[blindlaw] Do blind people have a right to visual memory?

Wed Jan 24 16:31:14 UTC 2018

Sai,

A very interesting question indeed. While I am not qualified to address this question from the standpoint of American law, I think blind people definitely have the right to demand that information that is exclusively accessible to those possessing the sense of sight be made available to them in an alternative format. For instance, pictures and maps. However, insofar as your  specific question is concerned, I think it is whether the blind should have the right to demand that everything in their surroundings be conveyed to them in an accessible format in order to ensure that they do not miss out on accessing critical visual information.

I am not sure if such an omnibus right would serve any useful purpose.  Not only would this be a difficult proposition from a logistical standpoint, but given the limited  room that the disabled have to demand reasonable accommodation, as Daniel indicated, I think that there are other issues that merit far greater attention. So I would submit  that such a right should remain confined to information that is exclusively visual, as I said earlier.

Best,
Rahulz 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 24, 2018, at 9:38 PM, Luis Mendez via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good morning:
> 
> An interesting question indeed, but one with a relatively straight forward
> answer. Every person may well enjoy a protected right to memory, a right no
> different than the general right to be free from  unwarranted physical
> intrusion by either the government or persons acting under color of law.
> That doesn't create an automatic right to record every conceivable
> transaction whether that recording is visual or audio.  We all have to rely
> on our  often less than perfect recollection of day-to-day life, whether we
> experience life visually, auditorily  or both. Being blind doesn't or
> shouldn't  create an expectation of more favorable treatment, unless  the
> exception is a necessary aspect of a reasonable accommodation. I.E. being
> allowed to retain access to a laptop and/or braille notetaker  while in
> court. 
> 
> 
> Luis
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daniel
> McBride via BlindLaw
> Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 10:23 PM
> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List' <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Daniel McBride <dlmlaw at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Do blind people have a right to visual memory?
> 
> Sai:
> 
> With all due respect, I am not really sure what your question entails and,
> given my best impression of your question, I am believing I might have more
> legitimate issues to worry about.
> 
> There are those of us who are blind. There are those who are not. I
> certainly understand the concepts underlying the ADA and a disabled persons
> right to a fair, and equal, chance at life and what it has to offer.
> However, within this context, at some point I have to face the fact that I
> am blind and live with its limitations.
> 
> Let's say I seek, for example, my constitutional right (?) to be a starting
> pitcher in major league baseball so I get the chance to experience what
> sighted persons experience, or to be a starting quarterback in the NFL so I
> can experience what sighted persons get to experience. Or, I can simply
> accept the fact that I am blind and realize that a blind person will never
> pitch in Major League Baseball nor be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
> 
> I'm sure I navigate places daily that I am unaware are potentially
> hazardous. In the painted bicycle lane example, if a sighted bicyclist sees
> a blind person on the shared sidewalk with his/her cane, or guide dog and
> the cyclist is unwilling to yield to the blind person, then I am more
> concerned about the cyclists' ability to satisfy my judgment against him/her
> for any injuries they might cause me.
> 
> If I understand your question correctly, I believe it falls into the
> category of being careful what we ask for because we just might get it.
> 
> And my comment is intended respectfully. Just my two cents worth. And I
> might be misunderstanding the intent of your question as well.
> 
> Daniel McBride
> Fort Worth
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sai via
> BlindLaw
> Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 2:01 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Cc: Sai
> Subject: [blindlaw] Do blind people have a right to visual memory?
> 
> Consider any of various situations where it is illegal to secretly record
> video. Customs, courts, etc etc.
> 
> A sighted person going through those situations would have a visual memory
> of what they saw. A blind person would not; they wouldn't have access to the
> same information that the sighted person does (albeit limited by memory).
> 
> So, could one (winnably) argue that the blind person has a Constitutional
> *right* to covert video recording, i.e. the right to see and remember what
> they saw (albeit through the intermediary of a recording), at least for
> personal or testimonial use?
> 
> 
> I started thinking about this recently during O&M training. I recorded the
> training session out of curiosity to see what it was like.
> 
> I didn't learn until after recording that training session that a street I
> walk very frequently has a painted-on bike lane on part of the sidewalk.
> 
> I had absolutely no idea it was there, despite having walked that exact path
> for months and easily recognizing various parts of it by cane. The
> painted-on bike lane, and the division between it and the pedestrian part of
> the sidewalk, just have almost zero perceptible tactile cues, let alone
> something to indicate "don't walk here".
> 
> As a result, in that video of my training session, I was blithely walking
> along the curb side of the sidewalk, smack in the middle of a bike lane. It
> came as quite a shock to me when I reviewed the video.
> 
> I've had multiple other experiences where visual memory was critical, like
> where TSA violated my rights and I needed evidence of who did what. Had I
> not been recording, I wouldn't have that evidence.
> 
> 
> So it makes me think: what about establishing a blind person's right to
> perceive, and recall, the same visual information that a sighted person
> would have access to in the same situation? (Or likewise for d/Deaf and
> audio, or psychological issues and memory in general.)
> 
> Has anyone ever tried this?
> 
> Sincerely,
> Sai
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dlmlaw%40sbcglobal.net
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/lmendez716%40gmail.com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rahul.bajaj1038%40gmail.com