[Ag-eq] Do I fight or just find some other way

[Susan Roe]

You go girl!

Susan
dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jody W. Ianuzzi" <jody at thewhitehats.com>
To: "'Agricultural and Equestrean Division List'" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Do I fight or just find some other way


> Hi Barb,
>
> I have been thinking about your problem all day.  I know of a man who 
> spent
> four years in a program to become a chiropractor and at the end the school
> refused to certify him because he was blind.  He sued and won saying that
> they accepted his money and they had a contract that if he met the
> requirements of the program then it was their prejudice only that kept him
> from being certified.  He won.
>
> I know a woman who had support from Voc. Rehab. to become a message
> therapist.  She had several teachers that thought she couldn't do it and
> they flunked her out of the program.  Even her counselor sided with the
> school saying she couldn't do it.  She went to another school on her own 
> and
> she graduated top in her class.  she plants to mail a copy of her diploma 
> to
> the first school (I think she has proof of discrimination) and a copy to 
> her
> counselor.  Now she is thinking of adding Personal Trainer to her
> certifications.
>
> When Erik Weihenmeyer decided to climb Mt. Everest he had people telling 
> him
> he couldn't do it all the way to the top of the world.
>
> How about an anecdotal story that I love.  There was a class of students 
> in
> gym class and each kid was climbing a rope to the ceiling of the gym.  As
> they climbed the teacher kept telling them how dangerous it was, how high
> the ceiling was, how out of shape the kids were and one by one the kids 
> were
> giving up and sliding to the floor.  One student kept going and finally he
> reached the ceiling, slapped it and slid down to the floor.  why did he
> succeed?  Because he was deaf.  He never heard all the negative comments.
>
> I think we have to be deaf to negative attitudes too.  I am 57 years old 
> and
> I have always been a maverick.  When someone said I couldn't do something 
> I
> had to prove I could.  I have yet to pick something I wanted to do without
> finding a way of succeeding, not because I felt I had to prove anything 
> but
> just because I wanted to do it for the fun of it.
>
> I grew up before the ADA and before there was any legal recource for
> discrimination.  I had to be assertive and stick to my guns to get any
> where.  I think that by combining that with the new laws of discrimination
> you can't be stopped.
>
> I am not telling YOU what to do but I can tell you what I would do in this
> situation.  I would NOT give up or avoid the situation.  I would confront
> the person who is giving me the most problems and I would say something 
> like
> You know, I have run in to people telling me I can't do things all my 
> life.
> I realize you probably haven't met a blind person before and you assume 
> that
> blind people can't do anything but let me tell you a few stories. Then I
> would list off a few really good stories about Erik and others to 
> illustrate
> the point.  Then I would describe how people told them they couldn't 
> succeed
> either but they did it anyway.
>
> I would say that I have been told I can't do things all my life and I just
> get tired of hearing it some times.  I figure if I can't do something one
> way, I just find another way to succeed.  I would then make a comment that
> my biggest barrier is prejudice and misinformation and that when given a
> chance I can demonstrate my ability but if I don't get a chance then that 
> is
> really just due to discrimination and I sure wouldn't want that to be the
> case here.  (this is a threat since the school is liable for a
> discrimination suit)
>
> Since people are ignorant of alternative ways to do things I would then
> describe how I would work around problems.  I think it is important to 
> take
> control here since you can provide more information then they have thought
> of.  If a higher power microscope would compensate for limited vision, 
> then
> I would suggest it. I would explain that most people who draw blood do so 
> by
> feel and many people actually close their eyes to do this.  This would be
> espec7ially true while trying to draw blood on a furry animal.
>
> If you don't mind me asking, how much vision do you have?  Working as a 
> vet
> tech if you can't see shit then you really are at a disadvantage
> figuratively and literally.  hahahaha
>
> If this is something you truly want to do then the instructors will pick 
> up
> on this.  The real dedicated teachers will work with you, not against you.
> You can use the dedicated teachers to help you get past the negative
> teachers.
>
> All I can say is that those times I gave in because of pressure from 
> others
> I later regretted it very much and I usually discovered after the fact 
> that
> it was something I really could have done if only I hadn't listened.
>
> So don't give up.
>
> JODY
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ag-eq mailing list
> Ag-eq at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ag-eq_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Ag-eq:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ag-eq_nfbnet.org/dogwoodfarm%40verizon.net