Although it never should have happened, at least the right course of action was taken!
Neurofibromatosis is a rare genetic disorder of the nervous system. Neurofibromatosis causes tumors to form on healthy nerve tissue. Usually these tumors are benign, but sometimes they can become cancerous. To read more about this rare condition, click here.
According to Reggie:
“I saw him pass by. He looked right at me. He was going real slow. He just passed the house. I could see the brake lights on. He went a couple of houses down. He turned around and came back by the house again. He went real slow,” said Bibbs. “I’m looking at him. He’s looking at me. He just keeps going down to the end of the street. When he got to the end of the street, I got a message that said unfortunately your driver canceled. That was it. There was no explanation.”
It’s enough to make you angry, shocked, and embarrassed for Reggie and anyone who has to deal with this kind of discrimination – but save your pity, because Reggie doesn’t need it!
Reggie works with the non-profit Courageous Faces Foundation – an organization that aims to “bring the many different Disability and Special Needs Organizations along with their communities together as one powerful voice.” Reggie also founded the Just Ask! Foundation – an organization “dedicated to spreading awareness about Neurofibromatosis through the people most affected by it.”
Though no one deserves to be treated that way, Reggie certainty was the wrong person to mess with!
For their part, Uber released the following statement:
The situation described here is unacceptable and has no place on the Uber app or any place. We apologize to Mr. Bibbs for the experience reported to us and we have been in contact with the driver to re-emphasize Uber’s Community Guidelines, which prohibits any form of discrimination on the app.
The driver since has been permanently banned.
While it’s impossible to shield everyone from this kind of behavior, it is because of the actions of people like Reggie – through his advocacy work and his going public with incidents like this so that people are held responsible – that we make the world a little better, day by day.
