Public Wi Fi Ban Because of Allergy?
Santa Fe, New Mexico apparently has no shortage of village idiots. There’s a group in that city that wants to ban public wi-fi because they claim to be allergic to it. Based upon this alleged allergy, they claim that having wi-fi in public buildings discriminates against them in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Of course the symptoms for this nonexistent allergy vary by the loon who claims to have it — ranging from headaches to chest pains.
These are the same type of unsubstantiated claims one sees from time to time against cellular phones, televisions, computer monitors, and other technology.
What they have in common are scientifically unproven claims by people who should be more concerned about random drug testing. We’re talking the type of person who shouldn’t use sharp utensils…might even get injured eating with a spork.
What’s particularly sad is how the ADA is being abused by these morons when it was clearly intended to protect those with true disabilities. Now if lacking common sense was a disability, they’d clearly qualify.
Of course, if you believe you have a wi-fi allergy, please feel free to post your comments here. I’d love to hear about it.
About the Author
With an advanced international law degree from Georgetown University and more than 14 years of real world legal experience, Attorney Mike Young shows entrepreneurs how to protect and grow their businesses online. He's the author of "Internet Marketing
Legal Secrets Revealed," "How to Create Your Own Internet Business Without a Lawyer for Under $175," and the creator of Website
Legal Forms GeneratorTM. Not just a lawyer who focuses exclusively on Internet and marketing law, Mike’s been working with computers for more than 27 years (his first computer was an Atari 400 with 8 KiB RAM) and started representing Internet businesses back in 1996.
Jeff Lighthall | May 24, 2008 | Reply
I think I am allergic to people who are allergic to wi-fi, so if they would just stay indoors and be quiet, it would be a big help
We run into the same misuse of the ADA when misinformed building inspectors or architects try to apply it to pool safety gates. To make a long story short pool gates are exempt from the ADA. For more information check out my blog, blog.fencemax.com .
Frank Rodriguez | Sep 10, 2008 | Reply
I was with you until you said “These are the same type of unsubstantiated claims one sees from time to time against cellular phones, televisions, computer monitors, and other technology.”
I’m no Luddite, but for years I’ve had strong negative reactions to CRT monitors and mild negative reactions to cell phones (right up against my ear for more than a few minutes) and fluorescent lighting. I deal with it, but the problem is very real for me.
Working at a CRT monitor for a few hours will cause my eyes to ache and eventually give me a headache, followed by my eye muscles twitching. This isn’t uncommon. I was surprised to learn just how many people have a negative reaction to CRT monitors. So I use an LCD monitor. Problem solved.
With my cell phone, I always use it with the speakerphone and keep it a few inches away from my ear. Problem solved. I adapt and move on, but my point is that the problem is real for me and a few others I’ve talked to.
I’m not looking for special treatment like this group you wrote about, but at the same time, no one likes to hear that something that’s troubling them is all in their head, or “unsubstantiated” as you phrased it. I hope you’ll consider that the next time you’re writing/talking to mixed company.