[blindlaw] I'm Confused - RE: Canes and Blindness along with thechanging color of the cane

Joe Orozco jsorozco at gmail.com
Thu Apr 1 17:51:40 UTC 2010


Michael,

Your message is mostly confusing to me.  Still, I'll say for my part that to
me the cane is a mobility aid, nothing more symbolic than a tool to help me
avoid obstacles.  While it certainly tells people that I am blind, I do not
mean for it to act as a banner for equality or acceptance.  Senior citizens
do not need to use a standard walking stick to signal to the public that
they are senior citizens and may require some assistance.  Pedestrians do
not need to wear reflective material to alert the public of their presence
on streets.  Frankly, I don't understand the concept behind safety in
reflective material for the cane, because blind people should strive to be
cautious travelers with or without the false sense of security from this
reflective material.  Not even a year ago a good friend of mine in Texas was
struck by a car with his cane fully extended.  If we're running the same
risk, why should blind people be confined to a specific image the public
deems necessary for our safety?  To me it's a label that may have been
relevant when these laws were passed in a prior era, but times have changed.
People do not like to be labeled.  People want to integrate into society
without the glaring use of reminders the general public feels it needs to
impose on people with disabilities, but most important, it's not a proposal
for a change in laws in the first place.  The discussion spun out of a few
individuals' contemplation to do something unique to their mobility tools.
I do not buy the argument that the general public would wake up one day and
be totally overwhelmed by the sight of blind people strolling about with
different colored canes.  At the bottom line rests the simple reality that
you respect your fellow man, and if you are approaching said fellow man in a
vehicle, you are careful driving past or around them regardless of whether
their cane is white, orange or whether they do not use a cane at all.
Anything less is suggesting we would think less of physically disabled
people if they one day decided to move about in little red wagons instead of
traditional wheelchairs.

Respectfully,

Joe Orozco

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Groat
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 12:29 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: [blindlaw] I'm Confused - RE: Canes and Blindness 
along with thechanging color of the cane

Hello All,
I'm confused.  In reading the string of the emails, there are a 
few things
that constantly stand out and that is that it appears that many 
are trying
to avoid acknowledging their blindness.  I understand only too 
well about
desiring to hang on to sight as long as possible.  

What is wrong with using a White Cane and acknowledging one's 
vision loss?
>From my perspective, just carrying a white cane is the worst 
thing a person
can do.  Just carrying a white cane causes confusion for the 
sighted.  One
is either Vision Impaired or not.  If one is Vision Impaired, then why
aren't they using the white came.  Most of the sighted don't 
understand that
there a myriad of variations of vision impairment.  The Vision 
Impaired need
to think about what is seen by the sighted and not from their 
own viewpoint.
What may be logical to one may be confusing to another.  This 
is especially
true when it is between the Visually Impaired and the sighted where the
white cane is concerned.  Why not use the white cane and let people know
what you can do on your own?  

Many of the emails appear that many people are not addressing the whole
picture.  I have found that by using my white cane that many people do
acknowledge it and I am getting there respect by doing things on my own.
Yes, I have also received the comments of "may I be of 
assistance" or let me
help you".  One must remember that there many people that try 
to be a Good
Samaritan to everyone and they should not be insulted for their efforts,
even if we don't care for it.  When I come a cross a person that doesn't
know about the white cane, I then have the opportunity to 
inform them, which
will make it better for the next blind person.  Even if one is 
not totally
blind, the white cane needs to be used.  

I have found that by using my white cane (even though I have 
some peripheral
vision) and doing what I can on my own, that I am being accepted as is,
which reality is.

By acknowledging your blindness by using the white cane, you will be
accepted in time.  Remember, you need to help train the SIGHTED.

I have seen some of the emails addressing changing the color of 
the white
cane.  I am not sure just how the law is written, but there may 
be a legal
issue with changing the color of the cane.  

The white cane is universally accepted, so what is the problem 
with leaving
the dame white?  Is this idea just another way to avoid 
acknowledging one's
vision loss?  The white color is the most reflective color and 
that is part
of the safety issue.  

It also appears that many of the Vision Impaired is letting their Print
Impairment affect their view of the sighted and reality.  

The key to acceptance is to acknowledge and deal with one's vision
impairment.   


Being Accepted as an equal is the goal for all of us.  How one 
goes about
getting that acceptance may very well be the 'if and when' the 
acceptance is
obtained.  

Is there an EGO problem with using the white cane?
Michael



  

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of WB
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 3:37 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Canes and Blindness

>From my reading of Mark's statement....and he can defend his 
own....but I
didn't see where he said not to use a cane.

One problem in this e-mail  trail and others is that many times, myself
included, read what we want to out of a person's statement 
rather than what
they really said.  I guess, as in court, yowe cannot come to an amicable
resolution if the facts are not taken into consideration.

I'm sure there will be a statement regarding this one that may 
take a word
or two out of context.



-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of David Andrews
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 2:38 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: [blindlaw] Canes and Blindness

Mark:

I suppose it is a goal to "blend in and not stand out" as you say, 
but not just in a physical sense.  I want to be a part of society, an 
equal, getting the bad and the good do along with my sighted 
counterparts.  With the tools available to me today, cane, dog etc., 
I will always stand out some.  So instead of trying to hide that I 
need to be proud of my blindness and promote a positive attitude 
towards those tools and blind people, so the stigma goes away.  There 
is a stigma because we are not equals -- our unemployment rate etc. 
prove that.  When we change that it won't matter that we carry a 
cane, use a dog etc.  We won't change attitudes by not using canes 
and the like though.

Dave

At 08:00 PM 3/28/2010, you wrote:
>I'm not quibbling with the white cane as a mobility tool.  However,
>recently a thread started here about carrying a white cane merely to
>identify oneself as blind, so as not to cause confusion when being
>unable to read name tags, etc., at a symposium or whatever.  It was
>put forth that canes should be carried, in addition to any value they
>may have as a mobility aid, merely to identify a blind person as
>blind, and to allow the sighted to give them a "handicap," in not
>being able to read name tags.  For this purpose, a sign declaring "I
>am blind, please act accordingly," would serve just as well, it seems
>to me, and the white cane then becomes a stigma-maker, not a tool.
>For purposes of this discussion, the "white," color of the cane
>becomes the "distress cry of the blind," or something; the identifying
>mark by which blind people are known and warn their surroundings that
>they are in fact in need of a handicap.  This is one reason why I want
>to use a cane that's other than white with a red tip.  It is very true
>that, even with my guide dog, when I wear sunglasses, I am often
>mistaken for a dog-walker, not a guide dog user.  It's like that old
>left-handed compliment, "No one would know you're blind, you do that
>so well."  That infuriates me when it's said to me.  It seems that
>some here are trying to avoid just this situation--being mistaken for
>a sighted person--when I should think that was the ultimate goal of
>any blind person--to blend in and not stand out.


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