[blindlaw] Pimp My Cane

[Mark BurningHawk]

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.

Mark BurningHawk
Skype and Twitter:  BurningHawk1969
Home:  Http://MarkBurningHawk.net/
Namaste!