[nabs-l] Grabbing and streetcrossing help

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Arielle,

I know, right? It's such a fine balance between diplomatic assertiveness
and aggressive rants. Ultimately, I don't get why we're expected to feel
like a child or incapable, or even violated, just because others don't
understand. And it seems like no matter how we respond, people think
we're just being stubborn and prideful. Not to lump all nonblind people
together, but it does happen an awful lot. To me, it seems obvious that
a blind woman at a gym with no companion, or no companion in the
vicinity, probably is good and doesn't need help. And why people think
they can just touch, grab, yank, whatever, without asking is beyond my
comprehension level. Like I said before, in any other scenario, this
would be called harassment. I don't think I'll ever fully adjust to
these attitudes and kind of assistance. It's just not how I'm
constructed, and the longer I'm blind, the less and less I understand
it, not that I ever have understood it.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 27
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:49:22 -0700
From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Grabbing and streetcrossing help
Message-ID:
	
<CALAYQJCjJ2LvJ+6eoHbO3xQsoOg9qT86PF4T_5Mq2z2KMKhvDA at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Good point Bridgit. How do people think we got to the street corner in
the first place?
It also amazes me how people try to "help" me with things like putting
on my backpack or coat, and I wonder how they think I put it on the
last time I did? Do they think someone dresses me?
I was at the gym a couple weeks ago and I put my coat in a cubby
during my workout. I was halfway through putting my coat back on when
I heard some guy come up behind me breathing hard (probably from
exercising) and without any verbal warning, I felt him tug on the side
of my coat that wasn't yet on my body. Creepy! I asked him what he was
doing and he said, "can I help you put this on?" I told him I didn't
like him grabbing my coat without any warning and suggested he ask
before offering that kind of assistance. He apologized and, again,
seemed surprised that he had done anything wrong or inappropriate.
Arielle