#safety issues

yeah guys, this sport will never change if everyone: teams, riders, journalists have this attitude towards things like this and safety issues 🤷🏽‍♀️

if you cultivate suffering, then of course all young racers will see it as the only way and no one will change anything, no one will say anything, everyone will silently accept these agonies and sufferings.

do you think that without suffering and horror you can't become great?

(for context, the video they're discussing 👇)

I live in the metro area of Minnesota. I became physically disabled over 20 years ago and need to use a cane, I cannot run or even walk swiftly and have high level chronic pain. Would it be foolish of me to join protesters?

"Advocates warn that the proposals targeting employment protections, health care, marriage equality, and Pride displays could reshape life for LGBTQ+ Tennesseans."

—Advocate.

"Many discriminatory bills have faced major setbacks, but extremely dangerous bills are still moving. Take action with these campaigns for bills moving the week of March 30."

—Tennessee Equality Project.

Former Tesla engineer Christina Balan, who was fired in 2014, said in an interview that her entire team was threatened with deportation for taking her side when she brought up a brake safety issue directly to Elon Musk. She’s now succeeded in throwing out Tesla’s arbitration case against her, and hopes to meet Tesla directly in open court in a case that could influence corporate policy nationwide.

Christina Balan is a Romanian-born engineer who formerly worked for Tesla on the Model S. Her contributions were significant enough that her initials appeared on the Model S’ battery pack.

But in 2014, she brought up what she considered a safety issue directly with Elon Musk. She thought that the Model S’ floor mats could cause a brake safety issue, similar to a situation that Toyota had recently gone through (though that also led to a media firestorm that blew the issue out of proportion).

Hahaha!!! CE is rigid? They let attendees practically assault the guests by putting the actors in the position of having to say no to awkward or uncomfortable poses (which the actors won't do because they don't want to be the 'bad guy'), they allow explicit material through to the auto-line, they don't ask attendees to adhere to the dress code (have you see what Abi wears?), and they don't throw people out for shouting during panels, even though it's in their rules. You think that's rigid? CE may have a system that runs pretty well, but they certainly don't require adherence to their own guidelines.

And you want to talk safety issues without being vague? A con guest in the last couple years posted about being surprised because they realized they had a gun in their bag that they'd forgotten about. A gun!!! You think CE focuses on safety? Please. There are no bag searches, they never ban fans who've threatened the actors or their fans. Just because something hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it isn't a recipe for disaster.

But hey, it's nice that you mention, in the most vague terms, about incidents at other cons, and yet, we've seen Jared wandering with just Clif by his side at some of the newer comic cons. Are you perhaps talking about JIB or Crossroads? If so, you'll remember that those are basically just like CE because they're SPN only, so I wouldn't consider those less safe than CE. I'm talking general comic cons with a broader fanbase. In fact, when RICC was notified online that one of their volunteers was a Jared-hater, they took care of the problem right away and assured fans that she wouldn't be working that con. That's the kind of attitude I'd like CE to employ. Instead, they're only focused on how much money they can make, regardless of safety, comfort level, etc.

by Michele Sommerstein This morning as I checked social media, I noticed there was a trending NYT article entitled “Tired Of The Subways? Blame Andrew Cuomo.” It talked all about how the MTA was failing the NYC customer, how the system was outdated and how Governor Cuomo has dropped the ball.

[image description: photo of Gov. Cuomo. He is dressed in a dark blue suit, white button down shirt, with a navy tie with white diaganol stripes on it. There is a golden pin on his jacket and he is looking at the camera, with a big smile on his face]

For the record, I agree with everything that the article talked about. Especially considering that the fares keep going up, we all deserve a better and safer subway system. However, there was one thing missing from the article: the experience of the disabled customer in a wheelchair. As a customer of this nature, when it comes to the MTA subways, the struggle is real. If you are a customer who has no problem taking the stairs, then you have full access to the entire system (unless there is construction going on, but while annoying, it's always temporary.) It’s a very different story when you're a customer in a motorized wheelchair. According to a recent NY Times article, “people who use wheelchairs, mobility devices or are unable to use stairs” lack access to “more than 75% of the city's 472 subway stations...” 

But that's just the tip of the iceberg, as just because a station is wheelchair accessible, doesn't guarantee that a customer in a wheelchair, will have access to it. After all, in order to have access to the station, more than not, I need to have access to the elevators, which break down so frequently, that they MTA is  being sued by several disability rights groups

It’s particularly a problem when the broken down elevator is the one on the platform. I was once heading home from Manhattan to Gravesend (Brooklyn). I got off at a wheelchair accessible platform, only to see a police officer guarding a broken elevator. “You can't use this elevator” he said stating the obvious. The problem was, the only other thing he knew to tell customers was to use the stairs – which is not an option for a customer in a wheelchair. Why didn't the MTA - which has an accessibility department – educate this man on what to tell customers in wheelchairs? When I asked him what I should do, he fumbled a bit and then told me to take the train a couple stops uptown, where I could then transfer to where I had to go. “This station is wheelchair accessible?” “Yes.” he said. It was not.

The elevators are so bad that as a disabled customer in a wheelchair, before I leave, I always check the MTA website, to see which elevators are in service. You can also sign up for text notifications to your phone, that will alert you every time an elevator breaks down. And I do, but even this doesn't guarantee that by the time I get to the station, nor by the time I return, all the elevators that I need will still be working. Because of this, it is vital to jot down 1-2 alternative routes, that include back up buses, just in case any of the many elevators are suddenly out of service.

[photo of an NYC subway elevator that is out of service]

But let's just say that all the elevators are working. Another thing you quickly learn as a customer in a wheelchair is that not all platforms in a wheelchair accessible station, are wheelchair accessible. And even when you find a wheelchair accessible platform in a wheelchair accessible station, it doesn’t guarantee that you can board a subway car from any part of the platform. Disabled customers in wheelchairs are told to wait for the trains in the designated boarding area, because according the MTA website, “This boarding area is specifically modified to accommodate the transfer of wheelchairs between train and platform.“ This is also boarding by the conductor who will keep the doors open till you are in the subway car. But okay, the elevators work, you found the boarding area on the wheelchair accessible platform, in the wheelchair accessible station. You're in the clear, right? Nope. Sometimes, the gap between the subway car and platform is either too wide, which can result in the smaller wheels of the motorized wheelchair going into the gap (which is just scary and dangerous as it sounds) or if the gap is too high, then half of your wheelchair is stuck on the platform, while the other is in the subway car. Now to be clear, the wheelchair has not split in half. It is still in tact. However, at this point in time you are stuck. You can not move the chair in either direction.

And while the MTA tells the customer in a wheelchair to board where the conductor can see you, what they don't tell you is that if your wheelchair gets stuck, the conductor is not allowed to leave their station to assist you. This is for security reasons as it would then leave the control room unattended. Fair enough. However, the MTA also fails to have any kind of assistant to the conductor (nor trained MTA employees) that can help you in these situations. So, what happens? Total strangers spring up from their subway seats and work together to lift up your motorized wheelchair (with you in it) so you are fully in the subway car. On one hand, this just goes to show that sometimes New Yorkers really come together to help each other out. On the other hand, considering said strangers have received zero training on how to safely lift a customer in a motorized wheelchair, all involved could get seriously injured. To give you an idea as to the weight of my motorized wheelchair, it once took 4 incredibly buff and muscular NYC firemen to lift my wheelchair from a broken down bus to the street – and even they struggled.

[photo of me & motorized wheelchair, Lulabelle. I am in the streets at a parade, wearing a long colorful summer dress, slightly spastic in my left arm and holding my camera with my right arm. I am grinning at the camera. There is another person in a motorized wheelchair to the right of my chair ]

And yes, you can file a complaint with the MTA when this happens, but all they do is send you a “thank you for bringing this to our attention, we will forward this to the appropriate departments”... and then nothing changes. It’s true. Sometimes my subway ride goes smoothly, but sometimes it doesn’t, and you never know what you’re gonna get.

[graphic with a white background featuring a photo of a bearded Clint Eastwood wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigar. To the right is the text (in black) “Do you feel lucky... punk? Well... do ya?”]