[nagdu] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"

Thu Mar 11 17:43:43 UTC 2010

If you all go to tampabay.com and put in the search dining in the dark. This 
may help as well.

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: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:36 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"

> 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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> > nagdu at nfbnet.org
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> otmail.com
> >
>
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