At Sea-Tac International Airport for my return flight home after a idyllic week in the Pacific Northwest, I was told to surrender my white mobility cane at the security checkpoint. I have it on good authority that I am permitted to keep it with me so I always push back, something tricky to do with airport security personnel, all of who hold your fate in their rubber-gloved hands. In this particular instance, I was sternly instructed that I could absolutely not hold on to the cane, was unkindly barked at to break it down (fold it up), put it on the conveyor belt, then go through the x-ray machine. It was at this point that a TSA agent approached me, taking my arm and pulling me to the body scanner where I was offered a stability cane that an elderly person would use. I was already angry and embarrassed, struggling to maintain my composure. Being handed this alternate cane whose construction and function are completely different than that of a cane utilized by the blind community was so offensive to me that I still am unable to articulate it properly. Yet my only option in the moment was to comply.
You would be amazed how much memory comes into play when you are visually impaired, therefore, I remembered that there is a small ramp up into the scanner as well as on the other side when leaving the upright capsule. If I had my cane, it would have notified me of the sloping surfaces. The gentleman holding my arm put me into the body scanner, while the TSA agent on the other side directed me to spread my legs further apart in order to place my feet on the two footprints on the floor. I told him twice that I was unable to see the markings. It was then that the TSA agent on the exit side of the scanner entered it to physically move my legs with his hands.
All I wanted was for this to be over, however, due to suspicious areas around my “groin and buttocks” I was given a pat down. Apparently post-menopausal belly fat is a threat to national security.
I had worked with the Port of Seattle Facilities Accessibility Program Manager the year before after a similar situation had occurred at Sea-Tac. After sending an email to them then, the policy was looked into and all those involved informed that visually impaired persons can keep their cane while going through security.
This year, I followed up with the same email address, now finding someone else in the role. She was fantastic, very kind and upset to hear of my experience, immediately diving in, asking thoughtful questions so that she had as much data as possible. The new TSA Screening Director at Sea-Tac agreed that TSA should revisit their current procedures and ensure that the staff be retrained on assisting blind passengers through screening. The team met at a security checkpoint to walk through the current process and review the equipment that they are currently providing to people. They also discussed training that the Port of Seattle has developed to increase disability awareness and provide front line staff with effective communication tools that can be utilized while interacting with passengers.
The meeting was a great success, with TSA confirming that their accessibility standards do allow persons with mobility canes to keep them through the screening process. They would just need to inspect the cane. Should a passenger be asked to use an alternative device such as a wooden stability cane, the passenger should request the attention of a supervisor.
The Seattle Facilities Accessibility Program Manager and I are going to work in the new year to establish and educate a national policy whereby the blind community can keep their mobility canes with them or be given a TSA approved mobility cane instead of great-grandma’s.
I tell you this story not to say “look at me, look at what I did”, but to remind you that you can make a difference. I am not an idealist. I have seen – and not seen – too much for that. I am always cautiously optimistic when I take on these projects but there is something in me that will not allow me to not try. I will admit, this trait is something I often curse. It would be so much easier to ignore injustice, to shrug my shoulders and assume there is nothing I can do.
Trying is not noting. It is everything. My cane is part of me; I have already lost a piece of me, there will be no more when I am able to prevent it.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter#blindnessisaspectrum #opticneuropathy #visuallyimpaired #blind #caneandable
