride most of the rides on my own with no problem.
Below I will put in the six rules for ride requirements and expectations.
Ride list is subject to change without notice
Carnival Ride Requirements
1. No Casts, pregnant persons, nor intoxicated individuals on rides
2. Children who measure under 36" in height cannot ride any carnival
rides alone and children who measure 36" to 48" in height may only ride
a few select rides
3. All riders must have either a Butler Amusements carnival ride
wristband or Butler Amusements carnival ride coupons
4. Rides require 3 to 5 coupons each per rider
5. Infants are not allowed on any carnival rides
6. For your safety, it is always up to the ride operator to decide if it
is safe for you to ride.
If you look at the list found on
http://bigfairfun.com/rides-at-the-carnival.php
Now, I did not see anything in regards to the Thriller or Gravitron on
this list of rides, so it must have been a last-minute thing. If there
was more information about it I would have used it to determine what the
operator worried about, though rule no. 6 has me wondering.
Anyhow, I would really appreciate some support, as I feel I need to do
something about it. I'm going to the commission to-morrow, but I'm not
sure if they can help me. One of my former TVI's has gone through a law suit, and they
love amusement rides just as much as I do, so I'm not sure if they can
help me either. I also looked on this forum for the topic called Discrimination at a Theme Park, but it must have been removed, for I didn't see it. I was suggested two choices. I could either start a petition, or contact the fair via writing to inform them of this incident and explain in as very much detail the trouble that I had undergone just to ride that one ride.
Anyhow, please let me know what I can do. I'm going to leave now, but
hopefully when I come back I'll get some kind of response.
sincerely,
A very tired and upset -GGF
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