[il-talk] {Disarmed} I find this disturbing .....reactions/coments

[Andrew Webb]

Bob,

With all respect, did you even read the piece all the way through?  Yes, of
course I know what you mean about the "amazing blind guy" motif, and we all
understand that being able to use a cane to navigate through familiar
settings is not "amazing" in the way that most sighted people think of it.
That comprises about the first 4 sentences of the story.  The rest, if you
noticed, described a young man born not only blind but with cerebral palsy.
Akid who suffered horrific abuse  almost constantly for almost two decades,
and was ultimately beaten within an inch of his life. A kid who, despite all
those pounding and years of verbal degradation from his parents, managed to
stay strong and focused enough to make it through school with a
determination to continue onward and upward and make something of himself.
A young man who was (apparently) resolute enough, despite growing up in an
atmosphere of alcoholism and chemical dependency, to stay clean and sober
himself.  A guy who has come through conditions that would probably destroy
most people, is willing to speak openly of his experiences and do what he
thinks he can to make his world better, rather than wallow in self-pity?  
Good gracious, Bob, did you read all that, or you just read the opening and
instinctively reached for your Federation cue cards?  How is it that you
come to the conclusion that he is a "real piece of work?"  I'm sorry to be
using the list to challenge you personally, but you attacked the guy's
character in a very public forum, so I think it's only reasonable that I use
the same forum to tell you that I think your posting, while well-intended as
a rallying call, was crass and offensive.

By the way, does anybody on this list know this gentleman (Robert Kingett,
that is)?

Regards,
Andrew

-----Original Message-----
From: il-talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Robert Hansen
Sent: Monday, June 03, 2013 11:28 AM
To: NFB IL-Talk
Subject: [il-talk] {Disarmed} I find this disturbing .....reactions/coments

Hey out there fellow federationists.  Once again, it is time for Robert the
Controversial to put another one for us to debate.

A few months ago WZRD Program Director received an email from this guy.  
This guy or made up guy sounds like a real piece of work. This sounds like
an advertisement for the "amazing blind guy." Let's have some fun and do
some reacting.


Sincerely,


Robert The Controversial

The web site is right here  http://m.robertkingett.com/




  Robert Kingett


    Motivational Speaker

Click to call <wtai://wp/mc;+1850-764-2161> Click to map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=5527+North+Maplewood%0aChicago%2c+IL.+60625>


    About Robert

Watching Robert Kingett walk into hislocal college with his red and 
white cane isn't amazing. He navigatesthe college with prestigious ease 
using his well- taught mobility skills. It isn't amazing to see a throng 
offriends say hello to him as he passes them in various places. To 
RobertKingett, and everyone else who knows him, this is a typical day.

What is amazing, however, is listening to the story of struggle 
tosuccess that he so captivatingly tells as a motivational speaker.

Today he is an honors student at The City College of Chicagogetting his 
general transfer degree. He has been on the Deans' list eversince his 
first semester ended. He's always on the honor roll. In hisspare time 
he's just like any other young adult. Frequent nights at themovies with 
his friends, an arcade game or two at the local mall, a nicefun trip to 
the coffee shop where his friends embrace life along withhim, or a 
solitary quiet trip to the library or the bookstore are just afew of the 
activities that he does amongst his hard work.

Even with the plethora of activities he likes to frequent the bookstore 
the most.

"I've always been a veracious reader... book worm... my audio book count 
is way higher than my body fat," he said laughing.

He's not just a hard worker in college. He's a hard worker in 
theliterary market. He's a writer, having published many reviews, 
literaryessays, poems, and accessibility related articles for a wide 
range ofmedia both print and online. He's a regular editor 
forAmericascomedy.Com while also maintaining a third hobby 
ofmotivationally speaking.

He tells his story at personal bookings that he schedules 
himselfthroughout many venues. He tries to speak at schools the most if 
he can.

Kingett hopes to bring some of the troubles that abused kidsendure, and 
ways to overcome and shine. "I want to inspire others to doway more than 
I have accomplished!"

Every story has a once upon a time. With the exception of hispremature 
birth, the first six years of Kingett's life were his mosttranquil. 
Weighing a mere 6 ounces, a hospital error would lead to hisdisabilities 
on September 9, 1989.

"They placed me in an incubator because my lungs weren'tdeveloping 
adequately and they were not monitoring the oxygen level," hesaid. "It 
was too much so it caused me to have cerebral palsy andblindness."

While his mother visited occasionally, his maternal grandparents raised 
him in St. Augustine Florida

Even though his grandmother had Alzheimer's and dementia, he said, "I 
lived a spoiled life."

Shortly before his eighth birthday, his grandmother had a strokeand had 
to go into a nursing home. Shortly after, his grandfather diedfrom 
cirrhosis of the liver.

He had no idea what he was in store for when he first moved in with his 
mother and younger half sister and brother.

"I realized it pretty quickly after the first argument between herand 
her husband that this was not going to be a good situation," hesaid. 
"They were both intoxicated and they got physical and verbal."

Afterward, she would come into his room.

"She didn't know how to let that anger go and so she'd turn it on me and 
my sister," he said.

Kingett said his mother's words varied but they often reflectedwhat he 
believes she really wanted to say to her boyfriends and ex- husband.

If he or his sister ever talked back, she would then get physicalhe 
said, slapping them multiple times, and calling them pitiless 
names.Cries and complaints were not heard as the mother's intoxication 
tookover.

Sometimes he would hit back, but he said that only made her hit harder.

While the physical abuse happened only about four times a week,the 
verbal abuse was constant he said, attributing much of it to hismother's 
constant alcohol abuse.

Kingett never called the police about the abuse. Even when thepolice 
came due to his mother's domestic violence situations, he wouldlie to 
keep her out of jail.

"To me it was normal," he said. "I was trying to protect the roof Ihad 
over my head. Facing the expected was a lot better alternative thangoing 
into an unknown foster system."

Kingett said he feared what life would be like if he was removedfrom the 
home by the government. Numerous times, DCF, Department ofchildren and 
families would have to investigate a suspicious complaintabout Kingett 
or his siblings.

A smart kid, Kingett would ace tests at the Florida School for the Deaf 
and Blind but he consistently neglected homework.

It was during a meeting with the principal at age 14 when he had his 
first life changing epiphany.

"I came to the conclusion that if I stayed here, I'm not going to be 
successful at all," he said.

At age 16, he began researching how to get his social securitydisability 
checks signed over to his name instead of his mother's. Theplan was to 
take the $625 a month and move out. The research wasn'teasy, as he was 
also trying not to flunk his classes while the neglectand abuse was 
still taking place at the home. Eventually, the researchwas replaced by 
diligent schoolwork until a year later.

At 17, he called the social security office and was told the onlyway the 
money could be signed over to him was to attend a hearing.

"I froze when I was told that because I knew that my mom had to bein on 
the knowhow," he said. "I tried to keep it a secret from mom aslong as I 
could but she could see the mail coming in and I could not.When she saw 
that hearing notice, she became extremely angry becausethat was I taking 
her money away. She said, 'How could I do such athing. Your sister and I 
live off that money. That's how you are able tohave a roof over your head.'"

The day of the meeting was a mere week from his 18th birthday.

Kingett said his mother tried to make him look incompetent,telling the 
social worker that he didn't know how to clean his own roommuch less tie 
his own shoes.

The social worker sided with Kingett, but there was one big problem.

"I couldn't cash any of it," he said.

Kingett did not have a bank account, a state id, or even access to his 
birth certificate.

Once he got home, the violence escalated.

"She hit me so much it knocked me out and into consciousness," hesaid. 
"I had to leave because I didn't know what was going to happen tome if I 
stayed there. I grabbed my cane and backpack, threw old dirtyclothes in 
it, and walked out the front door.

Kingett left his home and soon stayed with a family friend, Kevin,until 
he moved in with a woman named Debra. Knowing Robert had nowhereto go; 
she offered him a place to stay. Kingett stayed there until hishigh 
school graduation.

He graduated in June of 2010.

Graduating high school was only half the battle. Kingett's planswere to 
attend a college and pursue his long awaited dream of getting adegree in 
journalism or English. He needed a way to pay for school, andthat's when 
the scholarship hunt began.

"I had a really hard time meeting the requirements of ascholarship, any, 
for that matter." He said. "My high school grades werenot good due to my 
negligence of school work despite my intelligence,so I had a low grade 
point average."

Kingett would apply to many scholarships only to be denied. 
Afterfeverishly searching he soon started to look at places to live in 
FLthat could at least give him a stable stepping- stone.

"There wasn't any housing in Florida that tailored to me. Alongwith my 
blindness I had to have a mental disability and, well, I didn'tqualify. 
I admit that it looked like I was going to have to stay withfriends 
forever. Section 8 was closed in all parts of Florida at thetime and 
where Debbie and I lived we lived way out in the country. If Iwanted 
college I had to drive an hour every day to school. I couldn'thave that. 
I needed something that would give me the icing on the cake."

Determined to find a place where he could be independent he scoped the 
internet hunting for a place to live.

"I admit I can't cook. I can definitely eat though." he saidlaughing. "I 
needed a place that wasn't a nursing home, per say, butjust a fractional 
inch more assistance I could use. I have cerebralpalsy and there are 
just some things that I simply need help with."

After months of looking he found Freedman Place. Friedman Place is a 
non- profit Supportive Living Community for blind and visually 
impairedadults in Chicago. Their building has been designed with the 
needs ofthe blind and visually impaired in mind. Each resident has a 
privatestudio or one- bedroom apartment, with a kitchenette and 
bathroom. A full rangeof services and activities is provided so that 
residents' days arehealthy, dignified, and stimulating

"I needed a place to stay. This place sounded wonderful! That way,flux 
would be minimal. No more would I ever have to rely on friends."

Since Kingett has stayed at this helpful place, he can finally let the 
past go and have a little fun at last.

"It's not about the horrors I've gone through it's about meovercoming so 
many things," he said, attributing his sense of humor tohis positive 
outlook.

His reward comes in the form of emails and postings on his website from 
students who say their lives were changed by his tale.

"I can't tell you how awesome it was that I could make someone happier," 
he said.

But now that Kingett has secured his present, what is his futuredream? 
"I dream that one day I could be standing in a bookstore at abook 
signing of my own and knowing in my mind that I have improved somany lives."


  Motivation!

Robert Kingett will present a 25 minute keynote that will take 
youthrough his life, take you through his success, and take you 
throughthe happily ever after with an inspirational and uplifting 
message mixedin.

There will always be time at the end of a presentation forcomments and 
questions. participants may also have a brief visit withRobert before 
the keynote closes.

"If I can do this, then you can do anything!" This is the essenceof 
Kingett Speaks. It is to inspire and allow people to look for andfind 
that lost or hidden confidence, will, or drive within themselves.

*Please use the contact form at the bottom of this page to request 
Robert Kingett as a speaker.*


  Publications & News Archive

Interview with Robert Kingett by Insight Radio. (19 years old) 
<https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=486278178060087>
Interview with 19 year old Robert Kingett by Insight Radio 
<http://is.gd/lDi3Hk>
Robert Kingett is a guest star on the drunken odyssey. <http://is.gd/kS89Vy>
Robert Kingett on the In Focus radio show for the blind. (23 years old) 
<http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-98680/TS-698289.mp3>
*Reviews Published*
Robert Kingett's comedy review and interview archive at Americas comedy. 
<http://americascomedy.com/author/robert/>
The Freedom Writers' Diary (PDF) 
<http://www.btsya.com/uploads/The_Freedom_Writers__Diary.pdf>
*Magazine, blog and guest publications*
Bring your game face on: a blind commentary on adapting to the Xbox 360. 
<https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1wU_787T2ScxhBEwIUSTsjlJURhykauZLCy
_BGYKcs4w>
Assisted Visual Technology: Bringing the World within Reach 
<http://www.hammillpost.com/2012/07/assisted-visual-technology-bringing-the-
world-within-reach/#>
Into a memory (essay) magnets and ladders publication. 
<http://www.magnetsandladders.org/wp/?p=93>
The Kiss. A short story. <http://www.hammillpost.com/2012/06/the-kiss/#>
Blindspot: adapting to the Xbox. (Featured article) 
<http://pimp.tv/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=3053:blindspot-just-bec
ause-you-can%E2%80%99t-see-doesn%E2%80%99t-mean-you-can%E2%80%99t-do-it&Item
id=723>
PDF coding and the visually impaired. 
<http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/pdf-can-be-a-nightmare-for-me-and-others-wit
h-disabilities-but-webbies-free-accessible-pdf-may-help/>
Audio description should be universal. <http://www.coataccess.org/node/9614>
The accessible YouTube guide. 
<http://voices.yahoo.com/the-accessible-youtube-guide-11397874.html>
Loving literature lost? 
<http://noticiasediciondigital.malaletra.com/?p=15167>
Kindle for the blind review. 
<http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/why-the-kindle-2-is-a-useless-plastic-slab-f
or-me-and-many-others-with-disabilities/>
Accessible cell phone list. 
<http://www.fredshead.info/2012/07/list-of-accessible-cell-phones.html#.UPTG
LmeE2Vo>
JAWS 14 features VS NVDA features. 
<http://www.fredshead.info/2012/10/jaws-14-vs-nvda.html#.UPTGLmeE2Vo>
*Published Poems*
More Than Books. <http://is.gd/SIBQBJ>


    Contact Robert

Name/Organization
Phone or Email
Date and Type of Event

Facebook <http://m.facebook.com/kingettr>

-- 
Robert A. Hansen Peer Mentor Council Of Clubs Representative Co-Program 
Director WZRD 88.3 FM www.wzrdchicago.org Northeastern Illinois 
University roberthansen1970 at gmail.com Phone (872)226-5226 Studying 
NonTraditional Degree Program Bachelor of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies 
focusing on Sociology Northeastern Illinois University www.neiu.edu
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