[nabs-l] handy cap parking

Sat May 16 07:19:05 UTC 2009

Arielle,

I really appreciate your analysis regarding the acceptance of 
disability perks and its relationship to self concept. I would add 
that, sometimes, even something as simple as feeling pressure to take 
unwanted/unnecessary help from strangers can also bruise our sense of 
self efficacy. Say all you like about the nature of independence and 
not throwing the nickel, but the average blind person striving to 
better themselves can't help but feel inwardly frustrated in these 
situations. Well, truthfully, I can't speak for the average blind 
person, but I know I do.

As to student and senior passes/perks, I have a more economic analysis. 
Generally speaking, seniors and students tend to make far less than 
non-students of working age. It is also true that people with 
disabilities also make less money. I remember once that Mike freeman, 
President of the NFB of Washington, suggested that disability discounts 
should be based on income rather than a disability, and that such 
discounts should be available to all persons with severely limited 
income. I personally don't feel guilty using my student pass. I feel 
better using my student pass rather than a disability pass because 
being a student means that I'm moving up in the world, and the 
disability pass is a painful reminder of the long way we still have to 
travel to first-class citizenship.

For what it's worth.

Respectfully,
Jedi
Original message:
> Hi all,

> I think this topic is very interesting and an important one for us to
> discuss periodically, and to examine from all sides.

> Personally, like many of you, I’ve always had an aversion to using
> things like handicapped parking passes, cuts in line or discounts
> because of my blindness (I don’t have additional disabilities). It’s
> something I don’t have to think about; just on the gut level I tend to
> get angry when people try to force these things on me, and have been
> this way since I was a child. I never quite understood why I had this
> strong reaction until a couple years ago when I really started to
> think about it from a psychology  perspective. For me, I realize it’s
> not just about the ethics of taking something I don’t really need or
> using a limited resource (like handicapped parking space) that really
> belongs to someone else. My motive is a lot more self-interested than
> that. I think that as blind people we are constantly having to balance
> our fundamental desire to see ourselves as competent, strong,
> effective individuals against the negative messages we continually get
> from society about how weak, incompetent, and “handicapped” we are
> because of our blindness. If I accept a perk such as a disability
> discount or a pass meant for those with physical disabilities, it’s
> threatening to my self-concept—I start to see myself as “handicapped”
> or “broken” which threatens my concept of myself as a healthy and
> effective person. So I tend to avoid taking these perks as much as
> possible in order to preserve my positive self-concept, and I think
> that’s why a lot of us avoid them on principle even if no one else is
> watching and even if it’s not really hurting anyone else.

> However, Jim brings up the other side of the issue which I think is
> worth exploring. One could say, “Why is it bad to use a disability
> discount but OK to use a student discount or for our parents to use an
> AARP/senior privilege?” After all, if blindness is just a
> characteristic then why not take advantage of whatever we can get by
> virtue of having that characteristic? Why is blindness any different?

> Indeed, I have no qualms about using my student bus pass or a student
> discount at the movies, but would consistently protest using a
> disability bus fare. And if you think about it, why are students and
> seniors getting discounts? Does it mean that students and seniors are
> perpetually poor and can’t pay the full fare, like we argue that
> disability discounts imply that disabled people can’t be gainfully
> employed?

> I don’t know the whole answer to this question but I suspect part of
> it lies in the fact that being a student or a senior is a temporary
> condition, whereas being blind usually is a stable (and more or less
> permanent) characteristic. I don’t find it threatening to accept a
> student discount but I would be uncomfortable with paying a lower fare
> because I am a woman, for instance, and would find the existence of
> special  perks for women quite demeaning. I will (hopefully) not be a
> student for the rest of my life, but I plan on remaining blind and
> female forever and so accepting special treatment or advantages based
> on either of these characteristics feels threatening to my overall
> concept of who I am. I think that disability-related special treatment
> is also more stigmatizing because people with disabilities are such a
> small minority (and the blind are an even smaller group), so we tend
> to feel more “singled out” by being treated differently than if we
> were part of a larger group. I have told a story here in the past
> about a time when I was required to use an elevator rather than the
> stairs on a middle school field trip, and how awful the experience
> felt for me then. I won’t go into the details again, but just point
> out that even though taking the elevator was physically easier, I paid
> the price of being singled out and separated from everyone else (there
> was just one other student in the elevator and he had a broken leg).

> Of course, there are times when we legitimately need special
> treatment, and even a few situations in which having a special parking
> pass might be warranted. I don’t think we should all try to be
> superheroes and do everything exactly the same way as the sighted in
> order to preserve our positive views of ourselves. But, in cases where
> special treatment is nice but not necessary, there is something to be
> said for politely declining, blending into the crowd, and maybe
> challenging yourself a bit in the process. For example, if I’m not in
> a rush, I generally don’t use an escort at the airport and I don’t
> preboard. Sure, I could preboard and it wouldn’t negatively impact any
> other passengers. But, I’ve learned a lot, met some interesting
> people, and definitely refined my travel and problem-solving skills by
> doing it this way. And, it just feels really liberating to blend in
> and to be able to tell yourself, “I did this and blindness didn’t even
> factor into the equation”.

> What do you guys think?

> Arielle

> On 5/16/09, pajohns1 at vt.edu <pajohns1 at vt.edu> wrote:
>> Antonio,

>>         I got the placard because of my blindness.  Whenever possible I
>> prefer not to use it, but given the choice of taking a handicapped parking
>> place or having to drive to the other side of campus to look for one I will
>> use it.  Virginia Tech has a very small population of people with
>> disabilities, and while I agree in principle that blindness may not be as
>> great a challenge as using a wheelchair it is still a disability.  I would
>> love to be able to drive (but that's not happening anytime soon), and as
>> soon as I can I'll shred my placard, till then I will use it on the rare
>> times when I feel it is appropriate for me to use it.

>> Patrick

>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Antonio Guimaraes" <aguimaraes at nbp.org>
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 12:28 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] handy cap parking

>>> Patrick,

>>> You use the parking plaque when it's convenient, not because you're blind?

>>> Antonio M. Guimaraes Jr.

>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: <pajohns1 at vt.edu>
>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 8:08 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] handy cap parking

>>>>        I have had a handicapped placard for two years now.  I only use it

>>>> when it is raining or in places where the parking is particularly bad.
>>>> If the weather is good or if there is plenty of parking available the
>>>> placard is not used.  I doubt I use the placard more than once a month,
>>>> having it gives me ease of mind.

>>>> Patrick
>>>> @Virginia Tech

>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Dezman Jackson" <jackson.dezman at gmail.com>
>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 4:37 AM
>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] handy cap parking

>>>>> Do any of you have handycap parking stickers?  What are your thoughts on

>>>>> these, excluding those who have secondary physical disabilities?  Have
>>>>> you ever felt pressure from others to get one of these?

>>>>> Dezman
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