Blind Woman Discriminated Against for Having a Guide-Dog
June 8th 2008 21:00
No wonder I hate security guards, bouncers and shops. They tend to hire people who are rude. This story in the 4/6/08 issue of Central Sydney magazine had me seeing red:
Central Sydney story
Donna Purcell, a visually-impaired lady who works near the Sydney CBD area says she frequently encounters discrimination. She says she has trouble accessing food halls, supermarkets and restaurants all because she has a guard dog. Donna also has problems with taxis – they either don’t stop or refuse her as a passenger.
Her husband Rick says if the couple try to eat at food halls, they are asked to leave and escorted out by security guards.
I can’t believe people can be so un-empathetic or stupid. Rick says security guards ask them to leave because dogs aren’t allowed on the premises but for God’s sake, we’re talking about a visually-impaired person who needs her guide-dog to get around. Like, what ever happened to commonsense? Not only that, what they’re doing is illegal under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.
Good on the Purcells for trying to raise public awareness to their situation. Their story will make me think twice about shopping and eating in the CBD. Even though I don’t encounter the type of discrimination Donna faces, I don’t want to support shopping centres or restaurants that treat her so badly.
Rick’s comment on their experiences in food halls, though, is one I can really relate to as during APEC, I was sitting in a shopping centre food hall having my lunch. I had eaten at this particular food hall many times before with no problems. But that day a security guard approached me and told me this place was not for squatters. Before I could ask what he meant, he had already walked off. I then lost it. I mean, what’s the purpose of having a food hall if people aren’t allowed to eat there or are going to be accused of squatting? I dumped my lunch on the table for them to clean up and walked around the food hall, flipping the bird, hoping I would be filmed on their security cameras. I also wrote a letter to centre management, not that they responded. I notice that people seldom shop or eat at this particular shopping centre and no wonder, if their security guards have nothing better to do than to pick on people who are simply using their facilities for what they were originally ‘supposed’ to be intended for.
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