[Blind-international-students] introducing myself andcomments on your discussion
Anmol Bhatia
anmolpbhatia at yahoo.com
Mon Aug 9 20:24:04 UTC 2010
Hello list,
Both Guido and Carly raise some excellent points.
Carly you say that we should strive for accessibility for everyone. This is true and the Federation and the Council are striving for main streaming accessibility into everyday products. meaning build in accessibility so that both the blind and the sighted can utalize it. This is what Apple has done with its built in Voice Over and for this they were awarded a $5000 at the NFB convention by the federation. I do commend the Federation for doing this.
Guido, you are right when you say that we are blind first and Federationalest, Council or the foundation second. Dr. Maurer is correct when he refers to us as the "the blind" because thats what we are first and for most. The biggest obstical the blind face is the negative attitude that the sighted has about blindness and my mission in life is to defeat this negative attitude, promote advocacy for the blind and all people with disabilities and promote independence amongest the blind. My desire is to use organizations such as the NFB and ACB to achieve my mission and even though I have some differences with NFB which I will not state again, I do agree with its basic thinking that "The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real problem
is the misunderstanding and lack of
information that exist. If a blind person
has proper training and opportunity,
blindness can be reduced to a physical
nuisance." However, I do have some strong principals as any person should blind or sighted and these principals should never be compromised. So Carli I do respectfully disagree with you that federation advocating for accessibility for the blind is not 'dehumanization'.
Anmol
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.
Hellen Keller
--- On Mon, 8/9/10, Guido Corona <guidoc at austin.rr.com> wrote:
> From: Guido Corona <guidoc at austin.rr.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blind-international-students] introducing myself andcomments on your discussion
> To: "'Blind International Students Mailing List'" <blind-international-students at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Monday, August 9, 2010, 1:01 PM
> Carli, you bring up an
> excellent point about the 'dehumanization' thingie.
>
> NFB stands for National Federation Of The Blind, AFB stands
> for American
> Foundation For The Blind, ACB stands for American Council
> Of The Blind.
> When Marc Maurer addresses the Federations, he refers to
> all of us as "the
> blind", because he knows that we need no politically
> correct crutches to
> salvage our self esteem. While not particularly fond
> of blindness as a
> condition, I am very proud of being part of the blind,
> while for reasons
> that are purely grammatical, I consider myself a "blind
> man".
>
>
> I should like to point out that it is not dehumanizing to
> use Americans,
> Canadians, Italians, African Americans, Chinese as
> nouns... Hence it is not
> dehumanizing.
>
> On the other hand, there seem to be some subtle usage
> differences, which
> make the term 'blind' more similar to French and
> English. Hence,
>
> Americans, 3 Americans, and an American are OK... but
>
> English, 3 English, an English...
>
> is not... we need to say:
>
> The English, 3 English men, an English woman...
>
> same for french and seemingly for 'blind. hence:
>
> blind, 3 blind, a blind... is grammatically poor form and
> semantically
> vague. But...
>
> the blind, 3 blind women, a blind man... appears to work
> perfectly.
>
> Having said that, publications like AFB's AccessWorld
> enforces the 'people
> first' language... hence horrid circumlocutions such
> "access technology for
> persons that are blind"... I know this because my articles
> are routinely
> edited for political correctness.
>
> Even worse than 'people first' language are all the
> attempts to erase the
> term blind from public usage... hence "the specially
> sighted"... or should I
> say "Persons who are specially sighted".
>
> Best,
>
> G.
>
>
>
> Guido D. Corona
> Email: guidoc at austin.rr.com
> Home office: (512) 996-9187
> Mobile: (512) 466-1322
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blind-international-students-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:blind-international-students-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Carly
> Mihalakis
> Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 11:53 AM
> To: Blind International Students Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blind-international-students] introducing
> myself andcomments
> on your discussion
>
> Hi, List,
>
> I thought the Federation calls for everybody being the
> SAME, so why
> need we specify the limitations of blind people as a reason
> to make
> things accessible to us? How about thinking of it in terms
> of
> accessibility to everyone? It seems if technology were
> accessible to
> everyone, it may be inclusive enough to in compass blind
> folks
> anyway? . Further, call this semantic but referring to us
> as the
> "blind" seems a little dehumanizing, doncha think? Perhaps
> blind
> people is more comfortable? 04 AM 8/9/2010, you wrote:
> >Dear Dan and list,
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >You may be interested to read the issue below that was
> brought
> >before congress by the NFB in february 2010. It
> is also attached.
> >
> >
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Bruce
> >
> >
> >
> >A TECHNOLOGY BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE BLIND
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Purpose: To mandate that consumer electronics,
> home appliances,
> >kiosks, and electronic office technology provide user
> interfaces
> >that are accessible through nonvisual means.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Background: In recent years rapid advances in
> microchip and digital
> >technology have led to increasingly complex user
> interfaces for
> >everyday products such as consumer electronics, home
> appliances,
> >kiosks, and electronic office technology. Many
> new devices in these
> >categories require interaction with visual displays,
> on-screen
> >menus, touch screens, and other user interfaces that
> are
> >inaccessible to individuals who are blind or have low
> >vision. Settings on the stove, dishwasher, or
> home entertainment
> >system are no longer controlled by knobs, switches, and
> buttons that
> >can be readily identified and whose settings can be
> easily
> >discerned. Inaccessibility of these devices is a
> major barrier to a
> >blind person's independence and productivity. If
> a blind person
> >cannot operate the interfaces of basic office equipment
> such as
> >copiers and fax machines, this is a potential threat to
> that
> >person's opportunity to join the workforce or to
> maintain an existing job.
> >
> >
> >
> >Many popular nonvisual mechanisms are available for
> manufacturers to
> >create interfaces accessible to everyone. For
> example,
> >text-to-speech technology is inexpensive and more
> ubiquitous than it
> >has ever been-it is used in everything from automated
> telephone
> >systems to the weather forecasting service broadcast by
> the National
> >Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Indeed, a few
> manufacturers
> >have incorporated this technology into their products
> to create
> >talking menus or to articulate what is on the display
> screen, but
> >many manufacturers have continued to design interfaces
> that do not
> >include any nonvisual means of use, rendering the
> devices
> >inaccessible to blind people.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Need for Legislation: Currently no enforceable
> mandates exist for
> >manufacturers of consumer electronics, home appliances,
> kiosks, and
> >electronic office technology to make their products
> accessible to
> >all consumers. There are also no accessibility
> standards to provide
> >guidance to manufacturers on how to avoid creating
> barriers to
> >access by the blind.
> >
> >
> >
> >Congress should therefore enact a Technology Bill of
> Rights for the
> >Blind which:
> >
> > a.. establishes that manufacturers must create
> accessible user
> > interfaces for their products,
> > b.. provides a means for enforcement, and
> > c.. establishes standards that will provide
> meaningful benchmarks
> > that manufacturers can use to make their products
> accessible.
> >
> >
> >This legislation does not mandate a single,
> one-size-fits-all
> >solution for all consumer technology, home appliances,
> kiosks, or
> >electronic office technology. Rather it mandates
> regulations
> >setting meaningful accessibility standards that allow
> manufacturers
> >to select from a menu of potential solutions or create
> new
> >ones. This will not only give manufacturers the
> freedom and
> >flexibility they desire, but will also encourage
> innovations that
> >make consumer technology more usable for everyone.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Proposed Legislation: Congress should enact a
> Technology Bill of
> >Rights for the Blind that:
> >
> >
> >
> > a.. Mandates that all consumer electronics, home
> appliances,
> > kiosks, and electronic office technology be designed
> so that blind
> > people are able to access the same functions as
> sighted people by
> > nonvisual means and with substantially equivalent ease
> of use.
> >
> >
> > a.. Creates a commission to establish standards
> for nonvisual
> > accessibility of electronic devices intended for use
> in the home or
> > office. Such a commission should represent all
> stakeholders, including:
> >- organizations of
> the blind;
> >
> >- manufacturers of
> consumer electronics, home appliances,
> >kiosks, and electronic office technology, or
> associations
> >representing such manufacturers; and
> >
> >- experts on
> universal design, electronic engineering, and
> >related fields.
> >
> >
> >
> > a.. Endows the Department of Justice with the
> authority to enforce
> > the regulations promulgated by the commission
> established by this
> legislation.
> >
> >
> > a.. Authorizes the commission to reexamine and
> rewrite standards
> > periodically as consumer electronic technology
> continues to evolve.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Requested Action: Please support blind Americans
> and cosponsor a
> >Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind to ensure that
> blind people
> >can fully participate in all aspects of American
> society. Increased
> >access leads to increased independence, increased
> employment, and
> >increased tax revenue.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Contact Information:
> >
> >Lauren McLarney
> >
> >Government Programs Specialist
> >
> >NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
> >
> >Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2207
> >
> >Email: lmclarney at nfb.org
> >
> >----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Weiner" <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
> >To: "'Blind International Students Mailing List'"
> ><blind-international-students at nfbnet.org>
> >Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 6:40 AM
> >Subject: Re: [Blind-international-students] introducing
> myself
> >andcomments on your discussion
> >
> >
> >>And, on the subject of accessibility issues for
> which there is no
> >>work-around, what abut the plethora of new
> house-hold appliances which
> have
> >>read-outs and no
> >>Feasible work-around?
> >>In the apartment where I used to live, there were
> washers and driers on
> the
> >>first floor.
> >>Totally flat buttons, and you were obliged to use a
> card to start the
> >>machine. You could not tell when you were close to
> running out of money on
> >>your card. To recharge the card, you needed to use
> a machine that was
> >>totally inaccessible.
> >>I'm sure everyone has come across similar
> appliances in the last few
> years.
> >>Is there anyone working on ideas to handle this
> frustrating maddening
> >>dilemma?
> >>
> >>Dan W
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
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> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
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>
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