[nabs-l] living in a sighted world

Mon Jul 27 04:14:56 UTC 2009

actually it is kind of funny that you say you work there and are teaching 
them. I find that people who use the adaptive technology are going to be 
alittle more fluent with how to use it, like many other things. Actually a 
man at the kentucky office for the blind in louisville, mario island is one 
of the best users of jaws that i have ever met and my local A/T instructor 
calls me every once in awhile to ask questions and says that i know jaws 
better than her and i really have only been working with it for about a 
year.

As for you....i know myspace very well and can navigate with simple key 
strokes if anyone ever has a question. Actually most websites have become 
alittle more accessable. and as for the original topic, i agree with you 
100%. I love it when people are interested and ask questions like what do 
you miss the most about having sight, is it harder for you to do school work 
and i also love it when they compare how strong they are to how strong i am 
because i have taken what i was given so well and succeeded. People are very 
hateful, yes, but you have to give some of them a chance because they just 
dont know how to help/not help or how to act. Yes some people are disgusted 
by us because of our "special treatment" or alittle more attention and help 
but they really just dont understand it or are jealous of our success.

            -Teal

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "alena roberts" <alena.roberts2282 at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2009 12:38 AM
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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