[Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"
Marion Gwizdala
blind411 at verizon.net
Fri Mar 12 17:59:44 UTC 2010
Steve,
Though I appreciate your feelings on this matter, the problem is not the
anger; ratehr, it is how the anger is expressed. Anger is a human emotion
and it is certainly alright to express one's anger, provided it is done in
an assertive, rather than agressive manner. I believe most of the anger that
has been expressed over this article is justified and appropriate. After
all, they are talking about us here!
fraternally yours,
Marion
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve P. Deeley" <stevep.deeley at insightbb.com>
To: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>; "Blind Talk Mailing List"
<blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"
> Thank you Gary. I just don't understand the anger. I've have to work
> around angry people and it is no picnic.
>
> Steve
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 9:45 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
> Dark"
>
>
>> It may be that Steve shares the concern but his first priority is
>> figuring
>> out how to make it today and tomorrow. Having a job for 30 years and
>> family
>> obligations which tend to match or exceed income can make that the
>> priority.
>> We don't really know how he feels - only that this particular article
>> doesn't bother him as much as other things.
>>
>> Warmly,
>>
>> Gary
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Graves, Diane" <dgraves at icrc.IN.gov>
>> To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 7:22 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
>> Dark"
>>
>>
>>> Exactly, and one of the barriers to a blind person's employment and the
>>> ability to support his/her family is the attitude and expectations of
>>> the
>>> public
>>>
>>> I mean no disrespect at all, so please don't take this as bashing, but I
>>> am simply stumped here. If you truly don't care about these kinds of
>>> issues and changing the way the public perceives the blind and so forth,
>>> then why are you a member of this organization. As you put it, don't you
>>> have "more important things to worry about?"
>>>
>>> Diane Graves
>>> Civil Rights Specialist
>>> Indiana Civil Rights Commission
>>> Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
>>> 317-232-2647
>>>
>>> "It is service that measures success."
>>> George Washington Carver
>>>
>>> Confidentiality Notice: This E-mail transmission may contain
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>>> Subsequently, delete the message from your system immediately.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>> On
>>> Behalf Of Steve P. Deeley
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:28 PM
>>> To: Marion Gwizdala; Blind Talk Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
>>> Dark"
>>>
>>> As I said, you need to focus your anger on more important issues.
>>> That is just my opinion; you have the right to be angry. I choose to
>>> worry
>>> about employment and the issues with my family.
>>> Steve
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
>>> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 4:09 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
>>> Dark"
>>>
>>>
>>>> Steve,
>>>> As the writer of this letter, I am very angry! What is the problem
>>>> with
>>>> expressing one's anger over such sensationalized, inaccurate reporting
>>>> that
>>>> promulgates the myths and misconceptions that create the sort of
>>>> discrimination we experience? Should we, in the interest of not
>>>> upsetting
>>>> those who offend us, simply sit back and take it without countering
>>>> their
>>>> ignorance with rational expressions of dissatisfaction? Should we say
>>>> to
>>>> the
>>>> public, "It's okay to treat us as second-class citizens and generate
>>>> revenue
>>>> by lying to the public about who we are and what we can do, cloaking it
>>>> in
>>>> the science of medicine?" Every blind person who has been treated like
>>>> a
>>>> child simply because they are blind should be angry! It is this sort of
>>>> drivvle that has caused our blind children to not get the Braille
>>>> instruction they need and deserve to be literate, fully functioning
>>>> adults!
>>>> It is this sort of mythology that has created the 70% unemployment
>>>> rate!
>>>>
>>>> Marion Gwizdala
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Steve P. Deeley" <stevep.deeley at insightbb.com>
>>>> To: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>; "Blind Talk Mailing List"
>>>> <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 3:20 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
>>>> Dark"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I believe the writer of that letter sounds very angry. That, also,
>>>>>turns
>>>>>sighted individuals off. Let's not go down the race road for our
>>>>>examples.
>>>>> Steve
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>
>>>>> To: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>; "Blind Talk Mailing
>>>>> List"
>>>>> <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 1:57 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
>>>>> Dark"
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> You should be able to get it mailed to your e-mail address on file by
>>>>>> pressing pound 9.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Gary
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
>>>>>> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:54 AM
>>>>>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
>>>>>> Dark"
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Dear All,
>>>>>>> I tried to get a copy of the original article about which I wrote
>>>>>>> this
>>>>>>> letter to the editor; however, it was not available without paying a
>>>>>>> fee.
>>>>>>> The article can be accessed by going to NFB-Newsline and selecting
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> St.Petersburg Times Metro section. If anyone can get access to this
>>>>>>> article, please send it to the list. Pasted below is my letter to
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> editor.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Fraternally yours,
>>>>>>> Marion Gwizdala
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> March 11, 2010
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am writing to comment on the article "Awareness Was the
>>>>>>> Main
>>>>>>> Course" by Laura Reiley that appeared in the March 10 Metro section
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> St. Petersburg times. As a blind person, I often meet people who are
>>>>>>> amazed by the fact that I can perform even the simplest of tasks.
>>>>>>> Generally this attitude is based on their own experience attempting
>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> perform the same task without eyesight and failing at it miserably.
>>>>>>> It
>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>> for this reason that most blind people are opposed to using the type
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> simulation exercises featured in this article. Blindfolding a
>>>>>>> sighted
>>>>>>> person and asking them to perform even a simple task does not, as
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> article purports, give a person any awareness of what the life of a
>>>>>>> blind
>>>>>>> person is like. In fact, such exercises only serve to reinforce the
>>>>>>> misconceptions and promulgate the myths about blindness that create
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> social, legal, and economic barriers that prevent us from achieving
>>>>>>> true
>>>>>>> equality with our sighted peers. Those of us who are blind have
>>>>>>> developed
>>>>>>> an array of non-visual techniques to perform activities of daily
>>>>>>> living,
>>>>>>> such as eating, just as effectively as sighted people do using
>>>>>>> eyesight.
>>>>>>> Blindfolding a sighted person and asking them to perform a task is
>>>>>>> like
>>>>>>> putting someone in the cockpit of a jetliner and telling them to
>>>>>>> fly!
>>>>>>> Lacking the proper skills, the results of both would be disastrous!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The real problem of blindness is not the lack of
>>>>>>> eyesight;
>>>>>>> rather it is the manner in which we are treated as the result of the
>>>>>>> misconceptions people have about blindness. If one really wants to
>>>>>>> find
>>>>>>> out what life is like for a blind person, there is no need to don a
>>>>>>> blindfold! All one needs to do is carry a white cane, the
>>>>>>> international
>>>>>>> symbol of blindness, and go about their everyday life. Then they
>>>>>>> would
>>>>>>> feel the crushing insults of public misperception that blind
>>>>>>> people,
>>>>>>> except for those few who are believed to be amazing and
>>>>>>> extraordinary,
>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>> innately ignorant and helpless. They would experience the waitress
>>>>>>> who
>>>>>>> asks a five year old what the blind adult wants to drink. They would
>>>>>>> encounter the librarian who admonishes them for going out alone,
>>>>>>> thus
>>>>>>> exposing them to the hazards of opening a door. They would be
>>>>>>> confronted
>>>>>>> by the Employer who inquires about who will bring them to work. They
>>>>>>> would
>>>>>>> learn that even well educated doctors are so ignorant as to ask them
>>>>>>> who
>>>>>>> bathes them! Though you might want to minimize these incidents away,
>>>>>>> they
>>>>>>> are examples of the type of ignorance I - and other blind people -
>>>>>>> encounter on a regular, almost daily, basis!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am not asserting that eyesight is not beneficial nor
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> work of the Foundation Fighting Blindness is not valuable. What
>>>>>>> concerns
>>>>>>> me is that organizations that assert they want to "serve the blind"
>>>>>>> do
>>>>>>> us
>>>>>>> such a disservice by reinforcing the public misconceptions and fears
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> create the problems we face. I am all for raising money to cure
>>>>>>> retinal
>>>>>>> degenerative diseases, especially since the condition that has
>>>>>>> caused
>>>>>>> my
>>>>>>> blindness, that of my 14-year-old nephew , and several other members
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> my
>>>>>>> family is retinitis Pigmentosa. I am, however, opposed to creating
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> type of fear and pity that results from blindfolding people for the
>>>>>>> purpose of raising money! Such a practice is as offensive to me as a
>>>>>>> black-faced minstrel would be to an African American! These
>>>>>>> misconceptions
>>>>>>> are the reason fewer than 10% of blind children are learning to read
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> write Braille, producing functionally illiterate blind adults. These
>>>>>>> fears
>>>>>>> and misconceptions are the reason that the unemployment rate among
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> blind is more than 70%!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The veracity of my concerns are supported by the numerous
>>>>>>> inaccurate statements made by the author who has bought into the
>>>>>>> false
>>>>>>> perceptions of the blind. Does she really believe that "other senses
>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>> heightened" by taking away one's sight or "; texture became
>>>>>>> paramount"
>>>>>>> as
>>>>>>> the result of simulated blindness? Does she really believe that
>>>>>>> blindfolding participants "gave all assembled a greater window into
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> world of the sightless"? Does she really believe that blind people
>>>>>>> go
>>>>>>> through life "bumbling" their ways around or did she just
>>>>>>> irresponsibly
>>>>>>> promulgate the pitiful stereotype in an effort to sell your
>>>>>>> newspapers
>>>>>>> like the Foundation Fighting Blindness did to sell themselves and
>>>>>>> selfishly generate revenue with no concern about the social
>>>>>>> consequences
>>>>>>> of their actions?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The belief that blind people are endowed with heightened
>>>>>>> senses
>>>>>>> and special powers is a myth. Blind people simply learn to use their
>>>>>>> other
>>>>>>> senses and alternative techniques to perform the tasks sighted
>>>>>>> people
>>>>>>> do
>>>>>>> with eyesight. Like any skill, these techniques are generally not
>>>>>>> acquired
>>>>>>> in a half-hour nor mysteriously and supernaturally endowed. However,
>>>>>>> these
>>>>>>> skills enable blind people to function independently, efficiently,
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> effectively. In fact, the average blind person can perform the same
>>>>>>> tasks
>>>>>>> as their sighted peers as well, if not better, by employing these
>>>>>>> alternative techniques. Our blindness is not the problem. The real
>>>>>>> problem
>>>>>>> of blindness is the misunderstanding and lack of information that
>>>>>>> exists.
>>>>>>> If a blind person is given proper training and opportunity,
>>>>>>> blindness
>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>> only a physical nuisance.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In the future, when your paper is doing a story about
>>>>>>> blindness, it would be helpful to get accurate information and the
>>>>>>> perspective of a blind person who is qualified to speak to these
>>>>>>> issues
>>>>>>> by
>>>>>>> being chosen by the blind to speak on their behalf. The National
>>>>>>> Federation of the Blind is the oldest and largest organization of
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> blind in the United States. We are not an organization that speaks
>>>>>>> on
>>>>>>> behalf of the blind; we are the blind speaking for ourselves. For
>>>>>>> accurate
>>>>>>> information about blindness or the blind, please feel free to get in
>>>>>>> touch
>>>>>>> with me or visit one of our websites at
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> HTTP://WWW.NFB.ORG
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Or
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> HTTP://WWW.NFB-NAGDU.ORG
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Respectfully yours,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 813-598-7161
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> blindtlk mailing list
>>>>>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
>>>>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>> blindtlk:
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
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>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>>
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