[nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated

[Linda Gwizdak]

Hi all,
I get that "you don't look blind" crap.  I used to be offended because I 
thought the person saying it was meaning to deny that I was visually 
impaired.

After some discussion on this with some sighted friends, I realized that 
that phrase could be a compliment.  They're telling me that I don't look 
like the STEROTYPE of blindness - you know, rocking, jamming fingers or 
fists in eyes, not looking towards the person you're talking to, etc. And I 
KNOW I don't fit that!  This is what people associate with blindness - thus 
the pity crap we get at times. So, no, I don't "look" blind.  I'd venture to 
say that many of you on this list don't "look" blind either (grin!).

Yeah Mardi, sometimes life's too short and it's a good answer to someone who 
asks you if your dog is a service dog and you answered "yes". And you roll 
off in your wheelchair.

I have a friend who throws people for a loop.  She has Retinitis Pigmentosa 
and is losing her vision and she got her first guide dog when I got Landon. 
She can still see people's facial expressions and even saw a man wink at 
her! the lighting outside was very good. I never even saw the man - never 
mind his wink! LOL!  She had to explain what a wink was - I could never see 
well enough to see that.  So, I only knew it was a word to describe 
something someone did with their eyes.

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mardi Hadfield" <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 5:32 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Woman with guide dog says civil rights were violated


> Hi every one,  I have often been challenged with my guide dog. You would
> think that because I am sitting in a wheelchair, there would be no problem
> as I would think  that the public would just think my dog was a service 
> dog.
> I am constantly asked if my dog is a service or helper dog. Most of the 
> time
> I just say yes and continue on. If a person chooses to engage me in
> conversation, I try to explain that she is a guide dog. I used to get,"you
> don't look blind" I thought, because I wore glasses , because they did 
> help
> with my vision to some extent. When I finally ditched them because they 
> were
> no longer of any help, I still got the "you don't look blind". Well, I 
> guess
> I don't know what a blind person is supposed to look like. I also get
> hassled because my dog is a Siberian Husky, and supposedly, Huskies are 
> not
> guide dogs. Then there are those who hassle me because I used to just be 
> in
> a wheelchair with a service dog and suddenly I am claiming blindness. I 
> have
> been told that I can't possibly have all these disabilities all at once,
> even though I have documentation for all of it. I was once told by a Rehab
> councilor, that I should just pick one and stick with that. I don't know
> what breed of dog this woman has, but maybe it is an unusual breed. I also
> know that the more confrontational you are with the offending person, that
> does  some times make the whole thing worse. I have been guilty of this in
> the past and have learned to curb my self when needed. However, If I am 
> not
> the one pursuing the confrontation and I am still being denied, I will 
> stand
> my ground. I am careful what kind of language I use as I don't want to be
> the offensive  one . Maybe this woman used offensive language? Maybe she 
> did
> not. I hope she does pursue it further and I hope the outcome is a good 
> one.
> Perhaps that will help others in similar circumstances. Have a great day,
> Mardi and Nala, semi-retired, and Shaman gdit
>
> -- 
> http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
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