[nabs-l] The Importance Of Independent Travel

Wed Jul 20 22:32:03 UTC 2016

Exactly.At 04:02 PM 8/28/2014, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l wrote:
>Yes. And I have to ask, Would we call somebody "super-sightie" because
>they go places completely on their own, by car or on foot? I suspect
>not, so then why is a blind person who does the same thing
>"super-blind?" Why do we hold blindpeople to a different standard of
>independence than the sighted?
>
>Arielle
>
>On 8/28/14, Steve Jacobson via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > Carly,
> >
> > As a blind person, I am aware and even concerned with how my actions might
> > affect other blind people, and
> > therefore do my best not to use help I don't need.  Having said that, my
> > primary reasons for trying to travel as
> > independently as possible have little to do with proving anything 
> to anyone.
> >  I wil readily admit that if someone
> > more or less forces me to be assisted to do something for which I do not
> > need assistance, I do feel moved to show
> > them that the assistance was not required if the opportunity arises.  For
> > example, if someone insists I take an
> > elevator instead of the steps when the stairs are more convenient, I will
> > probably push to take the steps since I
> > know they won't be a problem.  I probably wouldn't do that with a heavy
> > suitcase, though, but I might take an
> > escalator.  I wouldn't do either, though, if I didn't feel confident that I
> > could do it.  .To the greatest degree
> > possible, I want to be in control of my own destiny.  I can't always have
> > the control I want, but I work hard to
> > have as much as is possible.
> >
> > Years ago I went to the airport to fly to Washington DC.  When I got to the
> > counter and received my gate
> > information, I asked for directions to the gate.  When the person 
> behind the
> > counter acted confused, I asked if he
> > would just tell me which direction to go from the counter.  I was told they
> > would get me an electric cart and that
> > I should wait.  I was a little new to airport travel at that time but I
> > asked again for directions noting that I
> > did not need an electric cart.  To make this long story shorter, the person
> > would not give me directions and
> > refused to help me in any way except to insist that I wait for an employee
> > with a cart.  Carts were apparently in
> > short supply that day and I waited and waited, not feeling I should
> > advocate.  Nowadays, I would have just picked
> > a direction and asked someone else but I was too timmid then.  After
> > repeated calls for a cart, one finally
> > arrived forty-five minutes later.  When I got to the gate, everyone was on
> > the plane and I just barely made it.  I
> > decided then I was not going to be in that position again.  In addition,
> > someone else had to wait longer for that
> > cart, probably someone who really needed it, and an airport employee was
> > tied up offering me help I neither needed
> > or requested.  The more independently one can travel the more options they
> > have, and the better it is for
> > everyone.
> >
> > Traveling independently is an important part of most jobs.  By
> > "independently," I don't mean that one never asks
> > for help or even that we all have the same ability to travel.  However, I
> > have meetings with other people I need
> > to attend and I'm often the only one in my area of the building attending.
> > If I want to be hired for a job, I
> > have to be able to add as little extra to what I expect from my employer as
> > possible.  Even though I'm a computer
> > analyst, this means being able to travel around the complex I work in as
> > independently as possible.  Could someone
> > who has more difficulty traveling do the job I am doing?  Yes, they
> > certainly could, but they might need to work
> > out strategies that inconvenience their co-workers as little as possible.
> > They would not likely succeed in the
> > long run by grabbing the shoulder of "ol' sighty" out by the escalator.  At
> > least a little thought needs to be
> > given to the possible inconvenience of the person from who you are more or
> > less demanding help.
> >
> > Finally, I have to say something about this superblind thing.  In my
> > experience, this is a term used by people who
> > want to remove all responsibility from themselves to be as independent as
> > their abilities allow.  If you have an
> > injury that prevents you from handling certain aspects of travel, that
> > certainly has to be taken into account.  We
> > are not all going to be the same.  But does that mean you should 
> urge others
> > to not strive for as much
> > independence as possible?  That does not seem fair to me at all.  I knew a
> > man once who told me that he didn't
> > have to learn to travel independently because he had a wife and five kids
> > and a secretary who worked for him.  I
> > know for a fact that his secretary guided him to the men's bathroom.  If he
> > had some sort of learning disability
> > that made independent travel impossible, then I would certainly accept that
> > he was managing as he could.  However,
> > I also knew that he had rejected any attempts to teach him independent
> > travel which was why it was thought it
> > would be helpful for me to talk to him and show up at his office on my own.
> > He lost his sight while holding the
> > job he had and apparently managed well enough to keep his job, but he would
> > have had a difficult time getting the
> > job he had with his attitude.
> >
> > We are never all going to achieve the same degree of 
> independence.  Further,
> > interdependence is a part of any
> > civilized society to some degree.  Still we will never achieve without
> > striving.  We will never know what we can
> > do without sometimes discovering things we cannot do.  Many of us routinely
> > cross busy streets, but i'll bet there
> > was not a single one of us who was not scared to cross that first 
> street, or
> > maybe the first dozen streets.  But
> > if we had never taken that first scarey step, we wouldn't be crossing the
> > streets we cross routinely.  Helping
> > each other strive to achieve more helps us achieve more, but it 
> doesn't mean
> > we achieve everything for which we
> > strive, but that's okay.  One very rarely ever achieves something by
> > accident, though, one has to strive to
> > achieve first.  I do not find the fact that there are blind people who have
> > done things that I do not do as
> > unsettling, rather it reminds me that there may be things I could do as a
> > blind person that I simply have not yet
> > discovered.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Steve Jacobson
> >
> > On Thu, 28 Aug 2014 04:45:01 -0700, Carly Mihalakis via nabs-l wrote:
> >
> >>Good morning,
> >
> >>Personally, I like to think of it as interdependent travel, recruting
> >>your fellow man, and sort of directing him where you need to go.
> >>Admittedly, this means of travel found me after becoming injured such
> >>that I was unable to keep track of direction and what they call rout
> >>reversal, became for me no more than a pipe dream.
> >
> >>In my experience, however, if you just let go of this idea that to
> >>prove to Ol'Sighty of  blindness' being  what is it, little more than
> >>a mere inconvenience, everyone must be some kind of super blink whom,
> >>by simply waving his long, white cane can travel any course, under
> >>any circumstances in pitch ocular darkness. Sure, this social
> >>construct is certainly possible to live within and many people do it,
> >>but not everybody is super Federationist blink!
> >
> >>After all, interpersonal contact, I believe, is more of a palpable,
> >>alternative to demonstrating to Ol'Sighty things of which most of us
> >>are capable, that Ol'Sighty might remember. I'm fond of iterating
> >>that Ol'Sighty cares not about the means to which the blink reaches
> >>the same ends, noticing only that, eventually he gets there. So, if
> >>it becomes a matter of walking through an airport, say, to
> >>demonstrate to Ol'Sighty ways in which most blinks can, and do
> >>advocate for themselves, it may be a plausible course of action to
> >>grab Ol'Sighty from one of the hoards that are invariably around and,
> >>placing your hand on his shoulder, tell him where you need to be and
> >>see if he can help you. Of course, should he be in a hurry you can
> >>find someone else, but wait for an indication of said sighted person
> >>being unable to help. It is in this way you can actually have a
> >>conversation with a sighted person, maybe even exchange names?
> >>Agreed, the super blink means of seamlessly gliding through a crowd
> >>is intimidating, and not exactly if I may say so myself, realistic of
> >>every blink. Let that go! Probably, you are not a super blink, at
> >>least by their rigid standards.
> >>for today, Car
> >>408-209-3239
> >>   :52 AM 7/16/2014, Roanna Bacchus via nabs-l wrote:
> >>>Dear Students,
> >>>
> >>>I'd like to discuss another topic with all of you.  On Monday I had
> >>>a conversation with my mobility instructor during my training
> >>>session at UCF.  We were talking about the importance of traveling
> >>>independently as blind individuals.  I got very emotional while we
> >>>were having this conversation and began to cry.  Because I've never
> >>>traveled independently in the community, I lack the experience of
> >>>traveling on my own.  Can each of you tell me your stories about
> >>>inarependent travel? Hope to hear from you soon.
> >>>
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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