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

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Mon Mar 15 16:41:07 UTC 2010


Very nice.  I am glad Ms. Reiley is interested in learning more and is
discussing the deeper issues you and Cheryl and others have brought to her
attention.  That willingness to admit one can learn more, and the
willingness to make the effort to learn it, is much too rare when it comes
to something like blindness.  I love to see it!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Marion Gwizdala
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:47 PM
To: NFB Chapter presidents; blindtlk at nfbnet.org; NAGDU List
Subject: [nagdu] Fw: Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"

Dear All,
    I sent my Letter to the Editor to the reporter, Laura Reiley, as well,
and received a response from her. I am forwarding my reply to her response
for you to read.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala





Laura,
    I appreciate your response to my concerns about the article, Awareness
Was the Main Course". Even though it was not your intention to perpetuate
the myths and stereotypes about blindness, I do not believe the same is true
about the Foundation Fighting Blindness. I have brought these concerns to
them and other organizations who intentionally exploit the blind and public
misconceptions about us in the interest of generating revenue.
Unfortunately, they have chosen to ignore these concerns in their own
selfish interests. 
    It is my sincere hope that the St. Petersburg Times will utilize the
resources of the National Federation of the Blind and the National
Association of Guide Dog Users when reporting on issues that affect us as
blind people. All too often the media does not empower us to speak for
ourselves; rather, they accept the assertions of those whose purpose is to
serve us. Even if such agencies have blind people speaking for them, it is
our belief that only those who have been duly elected by the blind have the
authority to speak on behalf of the blind. Otherwise, the only interest
served is that of the agency, not that of the blind community.
    I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you in the future.
Please retain my contact information and share it with your colleagues.

Sincerely yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the Blind
813-598-7161
President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
HTTP://NFB-NAGDU.ORG



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: LReiley at sptimes.com 
  To: Marion Gwizdala 
  Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 3:25 PM
  Subject: Re: Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark"



  Ms. Gwizdala, 

  I appreciate your letter and am chastened that my reporting on the event,
in your opinion, served to reinforce stereotypes about the blind. It
certainly wasn't my intention to perpetuate any myths. As the restaurant
critic for the paper, I did indeed feel that the experience of eating a meal
without the benefit of sight made certain elements (such as smell and
texture) more important. For example, our shortrib entree had roasted
potatoes, tiny zucchini and a roasted tomato, the squishy texture of which
was quite a shock when unexpected.  I was certainly not saying that blind
people are "bumbling." What I said was that we, as sighted people
temporarily deprived of our vision, were bumbling. 

  Thank you for taking the time to write, 

  Laura Reiley
  Food Critic
  St. Petersburg Times
  490 First Ave. S.
  St. Petersburg, FL 33701
  (727) 892-2293
  Blog: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/dining 


        Marion Gwizdala <blind411 at verizon.net> 
        03/11/2010 01:45 PM Please respond to
              "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net> 


       To <lreiley at sptimes.com>  
              cc  
              Subject Letter to the Editor Concerning "Dining in the Dark" 

              

       



  Dear Ms. Reiley, 
      I am sending you this letter I wrote to your editor for your
information. 
    
  Sincerely yours, 
  Marion Gwizdala, President
  National Association of Guide Dog Users
  National Federation of the Blind
  813-598-7161
  President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
  HTTP://NFB-NAGDU.ORG 
    
  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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