[IL-Talk] Where do people get a license to put their hands on us?

Thu Sep 29 15:44:09 UTC 2022

I took one touch a few years ago, and it turned out to be more confusing than it was worth. Too many movements to remember. However, I would not discourage anyone from taking this course, as this is only my personal experience I'm talking about.

Leslie Hamric
Cello and Braille Music Teacher
Board member of National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division

> On Sep 29, 2022, at 10:35 AM, Deborah Kent Stein via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> We might all benefit from learning the techniques taught in the One-Touch
> training. As I understand it, the training is intended to help us if we're
> faced with an aggressor, but it could also be extremely useful in dealing
> with misguided and potentially dangerous "helpers." 
> 
> Debbie
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: IL-Talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve
> Hastalis via IL-Talk
> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 10:19 AM
> To: 'NFB of Illinois Mailing List' <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Steve Hastalis <steve.hastalis at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [IL-Talk] Where do people get a license to put their hands on
> us?
> 
> Hi, Leslie,
> 
> Your report about people who meant well by grabbing your arm, but whose
> kindness could have caused a casualty, reminded me of some injuries I
> experienced in my travels.
> 
> Bob Lessne served as the head mobility instructor at the Illinois Visually
> Handicapped Institute (IVHI), now the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and
> Education (ICRE). I was a student at IVHI during the summer of 1964, when I
> was twelve years old. At that time the agency was in its last year of
> operation at 1900 South Marshall Boulevard in Chicago.  I would like to
> share with you some of Dr. Lessne's instruction and methodology.
> 
> One morning Dr. Lessne worked with me to develop a response to someone who
> grabs my arm. To demonstrate, he grabbed me as I might be grabbed by a
> "helpful" stranger on the street. He explained that a person's natural
> response when this happens is to tense up. "If you're tense," he warned,
> "the person can push you. Don't let the person take control of your body.
> Let your arm hang loose. That way you can buy some time."
> 
> He repeated this exercise several times, but whenever he seized my arm I had
> difficulty responding as he instructed. Moreover, I did not fully understand
> his point. I did not say so, but I thought, "What's he doing? He's crazy!"
> but I did not say what I was thinking.
> 
> Ten years later I fully understood his concern. Twice within a year I had
> two ill-fated travel experiences that illustrated Dr. Lessne's point. On two
> occasions as I stepped down from Chicago area commuter trains, people
> panicked and grabbed me by the arm. In the first instance someone took hold
> of me from behind. As a result my feet could not reach the platform from the
> bottom step of the train car. I fell face first onto the platform with my
> feet under the train. In the second instance someone stepped in front of me
> and grabbed my hand that held my cane, lifting it so high that I could not
> reach the steps with my cane tip. I knew there was broken concrete on this
> particular platform, but without the help of my cane I could not tell where
> it was. I jumped down from the bottom step of the train car and landed with
> my right foot precisely on the broken concrete. I sprained my ankle badly
> and fell over backward next to the train. In both instances, I got off these
> commuter trains miles from their terminals. I knew, therefore, that I had
> only seconds to get myself clear of the train before it would proceed. 
> 
> Years later. I had two bad experiences when I alighted from excursion
> trains, one in Atlanta, Georgia and the other in Boone, Iowa. In both
> incidents, someone grabbed my arm hard, causing me to slide down the steep
> stairs of the train car.
> 
> In another time and place, someone grabbed me from behind, as I stepped onto
> an escalator. By definition, the escalator moved me forward, while the
> person who grabs me from behind, helds me back.
> 
> This is a potentially serious issue, especially when we need our range of
> motion for our bodies to function safely and competently. Some people accept
> our wishes, while others get upset and accuse us of being "to independent."
> This is an ongoing public education process. Fortunately, many people talk
> to us without making physical contact. We have a compelling interest to
> maintain our personal safety. Leslie, I hope you're OK.
> 
> Cordially,
> 
> Steve Hastalis
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: IL-Talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Leslie Hamric
> via IL-Talk
> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 11:54 AM
> To: Iltalk <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Leslie Hamric <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
> Subject: [IL-Talk] Where do people get a license to put their hands on us?
> 
> Good morning Federationists. Today I was going to an eye doctor appointment.
> And from the door of the building to the elevator, and then up to the
> office, I had a total of three people grab my arm. Of course, they thought
> they were helping when they really weren't. So I decided to try a new
> approach. Instead of saying, please don't grab, I said, please don't grab
> it's not safe. You should see how they back off when they hear the words
> it's not safe. And then, of course, each one got all apologetic. So, of
> course, I did some educating and then they got it. And then, when I got down
> the elevator back to the main entrance, a fourth person said, can I help you
> and they grab my arm. So I started the process all over again. All we ask
> for as blind people is an assumption of competence. Where did the cited
> people get off thinking that they can just put their hands on us? I wish I
> knew. But until then, I will keep educating.
> 
> Leslie Hamric
> Cello and Braille Music Teacher
> Board member of National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division
> 
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