Re: Discrimination at a County Fair
I already sent this to the fair board. In this letter, I modified some aspects just to be on the same side. I didn't send them that fact, by eliminating my real name in this message.
PLEASE FORWARD TO THE RESPECTED DEPARTMENT
Dear Members of the Washington County Fair Board,
I am writing to inform you of a disturbing incident that I experienced whilst using your services provided by Buttler Amusements, and I'd like to insure that future incidents do not happen to people with my circumstances.
First of all I'd like to introduce myself. My name is GGF. I am a twenty-year-old life-long U. S. citizen of a city in Oregon. I am totally blind and hard-of-hearing, though i have enough functional hearing to get through most situations.
Yesterday, 24th July, at around 21:15, a family member and I were looking for a particular ride that I enquired about. Upon doing so, we stumbled on a ride that has actually held major significance to me because
I had not ridden this ride since Friday, 2nd July 2004, so I was looking forward to ride the Thriller (Gravitron) as the sign proclaimed.
In the year that I actually got to ride it, I was not yet old or tall enough to ride alone, so I was obliged to be accompanied by a family member. Since I was still quite young, names of the rides held no importance to me as they do now, as I am clearly an amusement ride enthusiast. In the year 2012, I happened to stumble upon this particular ride when I was doing vague research on the internet. I started growing suspicious of the ride's description because it matched the description of the ride I had not been on since that day in 2004. Once I had validated that this was the same ride, I endeavoured to find every means possible to find it, even if it meant scouring the county and state fairs across the North-West.
I finally got my chance to ride it yesterday, and I was looking forward to boarding it. However, the bad news came afte
r I had boarded it. The same family member that had helped me before was not able to board with me, and after I had gotten off they explained to me that the operator told this family member that I should not be riding alone on this ride. According to rule no. 6, found on http://bigfairfun.com/rides-at-the-carnival.php, it states that it is always up to the ride operator to decide if it is safe for me to ride this ride. On this list i did not see any mention of the Gravitron whatsoever, so I'm wondering if this was added at the last minute. Had there been such I could have used it to determine why the operator felt the ride was unsafe. After all, I met the following 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
My only difference that sets me apart from other individuals is that i have two physical disabilities, blindness and hard-of-hearing, but even so, that shouldn't be a problem, unless the operator fears that I would be more prone to getting hurt, which could result in a law suit. However, there can still be a law suit for discrimination, as it is against the Americans with Disabilities Act to not provide reasonable accomodations.
I am also aware that there could have been a form of miscommunication. The operator could have meant that all riders must travel in pairs, regardless of age, height, disability, etc, sort of like a buddy or spotter. It could have been the fact that the misinterpretation occurred betwe
en my family member with whom they talked to the operator, or it could have been the way that family member conveyed the information to me. In either case, I felt violated of my rights because of this unfair act, and I would simply like to resolve this issue so that this doesn't happen again. After all, my physical disabilities has not prevented me from boarding other rides alone.
I am also aware that some rides require two people for the sake of balancing equilibrium, though I don't think this was the case on this particular ride.
If you can inform me as to where this problem had occured, and whether this act was based on a wisely-made decision or based on ignorance and stupidity, I'd really appreciate a response, as I had clearly experience distress while trying to sort things out.
By sending this letter, I acknowledge that what I stated here is written to the best of my ability, and that I was not obliged to write this letter on behalf of someone els
e other than myself. I hereby understand that once this missive has been sent, it cannot be undone, and that I am aware that this can be forwarded and passed onto other staff members.
Any correspondence via writing or call will be grately received.
Sincerely,
-GGF
http://www.sensationexperience.com/
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