[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

Sat Dec 17 02:22:16 UTC 2011

OMG That happened not that far from me, just a couple hours away, I'm 
surprised this is the first I'm hearing about it!
nikki Wunderlich
myspace, facebook, MSN, and email nikki0222 at gmail.com
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Nusbaum" <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 6:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...


> 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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