[nagdu] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"
Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)
REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
Thu Mar 11 17:36:19 UTC 2010
Mind sending the article to the list and providing a video link?
Marian, great rebuttal letter, btw.
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of cheryl echevarria
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:10 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the
Dark"
Marion I just forwarded it to you. on the website they also have a video
how
nice.
Cheryl Echevarria
Independent Travel Consultant
http://Echevarriatravel.com
1-866-580-5574
http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel
CST-1018299-10
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:54 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"
> Dear All,
> I tried to get a copy of the original article about which I wrote
this
> letter to the editor; however, it was not available without paying a
fee.
> The article can be accessed by going to NFB-Newsline and selecting the
> St.Petersburg Times Metro section. If anyone can get access to this
> article, please send it to the list. Pasted below is my letter to the
> editor.
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
> March 11, 2010
>
> I am writing to comment on the article "Awareness Was the
Main
> Course" by Laura Reiley that appeared in the March 10 Metro section of
the
> St. Petersburg times. As a blind person, I often meet people who are
> amazed by the fact that I can perform even the simplest of tasks.
> Generally this attitude is based on their own experience attempting to
> perform the same task without eyesight and failing at it miserably. It
is
> for this reason that most blind people are opposed to using the type
of
> simulation exercises featured in this article. Blindfolding a sighted
> person and asking them to perform even a simple task does not, as the
> article purports, give a person any awareness of what the life of a
blind
> person is like. In fact, such exercises only serve to reinforce the
> misconceptions and promulgate the myths about blindness that create
the
> social, legal, and economic barriers that prevent us from achieving
true
> equality with our sighted peers. Those of us who are blind have
developed
> an array of non-visual techniques to perform activities of daily
living,
> such as eating, just as effectively as sighted people do using
eyesight.
> Blindfolding a sighted person and asking them to perform a task is
like
> putting someone in the cockpit of a jetliner and telling them to fly!
> Lacking the proper skills, the results of both would be disastrous!
>
> The real problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight;
> rather it is the manner in which we are treated as the result of the
> misconceptions people have about blindness. If one really wants to
find
> out what life is like for a blind person, there is no need to don a
> blindfold! All one needs to do is carry a white cane, the
international
> symbol of blindness, and go about their everyday life. Then they
would
> feel the crushing insults of public misperception that blind people,
> except for those few who are believed to be amazing and extraordinary,
are
> innately ignorant and helpless. They would experience the waitress who
> asks a five year old what the blind adult wants to drink. They would
> encounter the librarian who admonishes them for going out alone, thus
> exposing them to the hazards of opening a door. They would be
confronted
> by the Employer who inquires about who will bring them to work. They
would
> learn that even well educated doctors are so ignorant as to ask them
who
> bathes them! Though you might want to minimize these incidents away,
they
> are examples of the type of ignorance I - and other blind people -
> encounter on a regular, almost daily, basis!
>
> I am not asserting that eyesight is not beneficial nor
that
> the work of the Foundation Fighting Blindness is not valuable. What
> concerns me is that organizations that assert they want to "serve the
> blind" do us such a disservice by reinforcing the public
misconceptions
> and fears that create the problems we face. I am all for raising money
to
> cure retinal degenerative diseases, especially since the condition
that
> has caused my blindness, that of my 14-year-old nephew , and several
other
> members of my family is retinitis Pigmentosa. I am, however, opposed
to
> creating the type of fear and pity that results from blindfolding
people
> for the purpose of raising money! Such a practice is as offensive to
me as
> a black-faced minstrel would be to an African American! These
> misconceptions are the reason fewer than 10% of blind children are
> learning to read and write Braille, producing functionally illiterate
> blind adults. These fears and misconceptions are the reason that the
> unemployment rate among the blind is more than 70%!
>
> The veracity of my concerns are supported by the numerous
> inaccurate statements made by the author who has bought into the false
> perceptions of the blind. Does she really believe that "other senses
are
> heightened" by taking away one's sight or "; texture became paramount"
as
> the result of simulated blindness? Does she really believe that
> blindfolding participants "gave all assembled a greater window into
the
> world of the sightless"? Does she really believe that blind people go
> through life "bumbling" their ways around or did she just
irresponsibly
> promulgate the pitiful stereotype in an effort to sell your newspapers
> like the Foundation Fighting Blindness did to sell themselves and
> selfishly generate revenue with no concern about the social
consequences
> of their actions?
>
> The belief that blind people are endowed with heightened
> senses and special powers is a myth. Blind people simply learn to use
> their other senses and alternative techniques to perform the tasks
sighted
> people do with eyesight. Like any skill, these techniques are
generally
> not acquired in a half-hour nor mysteriously and supernaturally
endowed.
> However, these skills enable blind people to function independently,
> efficiently, and effectively. In fact, the average blind person can
> perform the same tasks as their sighted peers as well, if not better,
by
> employing these alternative techniques. Our blindness is not the
problem.
> The real problem of blindness is the misunderstanding and lack of
> information that exists. If a blind person is given proper training
and
> opportunity, blindness is only a physical nuisance.
>
> In the future, when your paper is doing a story about
> blindness, it would be helpful to get accurate information and the
> perspective of a blind person who is qualified to speak to these
issues by
> being chosen by the blind to speak on their behalf. The National
> Federation of the Blind is the oldest and largest organization of the
> blind in the United States. We are not an organization that speaks on
> behalf of the blind; we are the blind speaking for ourselves. For
accurate
> information about blindness or the blind, please feel free to get in
touch
> with me or visit one of our websites at
>
>
>
> HTTP://WWW.NFB.ORG
>
> Or
>
> HTTP://WWW.NFB-NAGDU.ORG
>
>
>
> Respectfully yours,
>
> Marion Gwizdala, President
>
> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
> 813-598-7161
>
> President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
>
>
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