[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
Marion Gwizdala
blind411 at verizon.net
Sat Dec 17 22:57:41 UTC 2011
Mike,
I also believe that it is rude to discriminate against another person.
When discrimination occurs and we resist, we are the ones seen as
beligerant! I was, literally, pulled out of a taxicab because I refused to
exit voluntarily when ordered to do so by a police officer when a taxi
driver refused to carry my wife and me. When I filed a complaint with the
Internal Affairs Department, the police officer's defense was that I was
beligerant. When asked about it, I said, "Damn right, I was beligerant! You
would be, too, if your civil rights were denied!" Needless to say, the IAD
didn't pursue the matter.
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 5:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>I don't know of anyone who dissents from the view that politeness should be
> the watchword. However, often "rudeness" is in the eye of the observer and
> what*we* might consider polite and reasonable would be considered
> presumptuous and uppity by others?
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
> Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 2:02 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
> I agree, Pastor James! It's better to approach these people with
> politeness and a firm conviction
> than to be rude about it, because if you are rude about it, they
> won't change a thing.
>
> 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 21:02:18 -0600
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
> Hello...
>
> I agree with your statements about not giving up, and
> continuing to work
> to correct discrimination. I personally follow a kind of Martin
> Luther King
> attitude, in that we will not truly be able to get rid of
> discrimination
> until we change the heart. I believe in approaching such
> companies as I
> encountered with politeness and respect, but with a firm
> conviction that
> policies must change. My mom use to tell me that you catch more
> flies with
> honey, than you do with vinegar. I have found that if you treat
> people with
> politeness and respect, this alone will often cause them to look
> differently
> at your particular group of people, whether it is a racial group,
> a disabled
> group, gender, etc. This way they can not so easily dismiss your
> concerns,
> as coming from "just another offensive individual".
>
> I thank all of you for your input, and I am happy to learn
> that I am
> correct in thinking that this company's policy of rejecting
> people just
> based upon their blindness, is wrong and needing to be changed!
>
>
> 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
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris Nusbaum" <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 8:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
>
> That is certainly encouraging, although I think we still need to
> deal with the discrimination at this one company. Until all
> discrimination is dealt with and removed from our society can
> our
> problems really be solved, in my opinion.
>
> 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 14:12:08 -0600
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
> I did want to offer a positive detail to this story. My wife
> and
> I went
> this week to another, competitor, blood donating facility. They
> not only
> accepted me, but were extremely nice and welcoming, and told me
> that they
> had several blind donators. For curiosity, I also telephoned a
> number of
> other places around town. I did not give them any background,
> but simply
> asked if they accepted visually impaired individuals. Every one
> of them
> said that they would be happy to accept a blind donor, and
> actually sounded
> a little surprised that I would ask such a question. So I can
> only conclude
> that the discriminative policy is, at least locally, simply an
> issue with
> the one business.
>
>
> 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
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Kelm" <jameskelm at earthlink.net
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 2:01 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
>
> I also have a brother who has some of the same attitudes as
> yours do. He
> tells me that I am too sensitive, and may see discrimination
> where there
> isn't any. His favorite expression is that "you have to
> understand where
> they are coming from". Of course he lives on the other side of
> the
> country,
> so does not experience life with a blind person on a day-to-day
> basis. He
> often tells me that people do not discriminate against the
> disabled, but
> rather usually go out of their way to accommodate them.
>
>
> 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
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jessica Kostiw" <jessicac.kostiw at gmail.com
> To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 1:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
>
> I find this very interesting and forwarded it to both my
> brother
> and
> sister,
> who are sighted lawyers. Sometimes I think my family thinks I
> just make
> this stuff up.
>
> I wonder how new this policy is. LCB staff and students donate
> blood
> regularly. This is just awful.
>
> Jessica
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
> Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 1:50 PM
> 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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