[Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events re:[blindtlk]fw: MIRA Foundation

Thu Dec 15 02:10:16 UTC 2011

Hi everyone,

Thank you very much for all the feedback! We will definitely take 
what you say here into consideration.  We are trying the best we 
can to use communication between the participants and the blind 
people involved to help them understand that we need training to 
learn the alternative skills of blindness, as does any other 
person learning any other complex skill, so they might have 
trouble during their meal, but this is not the case for a trained 
blind adult.  Mike, I really like the blind people
cooking the meal idea.  We might do that! I, for one, really like 
the idea, and will certainly pass it on for the board to discuss 
at our next meeting.  Again, thank you for all the feedback!

Chris Nusbaum, Secretary, I CAN Foundation

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind, 
1968-1986

 The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps blind and visually impaired youth 
in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through providing 
assistive technology and scholarships to camps and conventions 
which help them be equal with their sighted peers.  For more 
information about the Foundation and to support our work, visit 
us online at www.icanfoundation.info!

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Wunder" <GWunder at earthlink.net
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:08:41 -0600
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events 
re:[blindtlk]fw: MIRA Foundation

Hello my friend.  Since I see you have already gotten a number of 
comments
to your post, let me keep mine short.

In the 1960s and 1970s when people in wheelchairs began to demand 
real
access from society, they found it quite effective to put people 
in
wheelchairs and show them how they couldn't cross streets, 
couldn't reach
doorknobs, had no access to buildings with stairs, and the list 
goes on.
The message the folks in wheelchairs were trying to send was that 
if society
would only modify its environment, something easily done with 
elevators and
curb cuts and doorknobs placed at a reasonable level, the world 
for people
in wheelchairs would be immeasurably better.  What society was to 
do was
clear.  The folks doing the wheelchair user simulation were not 
trying to
change the attitude society had about people in wheelchairs.  
They were
trying to suggest to society some very concrete measures it could 
take.

If we look at dining in the dark, we are not suggesting that 
society imposes
a significant barrier to our eating that they could remedy if 
only they were
willing to spend a little money.  When we blindfold a person, we 
immediately
reinforce what they believe about blindness-- a world of 
darkness, a world
without light, and the inability to do almost everything they 
consider of
consequence--read, write, drive, cook, clean, and even eat.  If 
we had
months to spend with these people, we could make the sleep shade 
a training
ally, and remove the mystery and the horror of the dark, but in 
the
fundraiser you envision, there will only be one evening.  When 
the sighted
person spills, will he intuitively understand that this is 
because he is
functioning in conditions that are far different from what real 
blind people
experience, or will he be affirmed in his idea that to be blind 
necessarily
means to be klutzy and inept?

I really do believe that these dining in the dark experiences 
would be much
more productive if, as Mike suggests, blind people cooked and 
served a meal
that could be fully observed, both through the eyes and the 
pallet, as a
quality meal, a meal competently cooked and supervised by blind 
people.

I often hesitate to be critical of organizations trying to raise 
money to
benefit blind people, but I think we should not confuse trying to 
raise
money with trying to achieve some significant level of education.  
Dining in
the dark may well raise money, but I seriously doubt that it will 
enhance
the way sighted people think about people who are blind.  
Unfortunately,
some of the most successful fundraising mechanisms do not have as 
their
theme the rehabilitation of blind people but our total, 
continuing
dependence and hence the need for ongoing financial support.

Warmly,

Gary
-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 4:43 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: [Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events re:
[blindtlk]fw: MIRA Foundation

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious; why do you think Dining in the Dark fundraisers
promote a negative attitude about blindness?  I only ask because
this is not what we in the I CAN Foundation plan to do at all
with our Dining in the Dark; quite the opposite.  We want to
provide an education about blindness and a glimpse into our world
for the sighted participants, and one that focuses on a positive
attitude about blindness.  We understand that for many of the
sighted participants, it will be their first time doing any task
blindfolded, let alone eating a full meal in the dark.
Therefore, it is only natural that they'll have some problems
initially and will probably think, "How in the world does a blind
person do this? I can't imagine how hard it would be for them."
The truth, however, is that eating (or performing any routine
task for that matter) is not easier or harder for a blind person
than it is for a sighted person, but rather it is just like
anything else; it's hard the first time someone tries it.  To get
this message across to our participants, we are planning to do
two things, which are (1) to have conpetent, confident and
successful blind mentors from our area at each table, to answer
any questions the participants may have, and to give them tips
(although we will leave it mostly up to the sighted person, as we
want to do a blindness-simulation,) and (2) to have a sort of
de-brief at the end of dinner (probably during dessert,) which
will be lead by our blind mentors.  We will talk in this de-brief
about the participants' experiences, and what they learned about
blindness from this experience.  We will also field any questions
they may have about blindness.  All the while we will emphasize
the capacity and capabilities of the blind, and that blind people
can in fact be independent and competent members of society.
During our past few board meetings when we have discussed
planning for this fundraiser, I and our other blind board member
have emphasized that we need to handle the event in such a way as
to give the participants a positive attitude about blindness
rather than a "this was hard for me, it must be unbearable for a
blind person" attitude.  This positive attitude about blindness
is what the I CAN Foundation tries to promote in all of our
fundraisers and educational events, and this is what we're basing
our planning and handling of our Dining in the Dark event on.  I
think that what participants take away from events like Dining in
the Dark depends on how the organization running the event
handles it; participants can either come away with a positive
attitude about blindness, or a negative, "I'm going to donate to
this organization to help these poor, helpless blind people"
attitude, all depending on how the event is put on.  While we
want people to donate to our foundation, we also want them to
come away with an education that gives them a positive attitude
about blindness.  If you have any ideas for us on how we can plan
this event so it gets the right message across, please email me
or contact the Foundation directly by emailing
ican4kids at gmail.com.  If you email me, I will pass it on to the
board.  We welcome your feedback in order to handle our event in
the best possible way!

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind,
1968-1986

 The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps blind and visually impaired youth
in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through providing
assistive technology and scholarships to camps and conventions
which help them be equal with their sighted peers.  For more
information about the Foundation and to support our work, visit
us online at www.icanfoundation.info!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:26:15 -0600
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

Hello Sheila and everyone,

    The short answer is not at all! Fortunately we'll have a new
administration elected during our January meeting including a new
chapter
president.  Here's hoping the new administration will rethink
this
fundraising idea and come up with an alternative that will
promote a more
positive view of blindness and the blind.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sheila Leigland" <sleigland at bresnan.net
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2011 7:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

Hi, I didn't know that nfb chapters ever did them.  How do you
think they
should be done?

Sheila Leiglan d

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