[blparent] NFB and Cane Length (was Introduction anda Question from the origenater)

Mon Feb 22 14:13:29 UTC 2016

I don't pull it out with a strong grip, but with a firm grip.  If the 
sections start to collapse, it only takes a second or two to place the tip 
between your feet and firmly pull up.

Judy

-----Original Message----- 
From: Robert Shelton via BlParent
Sent: Monday, February 22, 2016 7:04 AM
To: 'Star Gazer' ; 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Cc: Robert Shelton
Subject: Re: [blparent] NFB and Cane Length (was Introduction anda Question 
from the origenater)

There are a couple of tricks which will prevent that kind of collapse. 
First, be sure you pull each section apart really hard with a twisting 
motion. Admittedly, having strong hands is helpful, both for extending and 
collapsing the cane. The second thing is to use a really light touch and 
grip. That way, if it sticks, it's easy to unstick. The steel tip is really 
good on hard surfaces, even rough concrete rarely causes a problem.

-----Original Message-----
From: Star Gazer [mailto:pickrellrebecca at gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2016 3:25 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] NFB and Cane Length (was Introduction and a Question 
from the origenater)

I love my long canes. They work well at least for me. The problem with the 
telescoping canes I've tried is that they collapse easily. They get stuck 
and down they go. I don't view my cane as a symbol of anything. I have a 
pair of boots and a jacket, along with a few t-shirts that mean more to me 
emotionally then my cane does.
As for your boyfriend, remember he's your boyfriend so you like him. To the 
man he wanted to help, your boyfriend was... absolutely nothing. The man had 
no reason to accept or trust your boyfriend. He probably could have been 
nicer, but he didn't have to be.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jo 
Elizabeth Pinto via BlParent
Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2016 1:53 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jo Elizabeth Pinto <jopinto at msn.com>
Subject: Re: [blparent] NFB and Cane Length (was Introduction and a Question 
from the origenater)

To be perfectly honest, the reason I have not joined the NFB is because many 
members put forth a very rude face to the public when it comes to demanding 
equal treatment.  Believe me, I understand where the anger and bitterness 
come from.  I've been in the real world as long as anybody else.  We need to 
be firm and resolute when dealing with discrimination as it arises in the 
media, the courts, etc.  But meeting injustice with anger on the streets 
from day to day only leads to public confusion when often, the people who 
receive the anger are only trying to be helpful.

For example, my boyfriend offered assistance to a blind man not long ago who 
was literally about to step out into the street in front of an oncoming city 
bus.  The man snapped at him, saying it was wrong to assume that he needed 
help just because he was blind and that he knew exactly where he was going 
and how to get there.

My boyfriend--okay, diplomacy isn't his best trait--backed off and told him 
that if he was on a career path to becoming a hood ornament, he was headed 
in exactly the right direction, good luck.  I don't know for sure that the 
blind man was affiliated with the NFB, but he had the typical "I don't need 
sighted help" attitude and the super long cane.  He could have been.

As far as the super long canes go, they don't work for me.  I've been given 
a lot of crap for that by blind people I know.  I'm a slower traveler since 
I lost the last of my light perception and developed fibromyalgia and other 
health problems, which I've also been hassled for, but it is what it is.
Frankly, I don't understand those long canes as a symbol of blind strength 
or anything else.  I've been told they can make a person travel faster.  If 
that works for some people, more power to them, but why does that make the 
long canes a symbol of anything?  When I went to a State of Colorado NFB 
convention, the only thing the long canes seemed to be a symbol of was the 
license to ram other people in the ankles and crowd them out of the way in 
the food line.  It would seem to me that a telescoping cane would work 
better in most situations because it could be folded up and put out of the 
way.  I really am open to an explanation.

Jo Elizabeth

"The Bright Side of Darkness"
is my newly published novel,
available in Kindle, audio, and paperback formats at Amazon.com.
-----Original Message-----
From: Kane Brolin via BlParent
Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2016 8:40 AM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Cc: Kane Brolin
Subject: Re: [blparent] Introduction and a Question from the origenater

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

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