[nabs-l] Those Amazing Inspiring Blind People

[Arielle Silverman]

Kirt, I often get cynical too about the persistence of the problem
that you describe. However, in order to keep myself motivated, I try
to remember that even if we cannot get rid of all prejudice against
us, bettering the life of even one blind person, or successfully
educating one sighted person, is still a step forward. If we take time
to educate the  stranger on the street about how we get around, and
that stranger eventually chooses to hire a blind person for a job they
are good at, or to date and marry a blind person who is a good match
for them, or to step up and defend a blind parent's right to keep
their child, then we have made that little bit of  progress.

Arielle

On 5/30/13, Mary Fernandez <trillian551 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Kurt,
> What you say is accurate, and I must  point out, a characteristic aspect of
> any civil Rights movement. Slavery was abolished in 1865, but racism is very
> much still alive. Women were given the right to vote in 1920, and the right
> to decide whether they had an abortion in 1974, and yet, we still have women
> being disadvantaged in corporate America, and we ar now reviewing the issue
> of abortion. It is easy to change legislation compared to changing the
> mindframe of society. It takes generations upon generations, and persistence
> from what is usually a minority in society, to be able to change peoples
> minds. It's something that's passed on by generations, so the parents will
> pass on  Their views and attitudes to their child and On on.  but with every
> one person that we educate and whose mind we enlighten with a different
> point of view, that person will pass it on to the people they know, and
> might  change one more  person's mind. The only thing we can do, is keep
> educating people.  And there will always be descent. Mary f  Sent from my
> iPhone
>
> On May 30, 2013, at 7:09 PM, Kirt <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I hate to be a cynic, but I'm starting to wonder if those misconceptions
>> will ever go away. If my admittedly limited experience is anything to go
>> by, societies misguided notions About our capabilities aren't going away
>> anytime soon and, In general, getting people to abandon those
>> misconceptions seems to be a very long, very painful and often a very
>> fruitless undertaking. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, I'm just saying
>> it's such a slow process and I don't see how we will ever get to the point
>> where society at large really understands that blindness, in and of
>> itself, is, at most, a very minor obstacle and certainly shouldn't be any
>> kind of a decisive factor in the hiring process for almost all jobs.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On May 30, 2013, at 3:47 PM, Mary Fernandez <trillian551 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all, I do agree with Arielle that blindness presents different
>>> practical challenges for different people. Generally speaking, if you
>>> have good blindness skills and have had more training, you become very
>>> efficient, and blindness does not usually factor into your life and
>>> preventing you from  doing anything. And this is as it should be.
>>> Blindness  should never be a consideration on whether you should or
>>> shouldn't do something or whether you can or  can't do something.
>>> However, I do stand by my view that as a blind person I must excel. If I
>>> am applying for a job, and if the employer is prejudiced against
>>> disabilities, and if my application is the exact same as my cited
>>> competitor, there is a realistic chance that the employer will lean
>>> towards the cited competitor because it is easier to just hire them. You
>>> don't have to make any accommodations. It's my personal believe that if I
>>> want to achieve my career goals, which are admittedly fairly high for
>>> anyone, I must show that I can bring something to the table that no one
>>> else can, and hope  that This fact will override somebody's prejudice. It
>>> is true that anybody who wants to get ahead must bring something original
>>> to the table. But it is also true that there are very real cases where it
>>> is a blind  person is more qualified, and there's a sighted person who
>>> was less qualified the Cited person might still get the job. It is not
>>> unlike the plight that any minority faces. If there is a woman who is
>>> very qualified for the job, but the employer wants the man for the job
>>> Because it is they are believed that women should stay at home and
>>> mentioned work,they might hire the man instead of the woman. So I think
>>> it follows logically, that in someway we must prove that we XL beyond a
>>> reasonable doubt, and  hope that that will override prejudice. In
>>> essence, the burden of proof for a class that tends to be misunderstood
>>> by society, must demonstrate to society Beyond a reasonable doubt that
>>> The mold Society Created for them, does not fit. And that the mold,  not
>>> the class, must be re-created. I think that this is what we mean when we
>>> say that the biggest challenge that blindness presents is not blindness
>>> itself but the misconceptions. And until those misconceptions are effaced
>>> from our society, I do believe that in order to achieve high levels of
>>> success, we often have to prove ourselves not just good enough, but
>>> better beyond  a reasonable doubt.
>>>
>>> Mary F
>>> from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On May 30, 2013, at 5:19 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I don't think that all of us always have to work twice as hard to get
>>>> things done. I do think that sometimes, some of us have to work harder
>>>> because of blindness, but it doesn't apply equally to all of us all
>>>> the time. For example, when I was an undergrad student, I did have to
>>>> do some extra work to hunt down accessible textbooks and gain access
>>>> to visual online materials, like gene maps for my genetics class. Now
>>>> that I am in grad school, however, textbooks are rarely used and
>>>> electronic copies of articles are readily furnished to all students.
>>>> So, in grad school, blindness has little impact on my overall
>>>> workload. Other times, extra work has allowed me to get ahead. In
>>>> middle school we were often given vocab assignments which involved
>>>> writing down definitions from the book's glossary. Since the glossary
>>>> was several volumes in Braille, this was very inefficient for me.
>>>> However, I soon discovered it was actually much quicker to just (gasp)
>>>> read the chapter and learn the vocab words that way instead of looking
>>>> up definitions. This was a little extra work on the front end, but it
>>>> had the advantage that when the other students were assigned to read
>>>> the chapter, I'd already finished that and could move on.
>>>> I do think some of us face substantial obstacles related to blindness.
>>>> On closer examination these obstacles usually have more to do with
>>>> social prejudices than with blindness itself. For example, blind kids
>>>> who aren't taught Braille until later in life do face challenges with
>>>> reading, writing, test-taking etc. That's not because of blindness,
>>>> but because of unfavorable social attitudes toward Braille. For others
>>>> blindness could interact with something else--financial problems, or a
>>>> bad home life--to create legitimate obstacles. What I don't like is
>>>> when people assume I have these challenges without knowing anything
>>>> about me except that I am blind. The challenges of blindness, or lack
>>>> thereof, are different for every person and the same person could
>>>> experience different levels of challenge at different points in time.
>>>> Too often these nuances aren't recognized by the sighted public.
>>>> Instead, anything a blind person achieves must have been very
>>>> difficult and only achieved because the blind person is exceptional.
>>>> I can also relate to Mary's comments about becoming an overachiever
>>>> due to blindness. In my own case it was because as the youngest child,
>>>> blind and also physically tiny, I think I was babied a lot by family
>>>> members and others in my life. I was driven to excel in school in
>>>> order to compensate for the inferior and infantilizing way I was often
>>>> treated. I don't think this reaction is a bad one as long as the
>>>> person doesn't become so perfectionistic that failure becomes
>>>> intolerable.
>>>>
>>>> Arielle
>>>>
>>>> On 5/30/13, Mary Fernandez <trillian551 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Dear all,
>>>>> I've been following this thread on and off, and didn't want to weigh
>>>>> in, but I will...
>>>>> I think that we can go too far in either direction. We can be the
>>>>> person who does think they are amazing because they are blind and can
>>>>> walk. Or you can be the person who will always shrug off a compliment,
>>>>> because they think that the only reason they are getting it is because
>>>>> they are blind, and they believe that they are the definition of
>>>>> average.
>>>>> My approach is being balanced. Perhaps this is because I know I have
>>>>> overcome quite a number of challenges in life, very few of which had
>>>>> anything to do with my blindness. Perhaps because I had a mother who
>>>>> never ever allowed my blindness to be neither a hindrance nor an
>>>>> advantage. She was very clear that yes I was blind, so what? And so
>>>>> that became ingrained in my psyche, to the point where my disability
>>>>> was never really a source of psychological distress. Yes, I did have
>>>>> the question of how I would be successful, and if I was the only blind
>>>>> person who had dreams and aspirations. And how I might make those
>>>>> dreams and aspirations come true when so many people clearly thought I
>>>>> shouldn’t even be able to tie my shoelaces. And yes, it wasn’t until I
>>>>> met blind role models, that I knew that not only could I make my
>>>>> dreams come true, but that others had overcome the challenges that
>>>>> misconceptions present. In my case, I set out to prove the world
>>>>> wrong, and became an overachiever. People who are overachievers
>>>>> usually have an underlying reason for always wanting to come out on
>>>>> top, for me it was that I was blind. For other teens it might be
>>>>> insecurities about their looks, their popularity etc.
>>>>> As an adult I am fully aware that in order to be successful and to be
>>>>> taken seriously as a blind person, one must work very hard and always
>>>>> prove themselves. This is because of the misconceptions of the world.
>>>>> It is unrealistic to pretend that just any average blind person can
>>>>> become a manager in the work place. Discrimination does exist, whether
>>>>> it is based on gender, race, sexual orientation or disability. And the
>>>>> sad truth is that when a person sees me walking with my white cane,
>>>>> many of them cannot begin to imagine how I could possibly be ok, and
>>>>> that it is their responsibility for them to help me, after all I am
>>>>> disadvantaged, they are not.
>>>>> Thus, I know it is my responsibility to educate each of those people
>>>>> wrong. It is my responsibility to prove the nay sayers, who go beyond,
>>>>> oh she’s disadvantaged, to she can’t do it because she’s blind,
>>>>> therefore she must be lacking in some essential way. But it is also my
>>>>> responsibility to myself to recognize my accomplishment and savor my
>>>>> achievements. It is my responsibility to myself to build healthy,
>>>>> mutually respectful relationships, in which I am secure in the
>>>>> knowledge that that person and I understand each other, and that we
>>>>> see each other for the person for who we are as opposed to some random
>>>>> trait we possess. And when that person says, you have done a great
>>>>> job, that you gone above and beyond what I expected, I can recognize
>>>>> that it isn’t because they are being condescending but rather because
>>>>> they have held me to the standard to which they hold everyone else. It
>>>>> is important to find these types of relationships both professionally
>>>>> and personally. We want someone to tell us when we are lacking, but
>>>>> also to tell us when we rocked something. I am fortunate to work in a
>>>>> place where I know all of my coworkers and superiors are holding me to
>>>>> the standard to which they hold every other employee. And while it is
>>>>> my instinct to dismiss a compliment from anyone, I’m learning to take
>>>>> them and say thank you. It’s important to learn these ladies and
>>>>> gentlemen, because if we do not give ourselves credit for the things
>>>>> we do, and the accomplishments we achieve, there is no point to them.
>>>>> I think the key is in having a high standard for yourself, not
>>>>> compromising that standard, and knowing when you just have to ignore
>>>>> the people I the street who say silly things like, wow you match. But
>>>>> also when to pay attention to people who see beyond your disability
>>>>> and are speaking of your character.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 5/30/13, Helga <helga.schreiber at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Hey Miso, this is Helga! I just wantded to tell you that I'm a
>>>>>> Christian
>>>>>> as
>>>>>>
>>>>>> well!, and I think  that you are definitely right! when you say that
>>>>>> God
>>>>>> has
>>>>>>
>>>>>> a purpose. I actually believe that God has a purpose for everyone even
>>>>>> if
>>>>>> they are blind or not. I'm actually blind, and I'm studying in college
>>>>>> in
>>>>>> order to become a Lawyer. By The way, just to let you know, I just
>>>>>> became
>>>>>> blind 5 years ago, but I didn't let this circumstance stop me in order
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> accomplish my goals. Thanks! for listening to me, and God bless! hope
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> talk to you soon! :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: Miso Kwak
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 11:21 AM
>>>>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Those Amazing Inspiring Blind People
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I attended school for the blind in Korea for 10 years and teachers
>>>>>> often said we have to work twice or even triple times hard. I denied
>>>>>> that saying but now while I don't necessarily agree, I would say it
>>>>>> takes more time and energy in some things we we were to accomplish.
>>>>>> Looking at my friends who have gone to colleges in Korea they might
>>>>>> agree with this saying because they always have to fight for books and
>>>>>> just less informed public in general.
>>>>>> I believe work ethic comes because of the environment not just being
>>>>>> blind it self.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: justin <justin.williams2 at gmail.com>
>>>>>> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Thu, May 30, 2013 8:11 am
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Those Amazing Inspiring Blind People
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't know about twice as hard, but unfortunately, even fi you don't
>>>>>> say
>>>>>> it aloud, hopefully our children who are blidn will have that kind of
>>>>>> work
>>>>>> ethic instilled into them.  I don't much care for it either, but it is
>>>>>> what
>>>>>> it is.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie
>>>>>> McGinnity
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 11:04 AM
>>>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l]
>>
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