[blindlaw] Question About Rental Discrimination

[ckrugman at sbcglobal.net]

being that you have a disability and specifically being blind you don't 
realize the fears and myths that sighted people have about blindness and the 
misunderstandings that the sighted have about how blind people are able to 
function. We know that for sighted people vision is the most used factor in 
a person's life and many sighted people cannot fathom how a blind person is 
able to do anything without the use of vision. It is not a question of 
mental illness or anything like that, it is a question of lack of exposure 
and information that is logical. I frequently have had to explain to many 
people that blindness is actually an easier disability to accommodate or 
adapt to as physical barriers do not need to be overcome or the blind person 
is not isolated because they cannot hear or participate in conversations 
around them, etc. Much of our job as Federationists is to constantly educate 
people and not jump to conclusions that because a person makes an uninformed 
statement regarding the blind or asks questions about how blind people 
function they are mentally ill. The fear factor is very prevalent on the 
part of many sighted people when it comes to losing their sight which is 
discussed in many classes in the counseling professions which is off topic 
for this list.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark BurningHawk" <stone_troll at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 7:28 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Question About Rental Discrimination


> I'm still missing something here; why would a blind person burn the  house 
> down?  I didn't even know it was legal to privately own a fire  truck, 
> much less keep on residence. :)  I just don't understand the  magical 
> thinking that goes on between noting that someone's eyes don't  work and 
> extrapolating every conceivable disaster possible.  When I  see a deaf 
> person or a person using a wheelchair, I don't  automatically start 
> watching out for fires or hurricanes or falling  bricks; the landlord 
> sounds like he might need to be on meds. :)
>
> Mark BurningHawk
> stone_troll at sbcglobal.net
> Skype and Twitter:  BurningHawk1969
> Home:  Http://MarkBurningHawk.net/
> Namaste!
>
>
>
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