[nagdu] Critical blind people

Lyn Gwizdak linda.gwizdak at cox.net
Tue Aug 3 18:00:42 UTC 2010


Hi Tami,
Oh, absolutely!!!  I was BORN an independent thinker!!  Ask my Dad!  He and 
I were always locking horns on some issue or another and I never took crap 
from anyone!  My Dad and I get along well now! (grin!)

Well, take your knowledge about being an assertive woman and apply that to 
being an assertive BLIND woman!

Cheers,

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 12:35 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Critical blind people


> Lyn,
>
> Gasp!  Indepent thinking?  And you actually *say* what you really think
> instead of what people want to hear.
>
> Now, that is really shocking behavior!  /snide, evil grin/
>
> I'm really grumpy about that one, because just as it was getting to be
> acceptable for a woman to be an independent thinker and speak about what 
> she
> thought independently, I ended up being all blind and stuff, so it is now
> once again not okay for me to be that.  This does not stop me. /grin/
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Linda Gwizdak
> Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 9:30 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Critical blind people
>
> Cathryn,
> Lots of people teach their dogs all kinds of things when we get home from
> guide dog school.  Everyone has different abilities and skills sets.  the
> important thing is that you get your butt out there everyday and live your
> life!  Who can ask for more!!
>
> As far as blind people being critical of other blind people - well, I call
> this marginal grooup behavior.  Take any minority group and you'll see 
> them
> doing it to the others in that group!  How do I handle it?  I know the
> dynamics of this so I just develop a thick skin and blow the behavior off.
> Hang out with the people who like you for who you are and blow off the 
> rest.
>
> There's people at our blind center who don't care too much for me because 
> I
> don't take part in the gossip.  I am a masculine LGBT person and am not in
> the closet.  I am an independent thinker who has progressive, left 
> politics.
>
> BUT... I am respectful to all and kind to all. I have plenty of friends 
> who
> like and value me for the good, decent person that I am.  I've also seen
> this dynamic among mothers and their kids!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Lyn and Landon
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Cathryn Bonnette" <cathrynisfinally at verizon.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 4:52 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Critical blind people
>
>
>> Hi Rox,
>>
>> As soon as I brought Abby home from SE, I started teaching her the "find"
>> command. I was also told it was unreasonable to expect her to find things
>> like elevators and exits for me. Well, I don't have a hearing problem, 
>> but
>
>> I
>> had problems with special orientation and getting lost easily even when I
>> could see. When I lost my sight a few years ago, my ability to get lost
>> improved dramatically! /smile/ If my guide dog can't find the escalator,
>> or
>> elevator, or office door etc., we might never find it, but she actually
>> learned the new command and now does exactly what I need.  I struggle to
>> comprehend why the rudeness you experienced is so common among blind
>> people.
>> Well, anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am doing at least some
>> of
>> the same things that you are to get oriented, and I wish you hadn't had
>> those experiences. As for a long term answer- I'm still working it out. 
>> It
>> seems that if I hang around with other blind folks, I am very likely to 
>> be
>> criticized fairly frequently just for living! On the other hand, as I
>> experience increasing distance from other social groups I don't much care
>> for the Hermit lifestyle either. Ah so. Maybe I'll figure that out
>> tomorrow-/smile/
>> Your thoughts?
>>
>> Be well-
>>
>> Cathryn (& Abby)
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of The Pawpower Pack
>> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 7:14 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Critical blind people
>>
>> Hi Dan,
>> Oh yes, I get judged quite a bit because I can't use my ears to orient
>> to my environment.  I went to an NFB convention in 2006 which was held
>> at the hotel in Dallas.  I got lost quite a bit and every time I'd ask
>> someone for assistance, they'd invariably say, "Listen to the
>> fountain, where you want to go, that's left of the fountain."
>> I couldn't hear the fountain at all and when I said that I was deaf, I
>> got quite a few nasty comments, the most polite of which was, "well I
>> can't help you, then."
>> Also when I ask a person for directions, and they snap their fingers
>> or tap on a chair/table and say "Over here!" and then they get
>> frustrated because I can't figure out where over here is, exactly.  I
>> can hear people speaking if we're in a quiet place, but I can't tell
>> where the person is because like you, I can't localize sound.
>> I've also been chastised by other blind people and guide dog program
>> employees for expecting my dog to help me in convention settings by
>> finding things such as the elevator, or the door outside.  I spend a
>> great deal of time training this skill and I would say that my dogs
>> are far more fluent in the "find" cue than most guide dogs because
>> it's a necessity for them to be.  For many blind people, the find cue
>> is just an added bonus.  I've been told that it is too much to expect
>> my dog to find elevators or whatever and that I am going to stress my
>> dog out, that I'm not taking responsibility for my part in the team
>> and that my dog can't be expected to just take me where I want to go.
>> I do have very good O&M skills, but I'm also deaf so my needs are
>> different than for most guide dog handlers who are blind only.
>> I get frustrated sometimes because I don't know why we can't just
>> appreciate the one another's differences instead of getting upset when
>> someone can't or chooses not to, do things like the majority.
>>
>> Rox and the Herbal HenchHounds
>> Bristol (retired), Mill'E SD. and Laveau Guide Dog, CGC.
>> "It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point
>> out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-
>> wit, and the emperor remains an emperor."-- Neil Gaiman
>> http://www.pawpowercreations.com/retreat.html
>> pawpower4me at gmail.com
>> AIM: Brissysgirl
>>
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