[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

[Chris Nusbaum]

Hi James,

Wow! This is a perfect example of outright discrimination against 
the blind! I mean, what does blindness have to do with giving 
blood? Is your blood any different from anybody else's? No! I 
would suggest carrying a copy of the ADA and other 
anti-discrimination laws with you, then show any person who tries 
to discriminate against you like this person the actual law, and 
explain to them the consequences of discrimination against the 
disabled in a place of public accomodation.  This is what I have 
heard a lot of Federationists do, and I really like the idea.  I 
believe that all too often we get caught off-guard by attempts by 
people to discriminate against us, because we do not know the law 
ourselves and therefore we don't really know what rights we have.  
We rely on advocates from organizations like the Federation or 
lawyers to know our rights and protect them using their knowledge 
of the law.  Now, I am not saying by any means here that the 
discrimination against us is our fault because we don't have the 
legal knowledge to protect our rights, nor am I saying that we 
are allowing discrimination to happen; any Federationist who is 
active in our advocacy in some way will tell you that we're not 
allowing this stuff to just happen.  I'm just saying that we 
often know that we have rights and that we are protected against 
discrimination under law, but we just don't know the details of 
the law.  This is why I suggest that we all do our own research; 
read and learn about the laws that protect us, know what the 
consequences of discrimination are, cite the law when we are 
faced with discrimination, and carry a copy of it around with 
you; in short, know the law and know your rights! We all don't 
have to have the legal knowledge and education of a practicing 
attorney, but I think it is important that we learn the laws that 
effect us and use them in our own advocacy! Have a very merry 
Christmas!

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: "James Kelm" <jameskelm at earthlink.net
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:22:35 -0600
Subject: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

Dear friends,

    Well an interesting thing happened to my wife and I last 
Friday, and I
thought that I'd see what you all thought.  It seemed to be a 
relevant
story, based upon the recent conversations here on this list.

    Wanting to do something good for our fellow human beings, my 
wife and I
decided that we would donate blood at one of our local blood 
banks.  We
arrived, filled out the necessary paper work, and waited in the 
waiting room
to do our duty.

    After a few minutes, a gentleman came out and requested that 
we follow
him to his office.  I am assuming that this gentleman was some 
kind of a
manager.  After entering his office, he politely informed us that 
he had
spoken to his corporate office, and learned that they currently 
had no
policy in place to assure my safety in the case of an emergency, 
so
unfortunately they did not allow blind people to donate blood.  
He then
turned to my wife, who is sighted but like many middle-aged 
people, wears
reading glasses.  The gentleman went on to explain that unless my 
wife went
home to retrieve her reading glasses and thereby demonstrating 
that she was
not blind, they also would not allow her to donate.  I politely 
explained
that the corporate office should be aware that their company 
policy violated
Federal anti-discrimination laws, and they did not have the legal 
luxury of
determining which laws they were, or were not prepared to follow.  
The
gentleman told me that he understood, but that he had to comply 
with his
corporate office's instructions to not allow the blind to donate 
blood.

    This situation came as a bit of surprise to me.  Of course 
most of us
blind folks are use to vague and concealed discrimination, but I 
was caught
off guard to face such an open and obvious demonstration of one's 
civil
rights being disregarded.  It was rather shocking to be directly 
told by a
business, that they did not want the blind!


Your Brother in Christ,
Pastor James Kelm
True Hope Church of Duluth
Web Site: www.thcduluth.org
Office E-mail: office at thcduluth.org
Phone: 218-727-4186

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