[nabs-l] living in a sighted world

[alena roberts]

ViewPlus Technologies. We design and manufacture the Tiger embossers.
It is a good company, I think that my sighted peers just have a lot to
learn.

On 7/26/09, Jacob Struiksma <lawnmower84 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> What assistive tech company   are you working for?
> From
> Jacob Struiksma
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of alena roberts
> Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 11:38 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] living in a sighted world
>
> I think that the attitude towards those with disabilities is a combination
> of ignorance and prejudice. For the most part I would like to believe that
> it is simply ignorance, but I know some people just don't like those with
> disabilities because they're different. I am currently working for an
> assistive tech company where I feel like I am teaching my sighted peers
> something new on a more regular basis than I should be. I also am helping
> them with social media, and people say the dumbest things on twitter, which
> makes me frustrated. I think the best thing we can do is educate people as
> much as possible, and encourage people to think outside of the box they live
> in. I am glad to hear that you had such a good conversation with someone on
> a plane.
> I find that the people who are enquisitive about how I do things tend to be
> the most open minded about accepting that people with disabilities can learn
> to do almost anything with the right training and modifications.
>
> On 7/25/09, Teal Bloodworth <tealbloodworth at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello All
>>
>> Since i have joined a widely discussed topic has been the treatment of
>> the blind and visually impaired in society. Recently when flying back
>> from New York after recieving my new guide dog i had a very
>> interesting conversation with a woman on the plane about this actual
> problem.
>>
>> This woman was a very intellegent bilingual (not sure of her
>> nationality) whom i suppose was  handicapped. She shared that she had
>> had extreme arthritis since the age of 8 and went through numerous
>> surgeries and years of dialisis (sp?). When first boarding the plane
>> she had already been seated bulkhead and respectfully asked me if she
>> could pet my dog. Replying with a friendly "yes" she informed me of
>> her friend sending her an email informing her of how to act around a
> service dog because of her frequent traveling.
>>
>>  Later in the flight since it was long (new york to memphis) we
>> started a conversation about the ACB and NFB. She seemd very well
>> informed however i told her the main differences. The ACB focuses more
>> on changing the world for us, and the NFB has a more realistic
>> approach to the world since we are the minority in helping us adapt to
>> the world. She actually made a very good point that it would be good
>> for the two to work together and create a happy medium, however she
>> doesnt know the controversy between the two. This actually seemed like
>> a good idea when we started talking about the change of money. Word is
>> that the ACB is going to change either the size or the color of the
>> bills. This is more like foreign money and seems useful to some but it
>> is just as useful to ask what the order of your change is and folding
>> the bills or putting them in the appropriate place. We said that it
>> would be a good idea even for the two to work together and keep the bills
> the same size/color but maybe making them tactile?
>>
>> This flight was interesting and this woman made me feel the least
>> uncomfortable and unworthy that anyone sighted has done in my 2 1/2
>> years of darkness. Also this brought up the previous topic on
>> discrimination or ignorance. This is a very fine line and my current
>> thoughts are this. When we are walking on the street and someone doesnt
> "think you can do this"
>> maybe they are not informed of our capabilities. Also even something i
>> have said on here before about a landlord not calling me back because
>> of my blindness....perhaps they felt i was a liability issue because i
>> was more likely to be injured? is there really any actual hate towards
>> us because of our physical disadvantage? Or is it simply lack of
>> knowledge? People may not know of the many things that are available
>> to us so that we can gain independence and sense of self sufficiency
>> because not even i knew of these before i needed them.
>>
>> And as for another question on guide dogs they are allowed anywhere
>> the general public is allowed and no you do not have to pay extra fees
>> for pets because they are not pets.
>>
>> If anyone has any thoughts, feelings or comments i would love to hear
> them.
>>
>>             -Teal
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>
>
> --
> Alena Roberts
> Blog: http://www.blindgal.com/
>
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-- 
Alena Roberts
Blog: http://www.blindgal.com/