[Blindtlk] white cane day

Sat Oct 15 23:43:38 UTC 2016

This article bothered me as well. I don't like the idea that others
have a responsibility to watch out for me and my white cane. I don't
use a white cane to signal to others that I am blind and need special
treatment. Instead, I use it to gain vital information about my
surroundings so I can be in control of my own travel. Of course it is
helpful if people step out of the way, but I also recognize my
responsibility to be listening and paying attention to the presence of
people around me, and to the extent I can, to listen to car behavior.
If I am distracted, which happens from time to time, I may bump
someone and that's my responsibility. I actually don't like it when
people jump out of the way upon seeing my cane; instead, I would
rather they simply continue their conversation or make a subtle sound
so I can recognize and go around them. The signal value of a white
cane can help drivers understand not to rely on visual signaling when
they communicate with me and I am glad for that, but that really isn't
the main purpose of a white cane. It also doesn't bother me if
somebody doesn't know what my cane is for. I don't go around expecting
sighted people to instantly know everything about blindness, and I am
happy to explain it to anyone who wants to know. I guess this article
rubbed me the wrong way because it suggested a kind of entitlement
view of blindness, and especially the implication at the end that we
should stay home was unfortunate.
Best, Arielle

On 10/15/16, Lloyd Rasmussen via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> That article doesn't reflect my experience. Children ask what that cane is,
>
> and I am glad when their parents explain or when Judy and I get a chance to
>
> answer their question. Pedestrians are not watching where they are going as
>
> much as they used to, and they are not hearing the sound of a white cane,
> either. I don't think this reflects ignorance.
> If we all ride paratransit or cabs everywhere, or self-driving cars if they
>
> become available, the recognition of the white cane as a symbol of mobility
>
> and independence of blind people will be diminished.
>
>
>
>
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, MD
> http://lras.home.sprynet.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Hachey via blindtlk
> Sent: Friday, October 14, 2016 5:34 PM
> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
> Cc: Bob Hachey
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] white cane day
>
> Hi all,
> Pasted below my name is a rather cynical look at White Cane Safety Day.
> While I've not experienced the kind of thing Jim talks about regarding
> other
> pedestrians, I have noticed more distracted drivers who are very likely
> paying too much attention to SMART phones and not enough attention to the
> road ahead.
> One thing we should not do is to follow Jim's advice to stay home. It's
> very
> sad when someone throws in the towel as he has apparently done.
> Bob Hachey
>
> Hey, What's With the White Cane?.
>
> Honest depictions of disabled people have vanished from popular culture..
> By Jim Knipfel .
> Oct. 15 is national White Cane Safety Day, first decreed by President
> Lyndon
> B. Johnson in 1964. Never heard of it? You're not alone.
> I'll admit, even as a blind man who uses a white cane on a daily basis,
> Oct.
>
> 15 doesn't get my heart racing, save for one irony: It's not just the day
> that Americans don't recognize; increasingly it's the white cane and what
> it
> symbolizes. Think of it as another kind of blindness. I began noticing the
> signs roughly seven years ago. My wife and I were in New York City on a
> Saturday night, working our way down a crowded sidewalk on our way to a
> show. The going seemed unusually slow and frustrating, even for New York.
> Soon the reason was clear: No one was stepping out of the way to let us
> pass. Some were transfixed by cellphones, but others looked directly at us,
> looked at my cane with some confusion, and still refused to take a step in
> either direction. I soon realized that many people under the age of 35, not
> just in New York City, but across the country, no longer know what a white
> cane represents. On more than one occasion, people in their 20s have
> approached me and asked, "What's that cane for? For millennia the blind
> have
> used canes and staffs as navigational tools to help detect obstacles in our
> path. After World War II, with so many blind veterans returning home, the
> standard cane design was refashioned. Mobility sticks grew longer and were
> wrapped in red and white reflective tape. By the time LBJ made his 1964
> declaration, the white cane was an accepted part of the culture. So how
> could a symbol of disability as common as the wheelchair so abruptly vanish
> from our collective consciousness? A friend has a theory. In the 1980s and
> '90s, as political correctness began infiltrating popular culture, it
> became
> verboten to portray the disabled, particularly the blind, in anything
> perceived to be an unflattering light. In a blink, bumbling characters with
> white canes, once a mainstay of slapstick films, cartoon shorts and comic
> strips, vanished. What blind characters we did get now had superpowers or
> were masters of the martial arts, and rarely had any use for a white cane,
> even as a signifier. As a result, children who once grew up with images of
> characters with white canes no longer saw them, and so the common
> understanding of the blind and our symbology began to fade. Questions of
> "dignity," "respect" and "inclusion" aside, expunging blind characters from
> pop culture for fear of offending someone has had dangerous repercussions
> when it comes to the daily lives of blind Americans. If fewer and fewer
> people recognize its meaning, what use does the cane maintain as a symbol
> directed at the sighted? Pedestrians who once stepped out of the way are
> now
> occasionally hostile obstacles. And with hybrid and electric cars growing
> quieter, walking just a few blocks in a well-known neighborhood can become
> a
> perilous journey. Despite all the far-reaching achievements of the
> Americans
> with Disabilities Act, the tool that I and other blind Americans have
> trusted to give us some modicum of protection and visibility is fast losing
> all meaning. Ironically, the best way for us to mark White Cane Safety Day
> may well be to stay home. Mr. Knipfel, a former staff writer for the New
> York Press, is the author of "Residue" (Red Hen Press, 2015). .
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindtlk mailing list
> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindtlk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/arielle71%40gmail.com
>