Disappointed at Clark meetup

[Diego360]

Note: I use a wheelchair to get around...

So I go to my first Clark meetup at this local pub/restaurant last night. Not my kinda place (I figure a cheap coffee shop or free library conference room might be better for us working class folks) but what the hell.

First bad sign- The one and only handicapped parking stall is taken. No biggie, just have to park my truck in the mall lot and roll through an intersection-- yikes, no sidewalk so I have to use the road itself. Glad there was no traffic.

Inside the place (busy and kinda noisy) and I'm told the Clark people are on the second floor loft. Elevator? Nope. So the waitress goes up and tells the Clark guy to come down and meet me, which he does. Nice guy, is apalled that there is no elevator, promises to work a different location next meetup. I sign the call sheet, give a final wistful look up at the loft and head out into the cold, wet night.

Now I don't blame the host, who was a very cool guy, and my Clark support is unaffected. But I wanted to share this story so that other hosts/meetup organizers here on DU will take site accessibility into consideration when choosing/voting on a meeting site. It's easy to do and, more imprtantly, the right thing to do.

[Jerseycoa]

1. Thanks

This is a sorry tale and sorry it happened to you.

[xultar]

2. Agreed, there should be some way to let the organizers know

when selecting a location for a meetup that they will have to pick a place that is accessible to all.


Edit....Welcome to DU!

[Blue-Jay]

3. Bad planning. That sucks.

Maybe next time you'll have better results.

[DS1]

4. if it was a DU meeting, we would have come down

and carried you up. unless that's passe, i'm pretty ignorant about these things...

[Catshrink]

5. I'm sorry that happened to you...

Hopefully you've been able to raise awareness and help prevent that from happening to someone else.

[deminflorida]

6. Yep, that sucks!!! Thank's for the heads up, however...

We had our Clark Meetup in a donut (Krispy Kreme)/coffee shop and had no problem at all. But, we did not have any handicapped guests. I don't think it would have been a problem with this place but your correct this issue has to be given high priority when planning meetups. Glad you made it anyway and thanks for supporting Wes Clark. From a retired Navy Vet down here in Florida....WELCOME ABOARD!

:donut:

P.S. Your right, Coffee shops make great meetup places.

[Diego360]

7. Thanks, folks

I've been thinking that Clark should really hammer on the need to preserve the ADA and veteran's benefits. Link it to the wounded/permanently disabled young people returning from Iraq -- would demonstrate who really supports the troops! Plus it'd be fun to stick it to Dubya for undermining his father's best piece of legislation.

PS - Mmmm, Krispy Kreme. Those donuts rule!

[mobuto]

8. Blame MeetUp.com

They make the arrangements with the coffee shops/restauarants/bars etc.

The campaign really has no say over which establishments are included.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

[Demobrat]

9. Can you nominate a venue online? That's how Deanies do it.

Or just drop them a note and make a suggestion. I'm willing to bet the problem is solved by next month.

[neuvocat]

12. They have that for Clark's too.

At least for the area that I'm in-right now there are 3 different venues that get nominated and voted on.

[kayleybeth]

10. That really sucks

I kind of know how you feel, but only in a second-hand sense...My youngest daughter is in a wheelchair and she gets excluded from so many things that able-bodied kids get to do because so many places are not wheelchair accessible. She doesn't complain (she really can't) but it makes me sad and angry for her.<sigh>

Sorry that happened to you tonight. I think many people just don't realize or think about the obstacles faced by people with disabilities. Thank you for sharing that story. You should send meetup.com a note and tell them what happened. They should definitely make accessibility a consideration when they choose the venues you get to vote on.

[HuckleB]

11. I suspect the push for fast meet up numbers makes organizing difficult.

I'm sorry to hear your story. I do hope the meet up folks learn from it.

Salut!

[SheilaT]

13. This is a shame,

and should not have happened.

I'm quite involved in the Dean meetups, and they've sent out emails asking us to make sure our venues are handicapped accessible. I'm sure the Clark people care every bit as much.

[grannylib]

14. Good information to share; thanks for passing it along...very sorry to

hear that this would happen to anyone...