[HIABS] Hearing Tomorrow - "Watch for the Blind" Signs

Fri Mar 23 04:15:39 UTC 2018

Aloha everyone,

Today, our resolution in the Honolulu City Council failed.

I was the only person who submitted testimony in support.

The Director of Transportation, as I think his title goes, commented that he did not want to take action on removing the signs and that he would prefer to do a study first. He contended that blind people presented a liability to the city and that removing such signs would place the city at risk of liability for the resulting accidents where blind people were hit by cars. He said that those signs were there because of a history that we did not understand. When I asked him why we didn't have signs all over the island because blind people can go everywhere, he had no answer.

It is my hope that we will be able to influence his current attachment to prejudice and ignorance.

Councilmember Fukunaga told me that the City Council is generally unwilling to pass bills or resolutions if the departments which must implement them are not 100% on board. We should all be thankful for public leaders, like those in our state legislature, who have decided not to think that way about ending subminimum wages.

I want to end by thanking each and every one of you for making the decision to join the National Federation of the Blind. You have made the choice to reject the misinformation and misperceptions which exist in society. The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day, we work to raise the expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

Mahalo nui loa,

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Phone: 808.797.8606
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

Cesar Chavez

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 6:11 PM
To: 'Hawaii Association of Blind Students list' <hiabs at nfbnet.org>; 'Katie Keim' <808keim at gmail.com>; 'Virgil Stinnett' <808virgil at gmail.com>; 'NFB of Hawaii Mailing List' <nfb-hi at nfbnet.org>; 'Anastacia Fong' <Anastacia808 at yahoo.com>; 'mserika_2006 at yahoo.com' <mserika_2006 at yahoo.com>; 'Dyllon Asami' <dakasami at gmail.com>; 'Ann Lemke' <lemke at hawaii.edu>; 'Doug and Charmaine Moises' <moifeva at aol.com>; 'Jove Abuhle' <jabuhle at gmail.com>; 'Brandon Young' <young.brandon4 at gmail.com>; 'rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com' <rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com>; 'Cassandra Certeza' <cmcerteza at gmail.com>; 'Shellford Cantan' <jrcantan at yahoo.com>; 'Brenda Lucas' <bluca72 at gmail.com>; 'Tammy Rober' <snoopytdr at aol.com>; 'Stan Young' <SKYCOMHAWAII at msn.com>; 'shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com' <shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com>; 'shannon.cantan at gmail.com' <shannon.cantan at gmail.com>; 'Sally Hammond' <hammond.kona at yahoo.com>; 'Jonah Sniffen' <jksniffen at gmail.com>; 'Nani Fife' <nanifife at aol.com>; 'Michael Norton' <michael at tkprivee.com>; '247mjgerber at gmail.com' <247mjgerber at gmail.com>; 'David Maurer' <dmaurer68 at gmail.com>; 'Dean Georgeves' <dean.patriot at gmail.com>; 'makapaa1961 at gmail.com' <makapaa1961 at gmail.com>; 'diannagjones at gmail.com' <diannagjones at gmail.com>; 'Gloria Tuuao' <gtuuao at hawaii.edu>; 'Scott-Michael Tokunaga' <skippyt at hawaii.rr.com>; 'Khamtoun jounramany' <khamtoun at gmail.com>; 'kyle laconsay' <KLaconsay at dhs.hawaii.gov>; 'Dane Alani' <danealani at gmail.com>; 'Debbie Gabe' <dgabe808 at gmail.com>; 'Michael Laconsay' <dabeachbumz at hotmail.com>; 'Joelcho' <joelcho at hawaii.rr.com>; 'Jim Gashel' <jgashel0923 at gmail.com>; 'Susan Gashel' <sgashel at comcast.net>; 'Beryl Carroll' <ulalamama18 at gmail.com>; 'Cha Smith' <cha.m.smith at icloud.com>; 'Curtis Chong' <chong.curtis at gmail.com>; 'Shontel Jones' <shonteljones1 at gmail.com>; 'kyle laconsay' <hearkylaugh at gmail.com>; 'yvettecr at yahoo.com' <yvettecr at yahoo.com>; 'Ally Keene' <ally.keene at verizon.net>
Subject: Hearing Tomorrow - "Watch for the Blind" Signs

Aloha, my Federation Ohana:

You may recall a resolution we passed at the 2016 state convention, which called for the removal of the signs near Ho`opono Services for the Blind reading "Watch for the Blind." Now, there is a resolution in the City Council to carry out this work.

These signs single out blind people as incompetent for understanding traffic patterns and making smart street crossing decisions. They are a relic of a time when people did not expect very much out of blind people and when Ho`opono used to be a subminimum-wage sheltered workshop. When those signs were installed, blind people did not have access to the quality of blindness training that we have today. It's time to remove these signs to bring our built environment into alignment with our modern understanding of blindness.

Here is information from the hearing notice which you can use to submit testimony:

REGULAR MEETING
COMMITTEE MEETING ROOM
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018
1:00 P.M.

RESOLUTION 18-64 - TRAFFIC SIGNS ON BACHELOT STREET AND JUDD STREET. Urging the City Administration to remove the "WATCH FOR THE BLIND" traffic signs on Bachelot Street and Judd Street.

SPEAKER REGISTRATION
Persons wishing to testify are requested to register by 1:00 p.m. as follows:
a. On-Line at http://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.html;
b. By faxing to 768-3827 your name, phone number and the agenda item;
c. By filling out a registration form in person; or
d. By calling 768-3819.
Persons who have not registered to testify will be given an opportunity to speak on an item following oral testimonies of the registered speakers.
Each speaker is limited to a one-minute presentation.

WRITTEN TESTIMONY
Written testimony may be faxed to 768-3827 or transmitted via the internet at http://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.html for distribution at the meeting.
If submitted, written testimonies, including the testifier's address, e-mail address and phone number, may be posted by the City Clerk and available to the public on the City's DocuShare Website.

Please let me know if you need anything. Your support will make a difference!

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Phone: 808.797.8606
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

Cesar Chavez

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/hiabs_nfbnet.org/attachments/20180323/04160250/attachment.html>