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

Mark J. Cadigan kramc11 at gmail.com
Thu Mar 11 19:47:48 UTC 2010


Well, go look at the homepage. It is http://www.darkdiningprojects.com/ it 
is interesting. I don't think it mentions anything about the blind in any 
manner that could be considered derogatory.





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"


> 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
>> > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
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>> otmail.com
>> >
>>
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