[BlindTlk] Practicing Social Distancing as a Blind Person?

Sat Mar 28 23:20:05 UTC 2020

In our complex, a lot of the chairs in the common areas are set well apart 
from each other.  They've also removed the tables in our big community room 
to discourage sitting close together.  When it comes to getting restaurant 
delivery orders, there are restaurants here that will take your debit or 
credit card number over the phone or on-line and then the delivery person 
will buzz you or knock on your door to let you know the order is there and 
then leave while you pick it up.  I suspect that's true in most areas now. 
There are some situations which make it very difficult to social distance. 
For example, if you are moving through a crowded grocery store, that can 
make it difficult.  What some people do here is go into our grocery store 
very early in the morning, before the big crowds show up and do their 
shopping then.  These social distancing guidelines are that, guidelines. 
You probably won't always follow them perfectly.  Just take a good look at 
what you normally do, see what you can change, then just do the best you 
can.

Mark Tardif
Nuclear arms will not hold you.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jude DaShiell via BlindTlk
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2020 6:56 PM
To: Humberto Avila via BlindTlk
Cc: Jude DaShiell ; nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Practicing Social Distancing as a Blind Person?

If you have a doorbell installed you could put instructions in your
order asking the delivery person to place the order in a specific spot
you can find it and specify and to ring the doorbell twice then leave.
Then come out and collect your order.  Two meters or 6 feet of distance
between you and anyone else is the correct distance and 2 meters is more
like 7 feet apart.  I would use my hearing in the same way I hear walls
in a quiet room to find distance.  Not everyone else may have that
ability though.  In addition to a cane maybe use an open umbrella
between you and anyone in front of you.  Cane technique will probably
work better using the pen technique which doesn't involve banging a cane
on the ground.
You keep the cane tip on the ground and if right-handed keep the cane at
a 45 degree angle with respect to your cane arm and the cane should
point across your body.  This minimizes cane noise and gets you an idea
as to surface on which you're walking.  This pen technique is very
useful in crowded hallways.  I learned it a long time ago in High School
well before any Americans With Disabilities act ever got passed.

On Sat, 28 Mar 2020, Humberto Avila via BlindTlk wrote:

> Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2020 18:37:30
> From: Humberto Avila via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> To: "blindtlk at nfbnet.org" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Humberto Avila <humberto_avila.it104 at outlook.com>,
>     "nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [BlindTlk] Practicing Social Distancing as a Blind Person?
>
> Hello, fellow list members,
>
>
> I hope this message finds you well, healthy and ready to tackle any 
> challenge and anything that may come up with persistence.
>
> I am just relaxing at home, hanging out with family and friends 
> (virtually) and just supporting my parents. I work virtually also during 
> weekdays and just started tackling tech projects that I've not been able 
> to do.
>
> I know that we are all dealing with the situation about the COVID19 and 
> how our local, and state governments are imposing regulations to stay home 
> while the spread of this viral content out there slows down. Which leads 
> me to ask, how is the whole deal about 'social distancing' supposed to 
> work if you are a Blind person? How does one know how far apart to stay 
> from another person while going out, since one may not always be able to 
> hear people or footsteps around especially while using a noisy cane that's 
> supposed to track where one is? If I'm going to the store, or the Post 
> Office, and someone at the security counter says, "OK, please follow the 
> red signs under your feet to know where to stand!" how about that? 
> Obviously, asking another stranger would involve close contact with a 
> fellow human being, since I can't hear their hands crackle as they wave 
> them around and therefore I would violate the social distancing rules if I 
> were to be by myself. How do you deal with the whole conc
ept of 'No Contact Delivery'? Does someone just knock at your door or how 
might the interaction play like, if getting a food delivery from Doordash, 
for instance?
>
> What about driving to do essential functions / activities of daily living, 
> like going grocery shopping or even out to get tested for this novel 
> virus? Obviously this is a time where I really wish that self-driven 
> vehicles were available and ready for cheap markets right now, because I 
> can't drive, and public transit (at least in my areas) is being reduced 
> pretty much, and, Uber drivers... well... they don't wanna be exposed, 
> either. So they're not driving. On the topic of public transit, how about 
> interacting with drivers? If riders and drivers are supposed to do the 
> whole 'Social Distancing' thing, do you feel as though it is more 
> challenging to get your questions answered? I am one of those that has to 
> stand up and get closer to them, since in my experience, drivers can't 
> always hear people from their seats, or they need to look at who they're 
> talking to.
>
> I am glad I have the support of my family right now at their place, but 
> some Blind people might not have. So I ask these questions in an attempt 
> to get a discussion going especially about our accessibility rights if we 
> need to play the in the same field as the sighted public as far as doing 
> our part and protecting our loved ones.
>
> Take care, and have an awesome day!  Stay safe
>
> Humberto
>
> ?Positive thinking leads to a positive attitude which leads to positive 
> actions which lead to positive outcomes.?
> ? ME
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