[Blindtlk] FW: Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer

[Michael]

First my own experience.  After having normal vision and then fighting low 
vision for 15 years and having a professional career and an activity loaded 
lifestyle, I lost my sight three years ago.  I, too, went into the depths of 
despair and sought the help of vocational rehab.  I quickly began to succeed 
at small tasks and pulled myself from this dark place in my life.  I 
corresponded with the NFB email lists and was acquainted with some very 
knowledgeable and active individuals here, many of whom became mentors 
whether they ever knew it or not.  I am nearly as active as I once was and 
have a very meaningful life.  Having said that, I still get frustrated from 
time to time.  When I saw this video, I could relate completely with 
everything the captain spoke of. I too  picked up on the ignorance of the 
newscaster toward the blind.  But I encounter such individuals all the time 
and can't really blame the Fox correspondant.    Blindness is not so common 
that the public will understand the capabilities of the blind without being 
educated, one individual at a time.    I figure that this is one of my 
missions in life, to educate those around me of my and other blind people's 
capabilities.  I commend Captain Smiley , and the army for moving through 
what, in others times, might have had a different outcome, if not for the 
work and efforts of the many who have had a positive contribution in their 
own way to educate the public about blindness.  So I intend to do my part in 
educating others through my life, one person at a time.  Captain Smiley is 
certainly doing his part.

Michael ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 11:02 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] FW: Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer


>A small step forward for the military, but a big step back for the
> image of blind people in my opinion. They talk about how devastating
> losing his sight was, how he wanted to die, that his life was black
> literally and figuratively, and how he broke down crying because his
> life was so horribly changed.
>
> Captain Smiley tries to push that his life is normal. He makes light
> of his wanting to have fun (surfing, mountain climbing, parachuting),
> but the Fox announcer seems so shocked and awed that a blind person
> could do such things.
>
> Good for Captain Smiley. I'm sure he'll go far and represent people
> with visual impairment well, but this video certaionly doesn't.
>
> My two cents,
>
> On 9/23/10, Hyde, David W. (ESC) <david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us> wrote:
>>  I think this represents a small step forward by the military. They at 
>> least
>> didn't give him a discharge and a thank you..
>>
>>
>> http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/21915181
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/herekittykat2%40gmail.com
>>
>
>
> -- 
> ~Jewel
> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/bonsai1b%40bellsouth.net