- Joined
- Oct 31, 2007
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A deaf-mute woman carrying a baby boarded a city bus in Portland. The driver took one look at the child and blurted, "That`s the ugliest baby I ever saw!"
The woman read his lips and refused to allow the door to close, effectively halting the bus. She signed and fingerspelled that she would not budge until the driver publically apologized for his rude and unprofessional remark.
But no one knew what she was trying to communicate, and the passengers were yelling, so the driver radioed TriMet Central for assistance.
TriMet immediately sent a certified interpreter for the deaf. The driver new he was in trouble, so he refused to admit anything. The interpreter spoke and signed to the fuming mother and was able to piece together that the bus driver had said something highly offensive.
The sympathetic interpreter told the mother that he was a strong advocate for the deaf and would make sure the bus driver was ordered to apologize for whatever insult he had made. He produced a TriMet complaint form and said he would send it to Central via portable fax, and the driver’s supervisor would order him to apologize.
“Here’s the form to fill out,” said the interpreter. “I’ll hold your monkey.”
The woman read his lips and refused to allow the door to close, effectively halting the bus. She signed and fingerspelled that she would not budge until the driver publically apologized for his rude and unprofessional remark.
But no one knew what she was trying to communicate, and the passengers were yelling, so the driver radioed TriMet Central for assistance.
TriMet immediately sent a certified interpreter for the deaf. The driver new he was in trouble, so he refused to admit anything. The interpreter spoke and signed to the fuming mother and was able to piece together that the bus driver had said something highly offensive.
The sympathetic interpreter told the mother that he was a strong advocate for the deaf and would make sure the bus driver was ordered to apologize for whatever insult he had made. He produced a TriMet complaint form and said he would send it to Central via portable fax, and the driver’s supervisor would order him to apologize.
“Here’s the form to fill out,” said the interpreter. “I’ll hold your monkey.”
