[blindlaw] advice

[David Andrews]

My answer is one you probably won't like.  At one time I had some 
vision and felt I didn't need to carry a cane all the time, or none 
of the time.  My vision wasn't perfect though and I sometimes had to 
ask for assistance, etc.  People didn't understand, and I got all 
kinds of weird comments, reactions etc.  I ultimately decided to 
carry a cane all the time, in part because it was a symbol of 
blindness, one that people understood, and one that took no 
explaining.  I had to first accept my blindness though, my self as a 
blind person, and truly come to believe that I was the equal of any 
sighted person, I just happened to have a difference.

People do look down on blind people, feel sorry for us, and lots of 
other things so it takes some courage and self confidence to flaunt it.

Ork, the other option is to always give some kind of explanation -- I 
can see some but .....

I tried this and always felt like I was apologizing, or it made me 
feel inferior.

Dave

At 03:37 PM 3/21/2010, you wrote:
>Hi List!
>
>I have run numerous times into the same dilemma and I am convinced this
>dilemma will become more and more of a problem as I move on in my career,
>unless I do something about it, which is why i am posing this problem to
>you:
>
>Recently I went to a meeting of a professional organization here in DC. Not
>surprisingly, each of the attendees were given name tags with one's name and
>either place of work or study to wear during the event, to help initiate
>networking. I am partially blind, and don't feel the need to carry a cane
>with me. However, I can't see other people;s name tags, and can't comment or
>respond to what is written on them. I would like to be able to ask people
>who they are and where they work without seeming like I can't read. Has
>anyone perfected a introduction by which they can do this?