[nabs-l] New THOUGHT PROVOKER #153- My Sister's Keeper

Wed Jan 27 19:14:38 UTC 2010

My thaughts here might also ruffle some feathers ...

Of course, blind people don't need body guards and can handle bullying. 
Having said that, if I were getting bullied, I'd really appreciate my 
brother, other relative, or best friend telling that jerk to knock it off! 
Not because I'm blind, but I guess, it's simply my personality.  I'd always 
certainly stand up for a friend of mine if he/she were getting bullied, 
whether he/she is sighted, blind, deaf, etc.  Therefore, I'm sure my friends 
would do anything to stop some jerk from bullying or overprotecting me, 
simply cuz they believe what the bully or well-meaning sighted person is 
doing is wrong!  I previously told a story on this list about when my friend 
Anthony stopped a well-meaning but ignorant sighted person from physically 
guiding me somewhere, without even saying anything to me.  Anthony didn't 
stop him/her cuz he thaught I needed a body guard or couldn't have stood up 
for myself, but because he was shocked at what he was about to witness and 
believed it just wasn't right!

Serena

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jamie Principato" <blackbyrdfly at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New THOUGHT PROVOKER #153- My Sister's Keeper

> My thoughts here might ruffle some feathers, but in that thought provoker, 
> I
> personally think everyone was a bit out of line. J.C. for deciding that 
> he's
> his sister's bodyguard (though most brothers have that in them if they're
> close with their sisters, blind or not), the punk for playing the prank in
> the first place, Rhoda's friend with the guide dog for also deciding it's
> her business to get involved in something that is purely between Rhoda and
> her brother, and finally, Rhoda for not speaking up for herself at all
> throughout the whole thing and just passively going along with what her
> brother was doing.
>
> I think that when it comes to being treated and respected as capable
> individuals who can handle ourselves, the burdon is on us as much as (if 
> not
> more than) it is on the sighted would-be bodyguards trying to "protect" 
> us.
> If we're just going to be passive and go-with-the-flow the way society 
> seems
> to expect us to be, then a) no one is going to see us as capable of 
> standing
> up for ourselves, and b) no one is going to realize that we even want to
> stand up for ourselves because we aren't even standing up to them! I think
> that in order to show others that we can handle ourselves in bullying (and
> other) situations, we need to demonstrate our competence, confidence, and
> willingness to speak up for ourselves and be heard. We can't be door mats 
> to
> be walked on.
>
> At the same time, though, there's a fine line to tow between being 
> confident
> and being an arrogant jerk. If someone is trying to go out of their way to
> help you out, tell them what you *really* think about it and what you'd
> rather they do, but let the know at least that you understand why they 
> feel
> the need to help and that they're not trying to be in the way.
>
> On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 7:48 PM, Robert Leslie Newman 
> <newmanrl at cox.net>wrote:
>
>> NABS Listers
>> RE: My Sister's Keeper
>>
>>
>>
>> THOUGHT PROVOKER #153 is by a guest author. The issue is, how does a 
>> blind
>> person deal with a sighted person that feels you, the blind person is
>> needing protection and can't handle a bully? If you have not read the
>> PROVOKER, it follows.  Recall that I collect responses and post them upon
>> my
>> web site for all the WWW to read and learn from and that URL is-
>> Http://thoughtprovoker.info  If you wish to receive THOUGHT PROVOKERS 
>> sent
>> directly to you, just write me and ask, at-  newmanrl at cox.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> THOUGHT PROVOKER 153
>>
>> MY SISTER'S KEEPER
>>
>>
>>
>> By Guest Author
>>
>> David Lafleche
>>
>>
>>
>>  Vito stopped when he noticed J.C. sitting at a desk near the stairwell.
>> "Hey, J.C.! Everybody's getting together for a pickup game at the 
>> ballpark.
>> Wanna come?"
>>
>>  "No time," J.C. answered. "I need to stay here."
>>
>>  "Hall Monitor?" Vito wondered. "What's up with that?"
>>
>>  "You know the rumors," J.C. explained. "Some girls have complained about
>> guys hanging out too close to their locker room, fooling around. And 
>> right
>> now, Rhoda is in there with her friend Mandy. They can't see if some guy 
>> is
>> looking for trouble, so I'm pretty much on guard duty."
>>
>>  "What, they can't spare a girl to do that?"
>>
>>  "No, they're too busy. Besides, that's my sister in there, and I want to
>> make sure nobody hits up on her."
>>
>>  Just then, Rhoda and Mandy came out of the locker room. Mandy had her 
>> dog,
>> Beartrap. Rhoda had her cane. But neither of them could have been 
>> prepared
>> for what happened next. As the girls entered the corridor, a string, 
>> unseen
>> to anyone, shot across. Having no time to react, Rhoda tripped over it,
>> sprawling on the floor. She was sore, but unharmed. Mandy and Beartrap
>> reacted angrily. Rhoda was confused. "What in the world was that?!" she
>> asked.
>>
>>  Beartrap barked loudly, and pawed at a nearby door, apparently the 
>> source
>> of the string. "I'll tell you what it was!" J.C. growled as he opened the
>> door. "It was HIM!"
>>
>>  Brian, a teammate of his on the baseball team, had been in the janitor's
>> closet, waiting for the right moment for his prank. J.C. grabbed him by 
>> the
>> collar, slamming him into the wall.
>>
>>  "What do you think you're doing, you punk!" he shouted. "I knew you were
>> behind all those pranks, and now I've got proof!"
>>
>>  "Oh, come on, J.C., lighten up!" Brian pleaded lamely. "I was just 
>> having
>> a
>> little fun!"
>>
>>  "You call that 'fun'? You could have killed her!"
>>
>>  "Ah, she'll get over it. But I suppose this means I'm suspended from the
>> baseball team?"
>>
>>  "Oh, more than you bargained for, punk! I'm going downtown and pressing
>> assault charges! I'll need you there, Rhoda. Mandy, do you want to come?"
>>
>>  "I guess so," Rhoda replied. "But it will have to wait till school's
>> over."
>>
>>  "Dude, aren't you being a little harsh?" Vito asked.
>>
>>  "No way," J.C. insisted. "To pull a stunt like that on a blind person,
>> especially my own sister, is the lowest of the low. This punk needs to 
>> get
>> the message."
>>
>>  Surprisingly, Mandy also took exception to this, though for her own
>> reasons. "Excuse me, Mister Laval, O hero of the defenseless! Who asked
>> you?
>> Rhoda doesn't need your help! She can fight her own battles! Tell him,
>> Rhoda!"
>>
>>
>> Robert Leslie Newman
>> Author of THOUGHT PROVOKER
>> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
>> Thought Is The First Step To Beyond
>>
>>
>>
>>
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