[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

Sat Dec 17 02:50:53 UTC 2011

you said it better than I could have and thank you
nikki Wunderlich
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 6:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...


> Hello Mike and everyone,
>
>    Contact your news media the next time they run stories from local blood 
> banks when they're crying out for donors. The South Texas Blood and Tissue 
> Center holds drives at particular times of the year such as during the 
> holiday season. My wife Mary who is also blind donates regularly when 
> blood drives occur at her place of work. I used to give blood through the 
> American Red cross in Massachusetts and in Austin Texas as well before I 
> was put on seizure medication. Even the San Antonio lighthouse for the 
> Blind holds periodic blood drives and many of their blind employees 
> donate.
>
>    These people beg the public to come in to donate blood and tissue. It 
> seems to me like if they're inviting the public in to their place of 
> business they should be covered by anty discrimination statutes but let 
> the lawyers have the last word.
>
>    Perhaps the next time those blood centers known to discriminate against 
> blind donors hold a drive they should be picketed by our organization to 
> expose the fact that healthy individuals willingly came in to donate 
> despite their being blind and were turned away due to reasons having 
> nothing to do with their ability to give blood. And isn't it sad that 
> someone could die or could not receive a much-needed blood transfusion due 
> to the discriminatory treatment willing blind donors suffered in the name 
> of safety.
>
> Peter Donahue
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 1:12 PM
> 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
>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>blindtlk mailing list
>>>blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
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>> .com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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