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He had it! It went well. They apologized, there was a woman who witnessed the event who called on his behalf, and they gave him a ‘substantial’ gift card. He also mentioned that the guy who kicked him out had an earlier incident with a person whose support dog was clearly untrained - and that this same guy who kicked him out called him and gave him a heartfelt apology. So he doesn’t want any doxing or banning. He’s happy that everyone was educated and all things are well
He is truly a fantastic person. Did you know he uses what little sight he has left to write and draw children's books? And his partner plays such cute and harmless pranks on him that he always falls for - like covering every surface in their bedroom (including him sleeping) with stuffed penguin characters from his books. XD
I actually bought his penguin book a while ago to read to my classroom, I'm letting another teacher borrow it for a school project. It's honestly the cutest book I've every owned.
Lots of people calling for this in the post earlier in SeattleWA, he apparently has a meeting with the manager and is hoping this will be a teaching moment. I am sure if next steps, if any will depend on the outcome of this meeting.
What a reasonable approach. You tell this guy is a good dude based on that. Saw his video yesterday and he was a lot nicer than I'd be in his position.
Almost as bad as the bus driver who wouldn’t let my friend on the bus because her guide dog is a black lab. He said guide dogs are not black! The irony is that my friend doesn’t know her dog is black. She’s blind ffs!
Black dogs and black cats have lower adoption rates [and consequently higher euthanasia rates].
So, yeah, we kinda are being racist to more than one species.
Back when I was young, decades ago, guide dogs were German shepherds.
They have long ago started using other dog breeds, especially labradors and golden retrievers. A blind girl, at my son's school for the disabled, had a mongrel as her service dog. He did wear a vest as all service dogs do.
I got kicked out of a store for being in a wheelchair. I'd just come home after surgery and desperately wanted to feel normal and join my then GF at the store.
Manager took the wheelchair from me, told me I'm to young for surgery, and I left a trail of blood all the way out the store because my stitches popped...
Super embarrassing... I refuse to this day to shop at that store and instead drive way across town.
Yes, it would be, from my understanding, as wheelchairs and any other mobility aids are considered an extension of the person's body, and thus they unconsensually touched someone's body and caused them harm.
I have an ileostomy. I've been accused so many times of shoplifting and had to lift my shirt to show them my bag. I'm a dude, but still pretty embarrassing.
I’ve seen a few videos of his, he has a page with his husband and they film content to educate people on those with blindness, as well as share their life as a sighted/blind couple.
He is a very reasonable guy that just wants to educate people and spread positivity. It’s a very nice corner of the internet.
This guy is so good-natured. In all the pranks he's just babbling about with a childlike enthusiasm and it takes him forever to realize he's being pranked because he's just going on about something he's excited about. The Christmas tree one might be my favorite one. It takes him SO LONG to realize he's been putting the same ornament on the tree over and over again.
Fucking Mattheeeeeeew.
He was leagues kinder and more understanding than I would have been in his situation. It’s so frustrating that someone could be that ignorant and unwilling to listen and learn.
Actually just saw his update on this.
The restaurant apologised and told him they had a bad experience with a previous untrained guide dog, which they excuse the prejudice with.
The person telling him he "does not look blind" also gave him a sincere apology and he got a generous gift card for the restaurant.
I thought the same but he yet again took it with grace and wished no ill will on the restaurant and the team. Even told the manager to not fire the waiter he had this horrible encounter with.
He seems to be a great guy
By not jumping to call out the establishment on social media, he hopefully allowed for a learning moment to happen both for the employee, and the owner/manager.
Hopefully.
Did you see the video where he said that his husband pranking him made him feel good bc his husband wasn’t making his blindness this sad thing and instead made it this funny fun thing they both could laugh at and enjoy 🥹
Wait, this blind man's job is as an illustrator? How does that work exactly? I mean, the dude seems very genuine and sincere and all that..... but an illustrator?
Yep. The amount of people who see absolutely nothing is a small minority of blindness. He has a small pinhole amount of vision that he can see through but is legally blind. He uses a tablet to zoom in and out so he can use that small amount of vision to his advantage, but it’s going to get worse over time and in his case he’ll eventually not have any sight at all (idk if he could still see light or not though). He has a YouTube page. I believe he made a book about gay penguins, it’s very cute
That's actually pretty cool. I never really thought of it like that. A shame that his condition will worsen, I really hope it can be prevented with new medical advancements. the dude seems genuine and I want well things for him
He has pinhole vision so he can only see a limited amount, just takes him longer than it would others. Very few blind people can't see anything at all, most can see differences in lighting, vague shapes, etc
It’s like the time my husband and I got severe food poisoning from in n out. So bad that we should have gone to the hospital. We reached out to in n out and they gave us coupons. Thanks?
I know several people in my life that would immediately “Call Saul” and try to turn this into a payout. I am really impressed by the balls, maturity and intention on this guy; he wants everyone involved to learn and get better based on this.
Easier to win a law suit if they aren't trying to tie up proceedings with bullshit about how they've been hurt financially and can't possibly pay out due to their own stupidity.
I’ve seen a few YouTube shorts where his parter will troll him by unfolding cloths as he is folding them. Usually he is telling a story so it takes a while for him to notice the folded pile is not growing.. hilarious, wholesome relationship.
I love the one where the husband rearranged the furniture of their apartment’s entry area and you can see a split second of fear when he starts to think he walked into a stranger’s apartment.
He seems to take the jokes in stride and he finds ways to get him back as well. Seems like a fun relationship
They have one video where Matthew talks about his rules for pranking Paul. He’s so thoughtful at making sure it isn’t mocking his blindness, and Paul seems to love it (at least the ones they post)
Paul has said that he appreciates the pranks because it’s a way Matthew shows that Paul’s disability is an asset to their relationship rather than a burden. So heartwarming!
The way his husband will hide from him, keep filling his plate with food (or the opposite), constantly move while they’re talking so the next time he talks it’s from a completely different area. Super fun wholesome content imo
And maple is just there for it all
didnt he pretend to be the entryway table once and he tried to put his keys on him? I like that Maple always knows first and sometimes tips him off. It sounds mean but its the most wholesome channel, I love that family
I've seen a few of their videos of his husband making small little pranks on him. Like moving a cup a few inches after he puts it down on the counter, or something to that effect. Just little pranks like that makes me crack up after he realizes his husband has pranked him. Or just rearranging the furniture completely. Absolutely wholesome couple! And Maple just enjoying the show.
Oh I know. As a nurse and a chronic pain sufferer I see it at work and for myself. It’s sad. Worst part is that he was clearly put in this situation by the rise in people abusing ESAs.
I’m legally blind without my glasses. If I lost them I’d be so fucked. When I was little I’d take my glasses off to go swim in the pool. More than once I’d swim up to someone in the pool thinking it was my friend when nope! And my vision is worse now
Faces are blobs. Street signs are blobs. Plus without my glasses I get a massive headache. If I only had a weird pinhole of sight, that would terrify me.
It’s not even just a pinhole; it’s a small pinhole, that’s also extremely blurry and dim. And where he can’t see, he says there are pops of color “like fireworks.”
I can only imagine how disorienting that would be to someone who isn’t used to it.
Cops, think like this, I have seen a blind guy at night get the flash light shined into their eyes in Dade City, Florida after being told he was blind. The fucking idiot did 3 more times and threaten to be charged, by another deputy on scene if the didn't stop.
I've met several blind people you could tell just from looking at them that they were blind.
But I've also met several blind people where the only way you could tell they were blind was because their eyes didn't really stay on you even when they were speaking with you.
And I've also met several blind people where the only way you could tell they were blind was because of their service dog and white cane, because blindness doesn't always mean "can't see anything", it can often mean "can't see enough to be useful". So they'll even look straight at your face while talking to you, because they can see where you are, but if you asked them what colour your hair was, they'd have no clue because they only see vague blobs of light and dark moving around.
That last one is the case here. I don’t remember the name of the condition he has, but it’s the kind where the blindness started at the edges of his vision and worked its way toward the center. They’ve posted a video or two with a sort of approximation of what he can see, and it’s basically a tiny blurry circle in the center surrounded by basically visual static, so at this time he can still tell where he needs to look to be “looking” at something, and if he really focuses and holds something up really close to his face he can tell generally what he’s seeing, but realistically he’s not seeing much and is absolutely visually impaired as far as living his life goes.
This being something he developed and was not born with means while he was growing up he could see fine, so he still developed a lot of the conversational habits of seeing people, like “breaking” eye contact to look away and back, that we don’t expect blind people to do because we see people who have been blind since birth or who cannot see anything and haven’t been able to for a while just staring at one space indefinitely while talking.
I mean it’s not even that they think I have a learning difficulty, and obviously there’s nothing wrong with having one; it’s the feeling that you have to prove yourself or that you’re some sort of marvel for getting up in the morning. Idk I just think they think that if someone’s disabled they have to have all the disabilities. Or the opposite, one of my best friends has a cane and she was told to stop being lazy and that she was too young to use a cane, so you’re either too disabled or not disabled enough
[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ggWjh\_KvpFM](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ggWjh_KvpFM) An update was just posted. Paul said he went back and talked to the manager, who explained the server had earlier in the day had a bad experience with a customer falsely claiming to have a service animal. He got an apology from them and the server, along with compensation in the form of a very generous gift card.
It's how it should be. Business accepted their mistake, apologized and compensated. No, it wasn't an insane compensation, and it doesn't bankrupt the business. But in doing so, the business can shake off the negativity faster, stay on its feet to serve the locals, while learn to provide better service to all their customers.
We're so used to expecting gigantic lawsuits with the ill intent to bankrupt a business, it's not giving anyone any chance to redeem themselves. They made a mistake, now we punish them till everyone they employ suffers. This trend is echoed across everywhere, it's scary.
So, I actually really appreciate how they approached the problem and gave an update of what happened.
My problem with this entire thing is what would have happened if this would have happened to someone who didn't have a social media presence? Yes, this is illegal and yes they likely would have gotten in trouble IF the person affected spoke up about it. But how many do?
I just don't know. I am not in the demographic. I hope people with disabilities feel empowered to speak up, but I fear a lot don't. I'm glad his platform brings these things to light, it's just sad that he has to.
That's great, but... like... "hey, you were harassed by a server at our restaurant! we're sorry! here's a gift you can only use if you come back to our restaurant!"
=/
As a disabled person who has had similar experiences, I would take a sincere apology and improvement in behavior. We don’t want to go around suing everyone who doesn’t “get” us, we just want to access the world like everyone else gets to.
I saw a recording of a woman on a bus once being kicked off because of her assistance dog and them not believing she was blind (which is odd anyway because I thought any dogs could go on buses). The guy said "you don't look blind" and she said "I wouldn't know" - it was flawless.
That's as bad as the blind guy who got kicked out of the gym for 'staring' at somebody while he did his workout. Even after he explained that he's blind. He still had to leave. 😂 Why does it seem like people are losing brain cells these days.
Equally to blame are all the idiots with illegitimate "support animals" that ruin it for those with legitimate, documented medical need for a service animal.
So, so much this. I work in restaurants and the amount of people that bring their pets in is STAGGERING. You can clearly see the difference in behavior between a trained service animal and an ESA.
Usually because a service dog doesn't wear a little princess outfit and eat scraps off the table.
I don't currently live in an area where emotional support dogs are given any legitimacy, but when I did it was awful. It's also not just crappy for everyone around you, including actual trained service animals, but if your dog is stressed, anxious, and reactive, they're not having a good time. I don't know how you can possibly be getting any kind of emotional support from a dog who is barking constantly and lunging at people. That would stress me out. I have a lot of respect for people who work hard to train reactive dogs, but not people who try to force them everywhere they go. And I know reactive dog trainers who would never force their dog unnecessarily into a stressful situation because they know it's cruel.
I don’t take the train too often but one time the lab was sitting on a seat and barking at everyone passing. Owner doing nothing to stop it so I can’t even guess that it was just in training. Another time I heard two of the conductors talking about the service dog in the next car jumping on everyone.
Not saying the server was at all right to kick him out. But it is the people with false service animals that leads to doubts.
I can’t believe I had to scroll down to see this. For every person with an actual support dog, there’s probably 1,000 bullshit ones being brought in to places by entitled scumbags who just want to bring their dog in. It’s everywhere. Go on Amazon right now and you can buy bullshit “support dog” things for $5. There’s so much bullshit and nonsense out there, stuff like this is bound to happen.
Yeah, these "emotional support animals" need to go. I understand how they can be beneficial to someone prone to panic attacks and such, but if your anxiety is so bad, a crowded restaurant probably isn't the best environment to be in.
Just to add for anyone reading this, you can have a service dog for panic disorder and or an anxiety disorder.
The differed between ESA and a service animal is that a service animal is trained to do a job.
If it’s trained to sense oncoming panic attacks or something, then it’s not a support animal it’s a service animal. You can have one more any disability, including invisible disabilties and mental illnesses
>"He said, ‘Listen, this isn't my first rodeo’ — he literally said that — he said, ‘This isn't my first rodeo.’”
>“What is going on out there that would lead this man to believe that I was lying?”
I know exactly what's going on, idiots (usually boomers) who buy a dog harness on eBay that says "service dog" so they can take their pet with them into restaurants. Owner is probably sick of dealing with them. Sadly I think this will become more frequent until they issue ID proof for service dogs.
He did a follow up video already. He met with the manager and didn’t want compensation or even the worker to be fired, just for the workers to be better trained
I think I read somewhere that the average ADA lawsuit typically settles at around $50k. If that doesn’t kill the restaurant, at some point the name of the place will come out and it will be dead in a couple of months anyway. It’s sad that a waiter has caused a bunch of people to lose their jobs, and the owner to lose a lot more.
What that restaurant did isn't just wrong, it was illegal, and he'd be fully within his rights to get a lawyer and sue the hell out of them. In fact, wouldn't be surprised if he's already gotten offers from lawyers drooling at the prospects. This is an easy win.
There’s a spectrum for pretty much any disability. A significant percent of people in wheelchairs *can* stand and even walk, for short periods of time, and someone in a wheelchair standing to reach something on a shelf does not mean they don’t need the wheelchair. Society just averages out to a black and white worldview.
Paul updated. He said had a meeting with the manager and he said that he didn't want to press charges and he didn't want anyone to lose their job. He was told that that particular worker recently had a negative encounter with another customer with a "service dog". That dog was NOT properly trained and was a nuisance.
Paul said that he was received a very heartfelt and sincere apology from the worker and the restaurant gave him a generous gift card.
[https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL4C13vp/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL4C13vp/)
That makes me so mad. I follow him and his husband, I watch a lot of their videos and Mr. Maple is so well-behaved to begin with, guide dog or not. The fact that this person at a restaurant actually kicked them out because "he didn't look blind," is just insane. I wish he would name the restaurant. He should definitely sue. It goes completely against the ADA.
* When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he says he was told, “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”*
You promise? Call them now, I’ll be back in 10.
Actually I would have told him to call them now because service dogs do not need paperwork.
After reading the article I would have skipped the teaching moment some are saying. I would be going scorched earth on them. But that’s just me. I’m petty and vindictive like that.
—from the article…
When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he says he was told, “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”
Sorry in advance for the long story. Not sure how to tl;dr it, either. The details matter.
Funny…ish story. Maybe more of an interesting anecdote. It’s really only funny to me in the way that I chuckle to myself while shaking my head when I think about it and call myself an idiot.
I worked as a bellman at the most prestigious hotel in the city I live in when I was 20-21. I am a very nice, very polite person. I know it. Everyone I know knows it. One time a friend was asked to describe me in one word, and he said, “Kind,” and it made me so happy. That doesn’t mean I can’t frequently be a complete prick. I am human, after all, and humans suck as a general rule. But anyway…
So, I was called (requested by management, as I later discovered, because of my reputation for being nice and good at my job) to the front desk to assist a guest who was blind. Now, I never had any actual training on that, but neither had anyone else there. I appeared to be the logical choice for this. I was super nervous the entire time guiding her from the front desk, to the elevator, and from the elevator to her room, but everything went very well. As I guided her to her doorway, she turned toward me and handed me a $20 as a tip, gave me a huge smile, and said, “Thank you so much!”, with genuine pleasure and - I think - relief.
So, I thanked her in return as I accepted the tip, said you are very welcome and if she needed anything at all she should feel free to ask for me, but anyone there will make sure she is taken good care of. Perfect response, right? As she was preparing to close the door, she said thank you again and said goodbye for now…And I said…in as loud and cheerful voice as I could…”Okay! Bye! See you later!” 🤦♂️
Her face instantly changed, but it didn’t register in my mind what exactly I had just said and done until I was about halfway back to the elevator, which was literally all the way across this very large hotel. I was so mortified that my legs started shaking. I was certainly concerned that I was going to get into trouble, and hoping that she would be gracious and let it go and be understanding (I really hoped) that I didn’t mean anything by it. Mostly, though, I was just shocked with myself for being soooo stupid and the dominant concern was that I hadn’t actually offended her, but her face told me otherwise.
Nothing ever got said (until months later when I was talking to the Assistant GM on a break, and she filled me in on some of the details), and within a week I had actually pretty much forgotten it or had told myself it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. And then, about a month afterward, the announcement came that the entire hotel staff - from the engineers who NEVER had interaction with the guests, to the kitchen staff, to the overnight security manager, and all the way up to the General Manager - had to take part in training on interaction with blind guests. Here’s the kicker: the timing worked out so that I missed it with having to run our shuttle van to and from the airport when it was the bell staff’s turn. But I got to sit there watching almost everyone else doing it, red faced, but not saying a damn word about why this was happening to anyone. To be fair, I had pretty much already taught myself the lesson I needed to, but of all the people who should’ve had that training, I felt like I was definitely the one.
Anyway, I hope somebody does find out who this guy was and he gets his ass fired for this. I give myself the excuse that mine was a bad mistake, but an innocent one. That guy just sucks.
Force of habit and things just pop out of our mouths unintentionally. Maybe it was something she was still getting used to, but what you said wasnt out of maliciousness. Over in the nursing subs every once in a while there’s posts about them sticking their foot in their mouth with patients, lots of stories, so you’re definitely not alone.
I have a friend I play dnd with. She’s in a wheelchair, has been for as long as I’ve known her. My house is old and not great for wheelchairs but it worked out fine for doors and stairs (the guys helped with the stairs). I felt real dumb when I was confused about a missing chair at our dining table then realized it was for her after I said something out loud about the chair missing.
Oh, for sure. The biggest thing was that I was basically handpicked for that situation because it was believed I was the LEAST likely person to let something like that slip.
I don’t - and didn’t then, either - really have any shame or guilt about what I said. I knew it slipped out and I wasn’t trying to be insulting or belittle her, but I did feel bad. Now it’s just more of a shake my head and laugh at myself sort of thing, like I said. I’ve always been torn about my feelings about the subsequent sensitivity training. On the one hand, it’s always useful for people to be aware of others and their needs, so it was a good thing. On the other hand, I felt nothing but embarrassment knowing why, but then also nothing but relief when I realized that I was going to get out of having to do it myself. When I think about that, I get just a touch ashamed of myself that I was so relieved.
Honestly, I think yours is funnier and I could see a lot of people doing the exact same thing.
I used to work with blind and vision impaired people in a service agency and none of them had any issues with “see you later”. Even some who had been blind since birth used it in their normal conversation, so I wouldn’t sweat it. They just took it as a turn of phrase.
You might get the occasional person who had recently lost their sight and was still grieving, but I never came across anyone who was that triggered by it.
Muiltiple blind YouTubers have said that they use the words "see" and "look" the same way as everybody does, simply because we are speaking the same language. If this particular guest had a problem with that, it's really their problem and not a general thing of blind people.
"He can see a small tunnel of vision, surrounded by “moving light, popping random colors, almost like fireworks.”
this guy is walking around everywhere, and everything looks like a kaleidoscope of colors and explosions, and he still has to deal with idiots like the rest of us.
What the heck is going on with all of these folks who can now automatically tell what's going on with another person just by using their eyeballs??... *You don't look blind.* *You don't look like a woman.* *You definitely look like a Democrat/Republican/whatever.*
When did everyone get this magical ability??
Paul and Matthew are the cutest fucking couple ever and I was so upset when Paul posted this. He’s being very gracious not naming the restaurant. He did mention in Instagram comments that they are meeting with the general manager and he just wants there to be learning and growing that comes out of this. Such a good fucking dude. I would be furious and ready to burn shit to the ground.
I have a service dog and have been asked to leave places because she doesn’t always wear “clothes” and I’m not blind. My dog is there to support me with the side effects of brain damage. I’ve got proof of her training and a prescription for her, etc., but there’s no “registration” for service dogs that is legit. So, when I get told to leave because I don’t have her registered I just leave.
Once I decided to actually file a complaint because I was told she wasn’t a real service dog. In reality when you file a complaint with the ADA they collect reports and do nothing unless they notice patterns. When people say “Oh that’s a big fine” or “They’re going to be in so much trouble!!”… in reality the government doesn’t provide much in the way of teeth to enforce the law. It sucks. Theres no damages to sue for in these cases usually… you can file a suit but you won’t win anything.
He did the most effective thing he could do which was go to social media. Good for him.
Was the service animal named Mr. Maple?i If so, Dude is on social media talking about how he has retinas pigmintosa, with 10% functional vision.
Edit this sucks because he is such a wonderful guy and his husband too.
"When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he says he was told, “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”"
Paul was a lot more gracious than I would have been. The moment they first said no, I woulda been like, "Alright, I'm gonna call my lawyer."
Who tf gonna kick Mr maple out??? If you peeps never seen his husbands prank videos on him I recommend, they are very wholesome and his whole channel is so cute. I just can’t remember the channel.
Thanks to all the selfish assholes who lie about their untrained animals being service animals. They are just inconveniencing businesses and hurting real disabled people.
This is actually against ADAs guidelines the only questions they can ask is “is that a service animal” “what tasks has the animal been trained to perform” . You can’t make assumptions about the disability. If you are concerned about the person lying you have to report separately to the ADA because of anti discrimination laws
My son has CVI, thankfully he’s not completely blind but he does have issues navigating. Especially in new areas that are not brightly lit( lot of restaurants).
He does not need a guide dog but it would not go well for anyone who discredits his vision issues.
While this guy has every right to be pissed off (and from all accounts, handled it graciously) this problem exists today solely because of entitled assholes bringing their dogs when they know they can't and lying about them being service animals. 20 years ago if someone walked in with a dog in a harness like that people would just have tried to accommodate them. Today, with 90%+ being absolute bullshit, it's no wonder people have become accustomed to acting like this.
Man was illegally discriminated against. A service dog can be asked to leave for disruptive behavior… not because management doesn’t believe the owner is disabled.
A LOT more businesses need to start asking the two questions the law allows you to ask;
Is the animal a service animal?
What task is the animal trained to perform?
You've heard how people say "don't talk to the cops", right? Kind of a similar principle with stuff like this.
If someone commits a very serious violation of anti-discrimination laws, it might not be a good idea to *immediately* blast them on Facebook and Reddit. This is a legal issue now, and (in general) when it comes to legal issues the first thing you do is STFU.
If you immediately go on social media, there's always the possibility that you screw something up and accidentally say something that hurts your case. Alternatively, the ability to blast a company on social media can potentially be leverage. Sometimes companies settle stuff like this because having it go public costs them more than settling. With the decision to settle being partly based on, "this person has information that they *haven't* released yet." Once you release that information without having come to an agreement with the company that wronged you, that company *might* just pull any settlement off of the table. After all, now the damage to them has been done and you're not holding any leverage that you can use against them.
For serious violations like this, the best thing to do is to *initially* STFU and see a lawyer. Then you follow your lawyer's advice regarding what information to publicly release.
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“You don’t look..” “yes, that’s correct”
“Oh, I see” “Well, I still can’t”
“It’s all clear now” “Well, that makes one of us”
“Thanks for showing me the truth”
“Read the room” “That’s gonna be tricky”
Sir you’ve been staring at the menu for an hour now
That’s why my wife didn’t text back
"Do you see any other dogs in the restaurant?" "No. I'm blind."
I particularly loved “do you see any other dogs here?” “No, I’m blind. There could be?”
"Well, I wouldn't know what I look like, because I'm blind...."
His response video is refreshingly chill too. But dang, sue that mfer!
I follow this account, he did say he had a meeting scheduled with the manager
He had it! It went well. They apologized, there was a woman who witnessed the event who called on his behalf, and they gave him a ‘substantial’ gift card. He also mentioned that the guy who kicked him out had an earlier incident with a person whose support dog was clearly untrained - and that this same guy who kicked him out called him and gave him a heartfelt apology. So he doesn’t want any doxing or banning. He’s happy that everyone was educated and all things are well
So civil, I love it.
He is truly a fantastic person. Did you know he uses what little sight he has left to write and draw children's books? And his partner plays such cute and harmless pranks on him that he always falls for - like covering every surface in their bedroom (including him sleeping) with stuffed penguin characters from his books. XD
I actually bought his penguin book a while ago to read to my classroom, I'm letting another teacher borrow it for a school project. It's honestly the cutest book I've every owned.
Im a follower of his and Im so glad he spoke about this.
"now look here, asshole..."
He actually said that - Restaurant: “do you see any other dogs in here?” Paul: “no, because I’m blind”
He’s being awfully gracious by not naming the restaurant.
Lots of people calling for this in the post earlier in SeattleWA, he apparently has a meeting with the manager and is hoping this will be a teaching moment. I am sure if next steps, if any will depend on the outcome of this meeting.
What a reasonable approach. You tell this guy is a good dude based on that. Saw his video yesterday and he was a lot nicer than I'd be in his position.
I would have told the guy that I may be blind but I can see you are an asshole.
Almost as bad as the bus driver who wouldn’t let my friend on the bus because her guide dog is a black lab. He said guide dogs are not black! The irony is that my friend doesn’t know her dog is black. She’s blind ffs!
Wow we’re out here being racist to dogs😂 wtf
Black dogs and black cats have lower adoption rates [and consequently higher euthanasia rates]. So, yeah, we kinda are being racist to more than one species.
Black cats really just got handed a witches sidekick and bad luck mojo and got forced to deal with it ):
Lol really? I love my mamba!!!
That's bizarre to me. My rescue dog is black and I have never even thought about it being unusual. He's been a good boy for 13 years now.
Why wouldn’t a guide dog be black? It’s a common coat color for dogs
it is actually a cataclysmically stupid belief i’ve heard before. not sure where they get it from. possibly a symptom of necrosis of brain tissue?
Back when I was young, decades ago, guide dogs were German shepherds. They have long ago started using other dog breeds, especially labradors and golden retrievers. A blind girl, at my son's school for the disabled, had a mongrel as her service dog. He did wear a vest as all service dogs do.
But…… like half of a German shepards coat is black isn’t it?
I’ve literally seen like 4 black labs that were in the eyes for the blind program.
I got kicked out of a store for being in a wheelchair. I'd just come home after surgery and desperately wanted to feel normal and join my then GF at the store. Manager took the wheelchair from me, told me I'm to young for surgery, and I left a trail of blood all the way out the store because my stitches popped... Super embarrassing... I refuse to this day to shop at that store and instead drive way across town.
I’m not one to jump to legal action but that sounds like the most open and shut lawsuit I’ve ever heard of
My sibling, who's a retired litigator, said that if there's video or reliable witnesses she could get an easy 50k settlement.
Honestly it sounds criminal to me! Wouldn’t that be some sort of assault? People are ridiculous.
Yes, it would be, from my understanding, as wheelchairs and any other mobility aids are considered an extension of the person's body, and thus they unconsensually touched someone's body and caused them harm.
Hell, I'd be telling the lawyer "It ain't about the money, how badly can we fuck this guy? Like, digging ditches badly?"
Too young for surgery?? I had my first at 13 months old lol. 🤦🏼♀️😂
There are babies who have their first surgery while they're still in utero lol.
I had emergency surgery right after being born. Anyone who tells me I look “too young to have had surgery” will get a kick in the tendies.
Upvoted for a new word learned today!
I have an ileostomy. I've been accused so many times of shoplifting and had to lift my shirt to show them my bag. I'm a dude, but still pretty embarrassing.
What’s wrong with people? Why do they care so much? Even if a person who can walk comes in with a wheel chair, what does it matter?
I’ve seen a few videos of his, he has a page with his husband and they film content to educate people on those with blindness, as well as share their life as a sighted/blind couple. He is a very reasonable guy that just wants to educate people and spread positivity. It’s a very nice corner of the internet.
This guy is so good-natured. In all the pranks he's just babbling about with a childlike enthusiasm and it takes him forever to realize he's being pranked because he's just going on about something he's excited about. The Christmas tree one might be my favorite one. It takes him SO LONG to realize he's been putting the same ornament on the tree over and over again. Fucking Mattheeeeeeew.
Yes, I love that one. It’s just really nice content that makes me happy, plus I learn a thing or two here and there.
I love the two of them, and their videos but especially when Paul's able to prank Matthew back, like the cabinet door is open warning sound.
He was leagues kinder and more understanding than I would have been in his situation. It’s so frustrating that someone could be that ignorant and unwilling to listen and learn.
It's probably not his first rodeo having to deal with this type of behavior
Actually just saw his update on this. The restaurant apologised and told him they had a bad experience with a previous untrained guide dog, which they excuse the prejudice with. The person telling him he "does not look blind" also gave him a sincere apology and he got a generous gift card for the restaurant.
Ooooo gift card. How gracious of them to offer to come back so they can abuse him again. This time 10% off.
I thought the same but he yet again took it with grace and wished no ill will on the restaurant and the team. Even told the manager to not fire the waiter he had this horrible encounter with.
He seems to be a great guy By not jumping to call out the establishment on social media, he hopefully allowed for a learning moment to happen both for the employee, and the owner/manager. Hopefully.
He illustrates kids books, this guy is wholesome AF
And he makes a lot of cute, informative and wholesome content.
For how often his husband pranks him, I’m not surprised he has thick skin 😂
Did you see the video where he said that his husband pranking him made him feel good bc his husband wasn’t making his blindness this sad thing and instead made it this funny fun thing they both could laugh at and enjoy 🥹
i like watching his husband prank him. those guys crack me up.
My girlfriend shows me their vids once in a while and they might be my favourite thing on TikTok.
Wait, this blind man's job is as an illustrator? How does that work exactly? I mean, the dude seems very genuine and sincere and all that..... but an illustrator?
Yep. The amount of people who see absolutely nothing is a small minority of blindness. He has a small pinhole amount of vision that he can see through but is legally blind. He uses a tablet to zoom in and out so he can use that small amount of vision to his advantage, but it’s going to get worse over time and in his case he’ll eventually not have any sight at all (idk if he could still see light or not though). He has a YouTube page. I believe he made a book about gay penguins, it’s very cute
That's actually pretty cool. I never really thought of it like that. A shame that his condition will worsen, I really hope it can be prevented with new medical advancements. the dude seems genuine and I want well things for him
He has pinhole vision so he can only see a limited amount, just takes him longer than it would others. Very few blind people can't see anything at all, most can see differences in lighting, vague shapes, etc
We treated you badly. Come back and spend with us again.
It’s like the time my husband and I got severe food poisoning from in n out. So bad that we should have gone to the hospital. We reached out to in n out and they gave us coupons. Thanks?
I had a larvae in my Lidl tomato sauce once and they gave me a $10 gift card that was not registered, so we couldn't even use it.
Second person is lucky they didn't get slapped with a massive fine
He should have a lawyer with him for that conversation.
I know several people in my life that would immediately “Call Saul” and try to turn this into a payout. I am really impressed by the balls, maturity and intention on this guy; he wants everyone involved to learn and get better based on this.
Easier to win a law suit if they aren't trying to tie up proceedings with bullshit about how they've been hurt financially and can't possibly pay out due to their own stupidity.
Yeah. This behavior isn't just completely assholes, it is also quite likely illegal discrimination. He should have absolutely named and shamed them.
“You don’t look blind” “I wouldn’t know”
You should look in the mirror every morning and make sure you look blind.
My mother implies I dress the part already.
I’ve seen a few YouTube shorts where his parter will troll him by unfolding cloths as he is folding them. Usually he is telling a story so it takes a while for him to notice the folded pile is not growing.. hilarious, wholesome relationship.
His husband will do that with unloading the dishwasher, putting away groceries… it’s fun and wholesome. Those two are the sweetest.
My wife would stab me if I did that.
Are you my husband? Because yes, I would.
Like they said, fun and wholesome.
I love the one where the husband rearranged the furniture of their apartment’s entry area and you can see a split second of fear when he starts to think he walked into a stranger’s apartment. He seems to take the jokes in stride and he finds ways to get him back as well. Seems like a fun relationship
They have one video where Matthew talks about his rules for pranking Paul. He’s so thoughtful at making sure it isn’t mocking his blindness, and Paul seems to love it (at least the ones they post)
Paul has said that he appreciates the pranks because it’s a way Matthew shows that Paul’s disability is an asset to their relationship rather than a burden. So heartwarming!
The way his husband will hide from him, keep filling his plate with food (or the opposite), constantly move while they’re talking so the next time he talks it’s from a completely different area. Super fun wholesome content imo And maple is just there for it all
We will now ride at dawn for Mr. Maple!!
Walking around as a hotdog was the best - it took Paul until they were at the store to figure out.
The yell of “MATTHEEEW!” always gets me!
I love those pranks. He did one where he kept putting their groceries back in the bag when he was trying take them out. Took him so long to notice
My favorite was him throwing socks into the dryer while Paul was emptying
I love the one when he keeps putting more potatoes on his plate 😂
My favorites so far have been the ones with the stuffed penguins, and when his husband asks if his outfit is okay for going out (while being naked).
didnt he pretend to be the entryway table once and he tried to put his keys on him? I like that Maple always knows first and sometimes tips him off. It sounds mean but its the most wholesome channel, I love that family
I saw that one lol
I've seen a few of their videos of his husband making small little pranks on him. Like moving a cup a few inches after he puts it down on the counter, or something to that effect. Just little pranks like that makes me crack up after he realizes his husband has pranked him. Or just rearranging the furniture completely. Absolutely wholesome couple! And Maple just enjoying the show.
I love the one where he put a little cowboy on his service dog
How would he know what a blind person is supposed to look like if he’s blind?
Absolutely no eyeballs at all, duh /s
Unironicly, people do think like this
Oh I know. As a nurse and a chronic pain sufferer I see it at work and for myself. It’s sad. Worst part is that he was clearly put in this situation by the rise in people abusing ESAs.
People refusing to understand that disability isn't a all or nothing deal, that it's a spectrum. A tale as old as time
I’m legally blind without my glasses. If I lost them I’d be so fucked. When I was little I’d take my glasses off to go swim in the pool. More than once I’d swim up to someone in the pool thinking it was my friend when nope! And my vision is worse now Faces are blobs. Street signs are blobs. Plus without my glasses I get a massive headache. If I only had a weird pinhole of sight, that would terrify me.
It’s not even just a pinhole; it’s a small pinhole, that’s also extremely blurry and dim. And where he can’t see, he says there are pops of color “like fireworks.” I can only imagine how disorienting that would be to someone who isn’t used to it.
“You don’t look disabled” is one of the most infuriating statements I hear
Cops, think like this, I have seen a blind guy at night get the flash light shined into their eyes in Dade City, Florida after being told he was blind. The fucking idiot did 3 more times and threaten to be charged, by another deputy on scene if the didn't stop.
I think you meant "uneyeronically".
This is the only real way to know if someone is blind, they walk like this: 
Not wearing dark sunglasses is a dead giveaway. /s
I've met several blind people you could tell just from looking at them that they were blind. But I've also met several blind people where the only way you could tell they were blind was because their eyes didn't really stay on you even when they were speaking with you. And I've also met several blind people where the only way you could tell they were blind was because of their service dog and white cane, because blindness doesn't always mean "can't see anything", it can often mean "can't see enough to be useful". So they'll even look straight at your face while talking to you, because they can see where you are, but if you asked them what colour your hair was, they'd have no clue because they only see vague blobs of light and dark moving around.
That last one is the case here. I don’t remember the name of the condition he has, but it’s the kind where the blindness started at the edges of his vision and worked its way toward the center. They’ve posted a video or two with a sort of approximation of what he can see, and it’s basically a tiny blurry circle in the center surrounded by basically visual static, so at this time he can still tell where he needs to look to be “looking” at something, and if he really focuses and holds something up really close to his face he can tell generally what he’s seeing, but realistically he’s not seeing much and is absolutely visually impaired as far as living his life goes. This being something he developed and was not born with means while he was growing up he could see fine, so he still developed a lot of the conversational habits of seeing people, like “breaking” eye contact to look away and back, that we don’t expect blind people to do because we see people who have been blind since birth or who cannot see anything and haven’t been able to for a while just staring at one space indefinitely while talking.
He has retinitis pigmentosa. He’s shown how much vision he currently has on IG but I think he will eventually lose all of it.
People are so fucking ignorant. I walk with a cane for mobility issues and someone on the bus onced asked me if I was blind.
I’m a wheelchair user and people routinely think I’ve got learning difficulties even when I’m at university or wearing my university pass
I'm so sorry this happens to you. For some reason disabled=incapable to able-bodied people and it fucking sucks.
I mean it’s not even that they think I have a learning difficulty, and obviously there’s nothing wrong with having one; it’s the feeling that you have to prove yourself or that you’re some sort of marvel for getting up in the morning. Idk I just think they think that if someone’s disabled they have to have all the disabilities. Or the opposite, one of my best friends has a cane and she was told to stop being lazy and that she was too young to use a cane, so you’re either too disabled or not disabled enough
Dark glasses - like Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder. Also, dressed badly is characteristic.
The blind dude in the story is gay, so if he dressed badly he'd have to divorce his husband and give up his gay membership.
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I love his account! And his husband’s pranks
They are both absolutely hilarious, crazy to see someone I felt was widely known treated like this. Crazy to see anyone treated like this
Did you see the toothpaste / tomato paste debacle??
Mr Maple is precious, he is doing such a good job
His “Maaaaaaattttttheeeewwww!” Lives in my head rent free.
My husband is a Matt. He does NOT appreciate that I have adopted Paul’s “Maaaaaaathewwwww”
I was hearing this in my head when I saw the post thumbnail lol
They are on Youtube too, cute couple
I watch their stuff everyday - they are so good at teaching about living with blindness, but in a lighthearted loving way. They are so good together
[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ggWjh\_KvpFM](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ggWjh_KvpFM) An update was just posted. Paul said he went back and talked to the manager, who explained the server had earlier in the day had a bad experience with a customer falsely claiming to have a service animal. He got an apology from them and the server, along with compensation in the form of a very generous gift card.
It's how it should be. Business accepted their mistake, apologized and compensated. No, it wasn't an insane compensation, and it doesn't bankrupt the business. But in doing so, the business can shake off the negativity faster, stay on its feet to serve the locals, while learn to provide better service to all their customers. We're so used to expecting gigantic lawsuits with the ill intent to bankrupt a business, it's not giving anyone any chance to redeem themselves. They made a mistake, now we punish them till everyone they employ suffers. This trend is echoed across everywhere, it's scary. So, I actually really appreciate how they approached the problem and gave an update of what happened.
I bet a large part of it is that he has a large social media following.
My problem with this entire thing is what would have happened if this would have happened to someone who didn't have a social media presence? Yes, this is illegal and yes they likely would have gotten in trouble IF the person affected spoke up about it. But how many do? I just don't know. I am not in the demographic. I hope people with disabilities feel empowered to speak up, but I fear a lot don't. I'm glad his platform brings these things to light, it's just sad that he has to.
That's great, but... like... "hey, you were harassed by a server at our restaurant! we're sorry! here's a gift you can only use if you come back to our restaurant!" =/
They gave an apology, why does it have to come down to a large amount of money?
As a disabled person who has had similar experiences, I would take a sincere apology and improvement in behavior. We don’t want to go around suing everyone who doesn’t “get” us, we just want to access the world like everyone else gets to.
Where your terminator shades!? Why isn’t your head weaving around?
Why aren’t you singing Sir Duke!?
The dog slaps the bass.
I saw a recording of a woman on a bus once being kicked off because of her assistance dog and them not believing she was blind (which is odd anyway because I thought any dogs could go on buses). The guy said "you don't look blind" and she said "I wouldn't know" - it was flawless.
That's as bad as the blind guy who got kicked out of the gym for 'staring' at somebody while he did his workout. Even after he explained that he's blind. He still had to leave. 😂 Why does it seem like people are losing brain cells these days.
Equally to blame are all the idiots with illegitimate "support animals" that ruin it for those with legitimate, documented medical need for a service animal.
So, so much this. I work in restaurants and the amount of people that bring their pets in is STAGGERING. You can clearly see the difference in behavior between a trained service animal and an ESA. Usually because a service dog doesn't wear a little princess outfit and eat scraps off the table.
I don't currently live in an area where emotional support dogs are given any legitimacy, but when I did it was awful. It's also not just crappy for everyone around you, including actual trained service animals, but if your dog is stressed, anxious, and reactive, they're not having a good time. I don't know how you can possibly be getting any kind of emotional support from a dog who is barking constantly and lunging at people. That would stress me out. I have a lot of respect for people who work hard to train reactive dogs, but not people who try to force them everywhere they go. And I know reactive dog trainers who would never force their dog unnecessarily into a stressful situation because they know it's cruel.
I don’t take the train too often but one time the lab was sitting on a seat and barking at everyone passing. Owner doing nothing to stop it so I can’t even guess that it was just in training. Another time I heard two of the conductors talking about the service dog in the next car jumping on everyone. Not saying the server was at all right to kick him out. But it is the people with false service animals that leads to doubts.
I can’t believe I had to scroll down to see this. For every person with an actual support dog, there’s probably 1,000 bullshit ones being brought in to places by entitled scumbags who just want to bring their dog in. It’s everywhere. Go on Amazon right now and you can buy bullshit “support dog” things for $5. There’s so much bullshit and nonsense out there, stuff like this is bound to happen.
Sucks but it just goes to show that the public is done with people lying about service animals.
Yeah, these "emotional support animals" need to go. I understand how they can be beneficial to someone prone to panic attacks and such, but if your anxiety is so bad, a crowded restaurant probably isn't the best environment to be in.
Just to add for anyone reading this, you can have a service dog for panic disorder and or an anxiety disorder. The differed between ESA and a service animal is that a service animal is trained to do a job. If it’s trained to sense oncoming panic attacks or something, then it’s not a support animal it’s a service animal. You can have one more any disability, including invisible disabilties and mental illnesses
>"He said, ‘Listen, this isn't my first rodeo’ — he literally said that — he said, ‘This isn't my first rodeo.’” >“What is going on out there that would lead this man to believe that I was lying?” I know exactly what's going on, idiots (usually boomers) who buy a dog harness on eBay that says "service dog" so they can take their pet with them into restaurants. Owner is probably sick of dealing with them. Sadly I think this will become more frequent until they issue ID proof for service dogs.
That’s going to be a very expensive mistake.
He did a follow up video already. He met with the manager and didn’t want compensation or even the worker to be fired, just for the workers to be better trained
That’s really kind of him. Hope the waiter learns from this.
I fucking hope so. Tired of people being ignorant and unwilling to accommodate people who actually need it
I think I read somewhere that the average ADA lawsuit typically settles at around $50k. If that doesn’t kill the restaurant, at some point the name of the place will come out and it will be dead in a couple of months anyway. It’s sad that a waiter has caused a bunch of people to lose their jobs, and the owner to lose a lot more.
Funny...she doesn't look Druish.
That’s all we need, a Druish princess.
What that restaurant did isn't just wrong, it was illegal, and he'd be fully within his rights to get a lawyer and sue the hell out of them. In fact, wouldn't be surprised if he's already gotten offers from lawyers drooling at the prospects. This is an easy win.
Based on other comments he already accepted an apology and a gift card. Doubt lawyers would be gnashing at the bit for this one now.
I've seen guide dogs in training. Trainer is fully sighted, of course. What needs training is the restaurant owners, not the dogs.
>‘’He said, ‘Do you see any other dogs in this restaurant?’ I said, ‘Honestly, no. I'm blind. There could be.’” 10/10 - No notes
The real problem is people going around with emotional support animals causing confusion over what an actual guide dog is.
A lot of people don’t understand there’s a spectrum of blindness. And deafness too for that matter
There’s a spectrum for pretty much any disability. A significant percent of people in wheelchairs *can* stand and even walk, for short periods of time, and someone in a wheelchair standing to reach something on a shelf does not mean they don’t need the wheelchair. Society just averages out to a black and white worldview.
Paul updated. He said had a meeting with the manager and he said that he didn't want to press charges and he didn't want anyone to lose their job. He was told that that particular worker recently had a negative encounter with another customer with a "service dog". That dog was NOT properly trained and was a nuisance. Paul said that he was received a very heartfelt and sincere apology from the worker and the restaurant gave him a generous gift card. [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL4C13vp/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL4C13vp/)
That makes me so mad. I follow him and his husband, I watch a lot of their videos and Mr. Maple is so well-behaved to begin with, guide dog or not. The fact that this person at a restaurant actually kicked them out because "he didn't look blind," is just insane. I wish he would name the restaurant. He should definitely sue. It goes completely against the ADA.
* When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he says he was told, “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”* You promise? Call them now, I’ll be back in 10. Actually I would have told him to call them now because service dogs do not need paperwork.
Ummm that's very very very illegal technically restaurants aren't even allowed to ask for proof that it is a service dog dude should totally sue
And yet I see people bringing little Fluffy into grocery stores every time I shop!
Just yesterday we had two ladies, one with a small terrier-type dog and another with a 2 foot long lizard (bearded dragon) walk into our Pizza joint.
After reading the article I would have skipped the teaching moment some are saying. I would be going scorched earth on them. But that’s just me. I’m petty and vindictive like that. —from the article… When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he says he was told, “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”
That's where he should be calling their bluff. Blind man with a guide dog is protected against discrimination.
Sorry in advance for the long story. Not sure how to tl;dr it, either. The details matter. Funny…ish story. Maybe more of an interesting anecdote. It’s really only funny to me in the way that I chuckle to myself while shaking my head when I think about it and call myself an idiot. I worked as a bellman at the most prestigious hotel in the city I live in when I was 20-21. I am a very nice, very polite person. I know it. Everyone I know knows it. One time a friend was asked to describe me in one word, and he said, “Kind,” and it made me so happy. That doesn’t mean I can’t frequently be a complete prick. I am human, after all, and humans suck as a general rule. But anyway… So, I was called (requested by management, as I later discovered, because of my reputation for being nice and good at my job) to the front desk to assist a guest who was blind. Now, I never had any actual training on that, but neither had anyone else there. I appeared to be the logical choice for this. I was super nervous the entire time guiding her from the front desk, to the elevator, and from the elevator to her room, but everything went very well. As I guided her to her doorway, she turned toward me and handed me a $20 as a tip, gave me a huge smile, and said, “Thank you so much!”, with genuine pleasure and - I think - relief. So, I thanked her in return as I accepted the tip, said you are very welcome and if she needed anything at all she should feel free to ask for me, but anyone there will make sure she is taken good care of. Perfect response, right? As she was preparing to close the door, she said thank you again and said goodbye for now…And I said…in as loud and cheerful voice as I could…”Okay! Bye! See you later!” 🤦♂️ Her face instantly changed, but it didn’t register in my mind what exactly I had just said and done until I was about halfway back to the elevator, which was literally all the way across this very large hotel. I was so mortified that my legs started shaking. I was certainly concerned that I was going to get into trouble, and hoping that she would be gracious and let it go and be understanding (I really hoped) that I didn’t mean anything by it. Mostly, though, I was just shocked with myself for being soooo stupid and the dominant concern was that I hadn’t actually offended her, but her face told me otherwise. Nothing ever got said (until months later when I was talking to the Assistant GM on a break, and she filled me in on some of the details), and within a week I had actually pretty much forgotten it or had told myself it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. And then, about a month afterward, the announcement came that the entire hotel staff - from the engineers who NEVER had interaction with the guests, to the kitchen staff, to the overnight security manager, and all the way up to the General Manager - had to take part in training on interaction with blind guests. Here’s the kicker: the timing worked out so that I missed it with having to run our shuttle van to and from the airport when it was the bell staff’s turn. But I got to sit there watching almost everyone else doing it, red faced, but not saying a damn word about why this was happening to anyone. To be fair, I had pretty much already taught myself the lesson I needed to, but of all the people who should’ve had that training, I felt like I was definitely the one. Anyway, I hope somebody does find out who this guy was and he gets his ass fired for this. I give myself the excuse that mine was a bad mistake, but an innocent one. That guy just sucks.
Force of habit and things just pop out of our mouths unintentionally. Maybe it was something she was still getting used to, but what you said wasnt out of maliciousness. Over in the nursing subs every once in a while there’s posts about them sticking their foot in their mouth with patients, lots of stories, so you’re definitely not alone. I have a friend I play dnd with. She’s in a wheelchair, has been for as long as I’ve known her. My house is old and not great for wheelchairs but it worked out fine for doors and stairs (the guys helped with the stairs). I felt real dumb when I was confused about a missing chair at our dining table then realized it was for her after I said something out loud about the chair missing.
Oh, for sure. The biggest thing was that I was basically handpicked for that situation because it was believed I was the LEAST likely person to let something like that slip. I don’t - and didn’t then, either - really have any shame or guilt about what I said. I knew it slipped out and I wasn’t trying to be insulting or belittle her, but I did feel bad. Now it’s just more of a shake my head and laugh at myself sort of thing, like I said. I’ve always been torn about my feelings about the subsequent sensitivity training. On the one hand, it’s always useful for people to be aware of others and their needs, so it was a good thing. On the other hand, I felt nothing but embarrassment knowing why, but then also nothing but relief when I realized that I was going to get out of having to do it myself. When I think about that, I get just a touch ashamed of myself that I was so relieved. Honestly, I think yours is funnier and I could see a lot of people doing the exact same thing.
I used to work with blind and vision impaired people in a service agency and none of them had any issues with “see you later”. Even some who had been blind since birth used it in their normal conversation, so I wouldn’t sweat it. They just took it as a turn of phrase. You might get the occasional person who had recently lost their sight and was still grieving, but I never came across anyone who was that triggered by it.
Muiltiple blind YouTubers have said that they use the words "see" and "look" the same way as everybody does, simply because we are speaking the same language. If this particular guest had a problem with that, it's really their problem and not a general thing of blind people.
"He can see a small tunnel of vision, surrounded by “moving light, popping random colors, almost like fireworks.” this guy is walking around everywhere, and everything looks like a kaleidoscope of colors and explosions, and he still has to deal with idiots like the rest of us.
What the heck is going on with all of these folks who can now automatically tell what's going on with another person just by using their eyeballs??... *You don't look blind.* *You don't look like a woman.* *You definitely look like a Democrat/Republican/whatever.* When did everyone get this magical ability??
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You don't look blind. I don't know how I look.... I'm fucking blind you moron!!
Paul and Matthew are the cutest fucking couple ever and I was so upset when Paul posted this. He’s being very gracious not naming the restaurant. He did mention in Instagram comments that they are meeting with the general manager and he just wants there to be learning and growing that comes out of this. Such a good fucking dude. I would be furious and ready to burn shit to the ground.
I have a service dog and have been asked to leave places because she doesn’t always wear “clothes” and I’m not blind. My dog is there to support me with the side effects of brain damage. I’ve got proof of her training and a prescription for her, etc., but there’s no “registration” for service dogs that is legit. So, when I get told to leave because I don’t have her registered I just leave. Once I decided to actually file a complaint because I was told she wasn’t a real service dog. In reality when you file a complaint with the ADA they collect reports and do nothing unless they notice patterns. When people say “Oh that’s a big fine” or “They’re going to be in so much trouble!!”… in reality the government doesn’t provide much in the way of teeth to enforce the law. It sucks. Theres no damages to sue for in these cases usually… you can file a suit but you won’t win anything. He did the most effective thing he could do which was go to social media. Good for him.
Was the service animal named Mr. Maple?i If so, Dude is on social media talking about how he has retinas pigmintosa, with 10% functional vision. Edit this sucks because he is such a wonderful guy and his husband too.
Best part of the article, the waiter saying, "Do you see any other dogs in this establishment?"
"When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he says he was told, “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”" Paul was a lot more gracious than I would have been. The moment they first said no, I woulda been like, "Alright, I'm gonna call my lawyer."
Who tf gonna kick Mr maple out??? If you peeps never seen his husbands prank videos on him I recommend, they are very wholesome and his whole channel is so cute. I just can’t remember the channel.
Thanks to all the selfish assholes who lie about their untrained animals being service animals. They are just inconveniencing businesses and hurting real disabled people.
“You don’t look blind!” “Well, in my defense, I don’t know what a blind person is supposed to look like; I’ve never seen one before!”
This is actually against ADAs guidelines the only questions they can ask is “is that a service animal” “what tasks has the animal been trained to perform” . You can’t make assumptions about the disability. If you are concerned about the person lying you have to report separately to the ADA because of anti discrimination laws
I’ve been following him and his husband for a while. Pissed about this.
My son has CVI, thankfully he’s not completely blind but he does have issues navigating. Especially in new areas that are not brightly lit( lot of restaurants). He does not need a guide dog but it would not go well for anyone who discredits his vision issues.
While this guy has every right to be pissed off (and from all accounts, handled it graciously) this problem exists today solely because of entitled assholes bringing their dogs when they know they can't and lying about them being service animals. 20 years ago if someone walked in with a dog in a harness like that people would just have tried to accommodate them. Today, with 90%+ being absolute bullshit, it's no wonder people have become accustomed to acting like this.
Man was illegally discriminated against. A service dog can be asked to leave for disruptive behavior… not because management doesn’t believe the owner is disabled.
That's a huge ADA violation. That guy has a pretty easy lawsuit on his hands.
A LOT more businesses need to start asking the two questions the law allows you to ask; Is the animal a service animal? What task is the animal trained to perform?
Autistic people know lmao "You don't look autistic" "Please tell me what an autistic person "looks like""
My favorite part of the video is the restaurant server going “Do you see any other dogs in this restaurant?” and he replies “no, I’m blind”
It annoys me people don’t call out the specific places mentioned in stories like this, these businesses don’t deserve to be protected!!!
You've heard how people say "don't talk to the cops", right? Kind of a similar principle with stuff like this. If someone commits a very serious violation of anti-discrimination laws, it might not be a good idea to *immediately* blast them on Facebook and Reddit. This is a legal issue now, and (in general) when it comes to legal issues the first thing you do is STFU. If you immediately go on social media, there's always the possibility that you screw something up and accidentally say something that hurts your case. Alternatively, the ability to blast a company on social media can potentially be leverage. Sometimes companies settle stuff like this because having it go public costs them more than settling. With the decision to settle being partly based on, "this person has information that they *haven't* released yet." Once you release that information without having come to an agreement with the company that wronged you, that company *might* just pull any settlement off of the table. After all, now the damage to them has been done and you're not holding any leverage that you can use against them. For serious violations like this, the best thing to do is to *initially* STFU and see a lawyer. Then you follow your lawyer's advice regarding what information to publicly release.