[Blindtlk] Fw: Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"

Sun Mar 14 23:47:01 UTC 2010

Dear All,
    I sent my Letter to the Editor to the reporter, Laura Reiley, as well, and received a response from her. I am forwarding my reply to her response for you to read.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala

Laura,
    I appreciate your response to my concerns about the article, Awareness Was the Main Course". Even though it was not your intention to perpetuate the myths and stereotypes about blindness, I do not believe the same is true about the Foundation Fighting Blindness. I have brought these concerns to them and other organizations who intentionally exploit the blind and public misconceptions about us in the interest of generating revenue. Unfortunately, they have chosen to ignore these concerns in their own selfish interests. 
    It is my sincere hope that the St. Petersburg Times will utilize the resources of the National Federation of the Blind and the National Association of Guide Dog Users when reporting on issues that affect us as blind people. All too often the media does not empower us to speak for ourselves; rather, they accept the assertions of those whose purpose is to serve us. Even if such agencies have blind people speaking for them, it is our belief that only those who have been duly elected by the blind have the authority to speak on behalf of the blind. Otherwise, the only interest served is that of the agency, not that of the blind community.
    I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you in the future. Please retain my contact information and share it with your colleagues.

Sincerely yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the Blind
813-598-7161
President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
HTTP://NFB-NAGDU.ORG

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: LReiley at sptimes.com 
  To: Marion Gwizdala 
  Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 3:25 PM
  Subject: Re: Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"

  Ms. Gwizdala, 

  I appreciate your letter and am chastened that my reporting on the event, in your opinion, served to reinforce stereotypes about the blind. It certainly wasn't my intention to perpetuate any myths. As the restaurant critic for the paper, I did indeed feel that the experience of eating a meal without the benefit of sight made certain elements (such as smell and texture) more important. For example, our shortrib entree had roasted potatoes, tiny zucchini and a roasted tomato, the squishy texture of which was quite a shock when unexpected.  I was certainly not saying that blind people are "bumbling." What I said was that we, as sighted people temporarily deprived of our vision, were bumbling. 

  Thank you for taking the time to write, 

  Laura Reiley
  Food Critic
  St. Petersburg Times
  490 First Ave. S.
  St. Petersburg, FL 33701
  (727) 892-2293
  Blog: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/dining 

        Marion Gwizdala <blind411 at verizon.net> 
        03/11/2010 01:45 PM Please respond to
              "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net> 

       To <lreiley at sptimes.com>  
              cc  
              Subject Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark" 

  Dear Ms. Reiley, 
      I am sending you this letter I wrote to your editor for your information. 

  Sincerely yours, 
  Marion Gwizdala, President
  National Association of Guide Dog Users
  National Federation of the Blind
  813-598-7161
  President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
  HTTP://NFB-NAGDU.ORG 

  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 