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 after 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 between 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 else 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/

It's a shame that those parks shouldn't change their rules. I wonder, if there was a different operator who managed the ride. Would they same the same thing about me like the previous operator? It's true that blind people can climb down ladders without being afraid of heighths, though I heard that blind people can still be afraid of heights. Still, there ought to be something to force those amusement parks to change, not just for ourselves, but for future generations to come.

Interesting topic with a situation I can honestly say I've never faced, which is quite surprising, considering I've ridden quite a few rather excentric things throughout my life as a guy who relishes in thrills and chills.  It surprises me to find out that others have in fact gotten such treatment.  Maybe the operater was having a bad day; maybe his responsibilities also included cleaning up after people once the ride was vacated, at least enough to make it presentable to the next crowd of individuals.

I have this nagging suspicion though that impressions might have been playing a roll in the matter.  it's all about how a blind person looks to a sighted person.  it seems rather strange that we should be so conscientious when dealing with the sighted world since we're always advocating for our rights and the like, saying that in all reality we're not any different from them.  Truth is, we are different from them until we prove otherwise.  Everyone loves the concept of innocent until proven guilty because it frees the person of any responsibility to prove themselves, a measure of grace for someone on either side of the coin, as long as no one can implicitly or explicitly prove with any sort of evidence be it physical or circumstancial, that said person is in fact guilty of anything.  The mind doesn't work like that though, at least under most circumstances.  People judge regularly without even realizing they are, which means that we are guilty until proven innocent, and acting slightly off makes us vulnerable to any sort of label or characterization or attack, and since first impressions go a very long way, we're stuck with the task of making sure we don't appear anything less than normal, a concept defined by every person in his or her own way.  To simplify that last statement, since I define normality different from the next person who posts here, and the following person could have a completely diferent idea from either of ours on the concept of normal, we don't really ever win unless we can convince right off that being blind is not a problem.

I think nocturnus' comments are very good and true to the point, however through all the research I've done on disability relations for 7 years now for my thesis, I fear the answer is far simpler than just "looking normal" (whatever that means).

some sighted people react to disabled people (any disability), with condescention, some with admiration, some with h contempt and hatred, most (at least in western countries), will simply react by avoidance or indifference.

. all of these are absolutely genuine emotions and not unreal, however all are equally predicated on one key, idea that disabled people, be that blind, deaf, paraplegic, mentally ill or whatetever are all different in some way and must be considdered as a group to be different. Look at phrases such as "the blind" or "the handicapped" as though they are a homogenus thing.

As humans we're used to making category judgements, and unfortunately sighted people make these all the time. "people" fall into one category, and "the! disabled" fall into another. This is a prejudice in the purist and truest sense, it is a pre-judgement, ie, as Nocturnus saidd, thinking someone is guilty before innocent.

This is also one reason I am not a fan of "disability pride" or "the blind identity" sinse pushing the separateness and group identity of any group of people rather than the fact that any group is made up of individuals little different in scope from all the other individuals in society. For example, ask yourself why, when we already have olympic events for various sorts of humans, men and women, different weight classes in boxing, people who swim in different styles etc, must disabled people have a special olympics of their own rather than including say the wheel chair ball games or the blind skeers in the same schedule.

All this is to say (sinse this does have a practical point), that myself such people as this ride operator aren't exactly maliciious, so much as they simply view blind people as not falling in the usual scope of people they deal with every day. I suspect you were the first blind person to ask and the ride operator simply wanted to deal with you as little as possible, ---- an attitude in wich a culture where people are more worried about protecting their backs from the law and regulations and so don't want to do anything to upset the boat is only going to fuel.

I've found myself that the first correct response to these situations is to deal with the person in question in as compitant, rational and coordinated a way as possible, to prove in fact that you are capable of interligent and reasoned discourse and don't just exist as some strange creature hanging off someone else's arm. Occasionally this works, aprticularly if you practice the art of conversation and various methods for getting people on side, ---- sometimes, when people are amazingly pig headed it dosn't!

I recommend in my thesis that a disability advocacy group needs to be created for these situations sinse fundamentally most none disabled people have neither the inclination nor the experience to judge the correct course of action in matters concerning disability. Failing this however, if all else fails the correct response is frankly to go through the higher ranks of people involved until either a, you can talk to someone you can persuade to be reasonable, or B, you can assure yourself that nobody is prepared to be reasonable and relieve your feelings by getting right pissed off and snarky at them!

Again, I've experienced both.

Frankly, this is a pain in the arse! and something else which makes the lives of any disabled people, particularly those with visible and obvious disabilities so dam difficult! if it isn't enough to have the problems of the disability itself, being constantly avoided and having to learn to be your own advocate is just unfair! especially when you add on top all the down right negative views of disability that some people hold.

The problem is there isn't another choice other than sitting at home and doing bugger all! so, if you want to go on these rides, your going to have to practice being convincing, and go through people until you find someone you can convince.

Btw,  As one amusing point, I find it quite funny that a blind person isn't allowed on a fixed ride that runs on a fixed track, your not driving! the thing?

I also have my own answer when people start forbidding me from places due to stairs, or persuading me to use the lift, ----  "eyes not work, legs fine!"

I will admit I've somtimes been tempted to give someone a right good boot up the back side and then say "see? ---- nothing wrong with the legs!" .

(I wouldn't actually do this, but it is something that makes me smile when repeated people thinking I'm incompitant has got on my whick).

Btw, oddly enough, having a guide dog actually helps quite a lot with this sinse for some odd reason people don't think your quite as useless if you have a dog. I have no idea why at all! but it is true.

Hi

Dark I think that has to do with the fact that when you have a dog, people see that dog, admire it partly because they see it working and doing things that seem like they are helping, and partly because they don't fully understand how the system works or just assume it's an end all solution, it's nearly the same way with a blind person that is accompanied by a sighted one, though of course then they can talk to and make eye contact, hand gestures, expressions etc with them.

It's probably most recognizable in the fact that most people would talk to that other person before you, or even the dog before you as happens quite a bit, they also get the security of knowing someone else is dealing with it, so they don't have to worry as much about helping you, staying out of your way, wondering if you know where you are, etc.

Many of the reasons may be selfish and uninformed, but in the end I think that works out better for both parties, since people that know anything about blindness, canes, guide dogs, even simply how to be a bit suttle will approach you in a better way in almost any situation anyway.

I know exactly what you felt. Something similar happened to me when I was studying in Germany:

read my blog post:
http://lucasradaelli.com/?p=274

they have never answered what I have written.

It was one of the biggest humiliations that I have ever suffered.

Hi

Agreed Dark, but I meant more checking to see if your okay instead of coming up to you to ask, though both things apply and I do know about the other disabilities thing too because I've been around it.

They will raise an eyebrow "Is he okay?", gesture to you then the door "Does he know where he's going?", point at you then the person "Are you with them?", make a gesture to come here to the person who's trying to find where you want to go and doesn't know for sure, etc.

Mostly it's harmless but then yes, that other part of it comes into affect and that's no good, it's allot of the reason why people snap their fingers or start talking to the dog, they need assurance that the dog is alert, knows where their going, basically is doing all of the work for the ablivious blind person over there so they don't have to do it.

It's not excusable, but it is understandable, also your teacher sounded pretty cool, so it's good that that worked out.

I just came up with a simple solution. What if we could somehow obscure our obvious disabilities in which we actually use some form of eyewear to distract the operator from looking into our real eyes. Would they give us a second look? Just imagine how much freedom we could get just by hiding our blindness. I know some of you may have a different opinion. You might feel that it's not how you feel about your blindness because you want the world to know about it. For me, showing the world my blindness and hard-of-hearing is something I have to choose carefully, because I never know how someone will receive me in the end. I have one more chance to try and reboard the ride tonight before the fair closes down for another year. Now there is the state fair, which opens up in September, and lasts for two weeks and a half. It's very likely that they might have the same attractions that I went to last Thursday. All of the philosophical talk indeed makes sense, and I do wish that we could find more ways to get around situations like that. My mum told me just this morning that my dad broke one of my brother's tricycles once because my little brother (I was just a newborn) fell off of it and started crying. So, what did my dad do? He took the trike and smashed it to bits. I said, he could have just stored it a way in a place he wouldn't be able to find it. My mum said he did it only because he was protecting Adrian, but he wasn't letting him grow and expand in his personality development. He was sheltering my brother all the time. Now, when it became clear that my brother wouldn't be able to learn how to talk but I did, I became his favourite. He never hit me, never abused me in any way, yet he did so to my older little brother. So, this just shows that my father was in no way ready to accept two children who had physical disabilities, so he divorced my mum and had more kids, all of which are perfectly healthy and normal.
In the end, my mum thinks that what the operator had made was simply because he felt concern and compassion, and he wanted to make sure I was safe. But at the same time, I feel that he was taking away my independence and not letting me grow maturity-wise.

Green Gables Fan, unfortunately, there is no real way to hide or obscure one's blindness from a sighted person. For one thing most of us use some sort of mobility aid be it a cane, a service dog, or sighted guide with a friend or family member so are naturally going to stand out from the crowd. If we try and do without such mobility aids we are still going to stand out because we are doubtless going to run into things, trip over things, and look like a total klutz to anyone watching. There just isn't a way to hide our blindness because by necessity we need a number of aids be it a service dog or cane that will instantly scream blind person to anyone sighted.

Trying to wear sun glasses to mask our blindness is not a real solution either. It may make some people feel more comfortable with us, but it won't hide the fact we are blind. Sighted people automatically try to make eye contact and if you can't see to make eye contact, don't look into their face, whatever having glasses on or not won't make much of a difference. They are instantly going to know you are blind and don't respond to them the way a sighted person would in the same situation.

to be honest the only real solution is to be your own best advocate. When someone starts saying you can't ride this or that ride ask them why they won't let you ride. If it is because of your blindness try and find out what their fears are, and explain to them how this or that can be worked out. Its a pain in the butt, but being assertive and being your own advocate is the only way to deal with the worlds biases one person at a time.

@Paddy I agree on the encouraging people to ask questions. One of the best indicators I've noticed when I meet a new person who initially is wary about interacting with me is when they say "I don't want to offend you but", or "do you mind if I ask a question?"

This is usually followed with either "how much can you see?" or "have you always been blind"

I've tended to start saying to people, "Look if those sorts of questions offended me, I'd be offended a lot of the time! and I'd rather people asked than assumed"

If someone asks, it generally can mean that they're seeing you as a person with different experiences to theirs and trying to learn, which is only a good thing.

About becoming angry, one of the problems of blindness is you can feel as though your on show for someone else particularly if you are aware that someone is judging you as incompitant. just like anything else if you try to do something when your pissed off and rushing at it and concerned you'll get it wrong you'll be more likely to.

These days I've come to a point where I don't have to prove anything to anyone! if someone says "can you get to the door?" from here, I'll just tell them yes or no, I don't need to proove! I do, not for their stupid bennifit.

If I had an incident with someone treating me like a child as you describe that lady I'd first attempt to show politely my displeasure, mentioned I was doing a doctorate, engage her in conversation on other matters. If this didn't work (and how much I tried that would depend very much upon how pissed off I was), I'd probably go for something sarcastic, but not angry.

There is a big difference between controled, and centered anger, and uncontrolled anger which will be liable to make you make mistakes, and you have to learn which one is of use to you in situations. Often simply stopping and directly confronting the person honestly can work, sinse usually people don't realize what they are doing and might occasionally feel shame when you point it out, although some people will carry on regardless sinse they're morons.

Again, why disabled people have to learn and do all this advocacy crap when everyone else can just swan through life regardless and expect to be treated at least like a human is just not fare, but there unfortunately isn't a choice.

@TommI totally agree about no way to hide blindness or avoid eye contact sinse it is such a basic part of communication. One interesting fact however is when I've been on stage performing my mum has witness some quite amusing conversation about whether I am blind or not. I personally don't care either way. When I'm performing I care about the performance, my character, my singing, not about whether people work out that I have a visual imparement or not. However it is an interesting fact.

Part of it might be lack of guide dog, cane or other symbols, but as you said, even without these blindness is fairly obvious, another part might be that on stage of dcourse I know what movements I'm making and have practiced and thus am unlikely to need to say avoid bumping into someone, walk slowly or scan for an object if I can't see it to pick it up.

The two major reasons however I tend to think are firstly, that on stage there is a huge confidence factor. several very good directors have said to me "it doesn't really matter what! your doing on stage as a singer, as long as you do it with confidence" that is something I am still learning and trying to bare in mind.

The other fact however is one of focus, sinse if your on a stage, you don't need! to worry about communicating with people via eye contact, sinse people are already looking at and listening to you, and indeed for a singer the listening part is a good bit more important, ---- an actor I know once said "well there is a reason we call them the audience and not the vidiance, because the most crucial communication is still vocal in most productions and if you've got the voice part sorted enough you don't need to worry about the other as much" this is certainly true, sinse many very tallented singers really don't! prance round the stage or dance a lot. This is something major I get from performance sinse I can use my emotional sense to empathise with and commmunicate to the audience in a very clear and distinct way, which is why as I said the chap at music school who was talking about eye contact found that if I had the right concentration while performaing I could give the impression of eye contact without doing it, though obviously this requires a huge amount of emotional sense and commitment from me, (I can't just expect to jaw out a song while thinking about what I'm having for lunch and for people to enjoy it).

This does translate into social situations of course, sinse once you are! in conversation with someone and have their attention, that is the point you can start communicating and chipping away at that perception of difference. It's just a shame that unfortunately conversation in social senses can't begin until this stupid eye contact thing gives permission, and without that your only hope is either someone both reasonable and extravert enough to talk to you anyway, or to engage in a group activity where people will be forced to talk to you.

For the first point, well Britain is not the best culture for that sort of thing. i also think being male doesn't help either, indeed I've met blind girls who get far more from clubbing, discos and such than blind boys do precisely for this reason.

Well a device that allerted you when someone was seaking eye contact might help, though how scanning could determine this accurately, and how you would distinguish actual eye contact designed to start a conversation from someone simply glancing at you I don't know.

Even if however it could allert you to the actions of others, there isn't a way you could respond naturally. Eye contact is not just "looking at someone's face" there is rather more to it than that, it's a far more two way business, just look at how it is described in novels like the good old lovvers "eye's meeting across a crowded room" thing.

There is no way even if you could gather someone was seaking this that you could respond, nor I imagine after you've been alerted would you be able to respond quickly or appropriately enough to actually solve the problem. Eye contact between two sighted people is as instant and obvious as recognizing someone's voice.

The one electronic solution I could! imagine is a far simpler idea dn one which we'd likely see in the next few years, though whether it would gain enough cultural and social assimilation to be effective I don't know.

We're already getting to the point where say an Iphone could track other Iphones in the immediate vicinity and tell you information about them. If it could give you basic name and general interest information on your screen, you coudd then phone the person and begin a conversation, which could then move into a real conversation once you moved closer into the same space.

The problem of course is that this would depend entirely on the cultural acceptance of A, getting someone's general details on your device and b, being able to ring them from their emediate area and request a personal conversation not be thought a creepy stalker. I suspect the second point is the one which is not going to happen, sinse while social media is extremely good at connecting people across the worldit does rather have the effect of isolating people in the same area, ---- look at all the people who wander around crowded public places and would rather be doing skype or facebook than engaging with those around them. Indeed it seems online and offline existance is for a lot of people a very separate thing.

This trend is actually a little scary in a lot of ways, but unfortunately doesn't help with social isolation in reality, indeed it's rather ironic that frequently on the internet, especially in such open platforms as facebook telling someone your blind is a great way to get the cold shoulder, though interestingly enough once again if you reveal it in a group of common interest the situation is more likely to be different (one reason I've always said indi developers are a rather nice bunch when talking about their games).

This is also why I personally avoid facebook, ---- though the  amount of piffle on the pages I'd need to sift through is also a big contributing factor.