[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

Sat Dec 17 02:05:28 UTC 2011

Hi Mike,

Good idea about contacting Dr.  Maurer! I've emailed him some 
stories from lists a few times, but I haven't gotten any response 
back, so I'm not sure if he got it.  He probably has people in 
his office who check his email, then give him the interesting 
ones to read himself! * Smile! In any event, his email address is 
officeofthepresident at nfb.org.  Does anyone know if there is a 
phone number/extension at the national center through which to 
contact him or his office? This sounds like one of those stories 
he would tell at a banquet speech.  The resolution idea is also a 
good one, as to the best of my knowledge, we haven't dealt with 
dealing blood as of yet.

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: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:12:26 -0800
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

AARRGG! Shades of the 1957 banquet speech, "The Cross of 
Blindness".  I have
never given blood but checked the last time there was a blood 
drive at my
place of employment and was told that there would be no problems 
even though
I am an insulin-dependent diabetic.  Dr.  Maurer should be 
informed of this
and perhaps a resolution for Dallas is in order.

Incidentally, I believe the good pastor is in error: I do not 
believe there
is a Federal antidiscrimination statute that applies in this 
instance unless
a blood drive can be classified as a place of public 
accommodation, program
or service.  I hope I'm wrong.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 10:50 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

I have given blood here in Minnesota through my employer to the 
red cross
and I am finding it
increasingly difficult to donate.  We have had other problems in 
the Twin
Cities in the past that we
tried to address, but I must say, not having an emergency exit 
policy is
about the most blatent and
least defensible thing I have heard.  Certainly you have a right 
to feel
frustrated, but it does seem
that there is work to be done as well.  I can't help but wonder 
what their
general policy is to deal
with someone who is half through giving blood and who might be 
dizzy if
forced to stand in a hurry.  I
would think that blindness would be the least of the problems 
that one might
have.  <smile

You might be interested to know that it is now common practice to 
not permit
someone you know to fill
out the paperwork with you.  The justification is that you might 
not be
honest with them in your
answers.  This requires you to take the time of a staff person, 
and even if
they are willing, they are
often required to tend to other tasks.

Were you working with a branch of the Red Cross there in Duluth 
or is it
another type of blood bank?

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:22:35 -0600, James Kelm wrote:

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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