[Blindtlk] blind-driver cars; insurance; entitlement

Thu Jan 19 22:09:05 UTC 2012

Blind Cars and entitlements
I am in agreement on some things and not on other.
We as the NFB, are fighting for everyone's entitlements that want them and need them, and I agree if we do not need them, then let the government know, so that the money goes back to help others.
Myself, yes I do own my own business, am i making over the minimum wage or even a decent living at it, right now. NO!
Will I in the future, I don't know.  But I still get my disability check, I get medicare, and also my husband's insurance only because some of my doctors and issues since I am a transplant patient, my regular insurance doesn't have my doctors or even my durable medical supplies, I did at one point have Medicaid, I don't need it any more so I stopped it.
Blind drivers this was to show that if one day we can get to drive like everyone else, why not, I wouldn't be driving again myself, but that is because I used to drive. I only lost my vision in 2001 when I was in my 30s, and believe me driving is more convenient to get where you want to go, and not wait every year or so to get re-certified to use the access-a-ride in my area. It is not like I am going to see again.
The government or local counties need to get a life and when the doctor says blind, it is blind and leave it like that.
The whole issue with the Blind Driver Challenge was to challenge a car maker to make an accessible car, if we can get a company or a college/university like we did to make it, then we can show the other manufacturers like sony, canon, maytag, frigidare (I know I spelled that wrong) anyway, that they can make there appliances accessible as well.
Even if they make it as a standard for the sighted community, not everyone who starts out seeing will continue to see well, people get older, there eyesight or even other disabilities come into play.
These things should be to all and not to some.
Insurance yeah, I get upset about things like proving or trying to get accessible glucometers and strips for someone who is blind and the insurance companies don't have it in there formularies.  Believe me, blind or not, I was on dialysis for over 3 years, while I was losing my vision and my husband's insurance didn't cover the local dialysis center, I had to travel almost 2 hours every other day on paratransit, back and forth to the centers that were out of my area, instead of going to one that was maybe 5 minutes away, and the reason it took 2 hours on paratransit, was because I wasn't the only one on the route and at times, I got really sick.
One day taking me home it took almost 3 hours, because of the driver's schedule and I passed out.
Blind people are not the only ones who have issues. But, since I am blind, I will stand with the NFB, I don't agree with everything, because not everything pertains to me personally.  
NFB doesn't hold a gun to anyone head and says you have to agree with us.  Dr. Maurer and everyone else will say the same thing.
I'd rather have a militant, radical organization fighting for me, then one that doesn't do anything.
JMO.
Leading the Way in Independent Travel!

Cheryl Echevarria
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> From: rex at littlelaw.com
> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:28:11 -0600
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] blind-driver cars; insurance; entitlement
> 
> Brian, I was once bitter for the same reasons you state but I discovered
> that my bitterness wasn't accomplishing anything. In fact, it was causing me
> more problems than it was solving.
> 
> I was bitter because I had a desire to address government misconduct and
> abuse. I wanted to try and do something about the problems. I began writing
> letters on my electric typewriter. I had no access to a computer so I
> contacted Visual Services here in Oklahoma. I petitioned them for service
> and although I was put through some hoops, I was turned down in the end.
> 
> I had a lot of problems with some of the things they asked me to do.
> 
> For example: I am blind. I had an insurance card from the state. I had a
> card number that began with B. The B stood for "blind." They asked me to go
> to an eye doctor to get a report stating that I am blind. I had to use the
> insurance card to pay for the doctor's visit.
> 
> My thinking was, and still is, that if I had an insurance card from the
> state, given to me on the basis that I am blind, then it was an undue
> expense, paid for by taxpayers, to ask me to go to the doctor so that the
> doctor could say that I am blind.
> 
> They knew that to begin with.
> 
> That was just one of the problems that I had with visual services. I won't
> go into any more detail than that.
> 
> Eventually, I repettitioned visual Services after an attorney agreed to hire
> me. This time I was successful because I had a prospective job.
> 
> I do not work for the law firm any longer. 
> 
> I am a purchasing agent for a company that buys and sells medical equipment.
> Right now I use a demo version of JAWS which suffices.
> 
> I might eventually petition Visual Services to help me purchase a full
> version of JAWS but at this point, I don't have the time to take off work to
> be put through their hoops so I am getting by with the bare minimum.
> 
> I am not bitter about this. It's just a fact.
> 
> I will say here that another part of my bitterness stemmed from the fact
> that I wrote a letter in support of the Oklahoma Library for the Blind back
> in 2003. I had received a notice that funding for the library might be cut.
> I wrote a letter and passed it on to my legislators. I also sent a copy to
> an NFB list. I was contacted by the President of the NFB of Oklahoma and was
> told that my approach was wrong.
> 
> I now see that my approach was wrong but at that time, I was filled with
> bitterness and I attacked him out of anger and self-righteous indignation. I
> also contacted Marc Maurer and extended that righteous-indignation to him as
> well.
> 
> Guess what, it accomplished nothing.
> 
> Well it probably did have some effect. It caused a spirit of contention
> between me and the NFB. I doubt the NFB was contentious with me, but I was
> contentious with the NFB.
> 
> You know surprisingly, I never heard of the NFB when I was going to school.
> I attended public school from the fifth grade through graduation. I had a
> counselor through Visual Services. He told me about the ACB but I never
> heard of the NFB.
> 
> I think I first heard about the NFB in 1998 when I was looking for a place
> to order a talking watch.
> 
> That is very unfortunate that I didn't hear of the organization before then
> but, that's the way it was.
> 
> Sorry for the digress.
> 
> In short, I have learned that bitterness and contention accomplish nothing.
> I try to take an approach now which will benefit both sides and leave a
> feeling of mutual satisfaction.
> 
> I'm not always successful but at least when I fail, I have a peace about it.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Bryan Schulz
> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 12:54 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] blind-driver cars; insurance; entitlement
> 
> hi,
> 
> good points.
> maybe all of the hurdles will be cleared for the car to be in operation but
> at what cost not just financially?
> as you, i don't feel entitled or the nfb owes me a job as they don't exactly
> do much in that arena to start with.
> the bitter tone is probably from investing years and effort in education
> more than once with rehab assurance of cooperation and an employment path
> with nil results by the companies who promised employment after graduation
> or shady preference provided to another party by rehab staff who distribute
> clients.
> Bryan Schulz
> 
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Rex Leslie Howard, Jr. 
>   To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List' 
>   Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 12:01 PM
>   Subject: [Blindtlk] blind-driver cars; insurance; entitlement
> 
> 
>   Brian, I am aware there are problems to overcome but I live my life on the
>   premise of overcoming problems. I am not a "no I can't" or "no it can't be
>   done" person. I am a "yes I can" and "yes it is possible" kind of person.
>   I realize there are legal problems to overcome as well as other technical
>   issues but this does not keep me from dreaming of a day when I can get
> into
>   a car and go where I want to go without a sighted driver.
>    
>   I totally believe that one day this will be possible.
>    
>   Do I believe that every blind person will have a blind-drivable car? No.
> Nor
>   do I believe that just because it exists that everyone is entitled to have
>   one.
>    
>   I want an IPhone but I don't have one right now. Am I angry with NFB
> because
>   they have supported advancements in technology which help to make the
> IPhone
>   accessible to blind persons? Absolutely not.
>    
>   Am I bitter towards NFB because they have funded advancements in
> technology
>   that I am not benefiting from right now? Absolutely not.
>    
>   Why?
>    
>   Because I don't believe that I am entitled to anything.
>    
>   I don't even believe that blind persons are entitled to social security. I
>   believe it is necessary and I am glad that most blind people receive some
>   kind of disability income but do I think it is a right? No. I believe it
> is
>   a privilege insured by the taxpaying sector of our nation.
>    
>   I do understand that the cost of supporting blind persons without some
> kind
>   of government assistance would be hard on the nation, family and friends
> of
>   those of us who are blind.
>    
>   The rate of unemployment in our nation is hard on the nation in the fact
>   that those who are out of work need some kind of assistance; whether it be
>   from friends, family or economic assistance from the government.
>    
>   I am glad these programs are in place but do I believe that we should have
> a
>   mindset of entitlement?
>    
>   No.
>    
>   I lived on social security most of my life and I can say with absolute
>   certainty that were it not for the help of my family, the miserly amount
> of
>   assistance would have made it more than difficult for me to make ends
> meet.
>    
>   Now I am employed and I have worked for almost ten years.
>    
>   right now I am comfortable. I do not have to live from week to week. I am
>   blessed to have a job and I hope I never have to go back to living on
>   government assistance.
>    
>   If that happens however, I will not adopt a mindset of entitlement. I will
>   be appreciative for what I have. I will seek employment after being
>   re-educated in some field or study. At no time will I get a chip on my
>   shoulder and believe that this society owes me something.
>    
>   I used to not be that way.
>    
>   In fact I was quite hostile to Mr. Maurer and the NFB back in 2001-2003,
> an
>   attitude that I greatly regret at this time.
>    
>   I didn't just have a chip on my shoulder, I was the whole bag of Fritos.
>    
>   I have learned that life is not always fair and that she (life I mean)
> will
>   take every opportunity to kick us in the head.
>    
>   It happens to the rich and the poor alike.
>    
>   One thing that really gets me is when people talk about how we ought to
> cap
>   the amount of money people can make in this country so we can spread
> around
>   the wealth.
>    
>   Life is full of opportunities to win and to lose.
>    
>   Sometimes it is possible to do everything right, to make no mistakes and
>   still lose. That's not a fault, that's a fact of life.
>    
>   I'm saying all of this because it seems to me that you have some extreme
>   bitterness and negativity working in you. It's not being a realist that is
>   the problem. it is the pessimistic attitude towards life that causes many
> of
>   our problems.
>    
>   When we realize that it is a blessing to wake up each day and to live on
>   this side of the grass, we can say we are truly blessed regardless of the
>   situations and circumstances.
>    
>   Things will come at us but we can overcome and prevail.
>    
>    
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