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

Ray Foret Jr rforetjr at att.net
Thu Dec 15 04:03:32 UTC 2011 

Mind you, I meant the 1989 speech.


Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!

Skype name:
barefootedray

Facebook:
facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1



On Dec 14, 2011, at 8:35 PM, Chris Nusbaum wrote:

> Oh, I didn't know this was discussed in a banquet speech! I will definitely listen to it, as I'm very interested in banquet speeches anyway! * Smile! Thank you for this, Ray!
> 
> 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: Ray Foret Jr <rforetjr at att.net
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:45:14 -0600
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events re:[blindtlk]	fw: MIRA Foundation
> 
> I would second Mike's observations here.  For reference, I should like to direct your attention to our 1988 banquet speech in which this very subject is treated at some length.
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
> 
> Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
> 
> Skype name:
> barefootedray
> 
> Facebook:
> facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
> 
> 
> 
> On Dec 13, 2011, at 11:24 PM, Mike Freeman wrote:
> 
> Chris:
> 
> I'll ask two more questions and then let it rest.
> 
> First, why is it desirable to give the sighted "a glimpse into our world"?
> 
> Second, do "dining in the dark" events really give the sighted a glimpse
> into the world of the competent blind? Or, rather, do such events subject
> the victims to the world of the newly-blind without the opportunity to truly
> become skilled in the techniques of blindness?
> 
> As I said earlier, far better to prepare and serve a gourmet meal to the
> sighted participants.  And by "prepare" I mean from set-up to clean-up!
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Mike Freeman
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
> Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 2:43 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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