The proprietor of any private or public establishment can legally discriminate against the blind, simply by claiming that his actions are based on safety considerations. The effect of this license to discriminate within the law is much more pernicious than the actual examples of injustice which are countenanced. The fact that blind people are not accorded dignity and respect under the law fosters a view of them as a class which is somehow not deserving of the considerations and rights guaranteed to the average citizen. This trend, attributable to the lack of constructive laws, works such mischief that I recently sat across a pub table form a dog guide user and listened with astonishment while he passionately defended the right of a restaurant proprietor to deny entrance to any person using a dog guide. One can see a vicious circle being established.
Bad attitudes lead to destructive laws which in turn perpetuate even worse attitudes.
The laws pertaining to blindness in America are generally, although by no means universally, superior to comparable English laws. The American airline industry's exit row seating policy toward the blind undoubtedly does rival the absurdity of repressive laws held over from the 19th century, whether in England or not. The very fact that the airlines have to date been successful in committing substantial injustices against the blind and flouting anti- discrimination laws poignantly demonstrates the shortcomings of current civil rights protection afforded to the blind. For the most part, however, the American laws that refer to blindness reflect and reinforce the positive attitudes about blindness articulated by the National Federation of the Blind. White Cane Laws, prohibiting discrimination against the blind by public establishments, exist, in one form or another, in every state, and civil rights protection for the blind is increasing across the country.