[blparent] Introduction and a Question from the origenater

[Kane Brolin]

On 2/19/16, Elizabeth Bowden via BlParent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I'd like to let everyone know that I am also blind, and wanted the informN as much as > the mother does.  Also, she is having a problem with her email, so I offered to join the > list first so she could see what an email discussion list is like.
> Just my 2 cents worth.

Thank you, Elizabeth.  I have seen you on some other lists before,
though I generally lurk on lists more than I participate.

I have come to love the Federation and its subsidiary groups, and I
even am a leader on a small scale.  But I have to say that for me this
has been an acquired taste, because some Federationists overreach and
cut off our nose to spite our face.

One time in the early '90s, I came to visit a chapter meeting in the
heart of Chicago, carrying a telescoping cane that I had purchased
through what is now the Independence Market.  Without even knowing me,
a veteran member of that chapter accused me of "folding up your
blindness" because I was not carrying the full-length, long cane
(which in my case stands about 70 inches high).  I knew I would be
riding back and forth on trains, sitting at a crowded outdoor café,
etc.  So I just decided to bring the telescoping cane with me--as much
for convenience as for anything else.  But somehow this man thought
that I probably was trying to hide my blindness from the world or
de-emphasize it by choosing a cane whose length I could collapse.
Utterly ridiculous, as I've dealt with blindness my entire life--some
times more effectively than others--but I've never had an issue with
owning up to this characteristic or with sharing my coping techniques
(or other resources) with those who are curious.  And, being total,
it's not as though I've ever been able to hide it.  What's more,  the
style of telescoping cane I purchased, had been recommended to me by
none other than Dr. Jernigan himself, whom I'd met face to face the
prior year. Experiences like this one were one factor in my not
joining up with the Federation actively for more than 20 years of my
adult life.

I don't believe in watering down our principles.  But I think it's
best to practice the Stephen Covey maxim of "Seek first to understand
before being understood."

I will say nothing further in or about this thread.  Thank you for
your indulgence.

-Kane