[nagdu] understanding vs. respect

[Margo and Arrow]

Julie, Buddy, ditto!

I will educate sometimes but I'm over constantly doing that.  and you know 
why?  Because most people want to keep their ridiculous, humiliating, 
destructive stereotypes and perceptions alive.

I was talking with a friend of mine about my interactions with some folks 
and how those interactions were all wrong somehow.  She said that she 
believes, and I believe it now, that because we are blind, we have less 
sight or no sight, that people on a gut level perceive us as not having 
credibility or as much credibility.  they'd deny it in a minute.  We have 
this less of a credibility because if we don't have sight, surely our world 
view is limited.

to bring this back to guide dogs . . .  People are always trying to tell me 
what to do with my dog, and I am a good dog handler, and I just finally 
sweetly tell them I wasn't aware the person is a guide dog instructor or 
handler and if they person is, in fact, a qualified guide dog instructor, I 
look forward to hearing them on the next Seeing Eye or other guide dog 
school's newsletter.

But, yes, respect is the bottom line and believing in us and our credibility 
is a bottom line.

I have heard or rather over heard folks say that I must be living in a 
fantasy world because of all the things I say I do  They can't et their 
heads around the fact that blind folks get off our butts with our canes or 
guide dogs and go about life doing all kinds of things.

Also, I think that people project onto us their fear of becoming blind, of 
being what they perceive as becoming blind and beling abnormal.

Respect:  that's it all the way.

People need to respect us, mind their own business.

Oh, another thing I've done sometimes is to ask people if the question 
they're asking me is the same one they'd ask a sighted person.  I'll ask my 
question in an open-ended way, for example, "In this situation, what 
question would you ask a sighted person?"  they stammer and stutter very 
often, and it's clear that the same question would not be asked of a sighted 
person.

Margo and Arrow
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2012 11:33 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] understanding vs. respect


> Julie,
>
> Right on, right on, right on! I'm sure some of my fellow blind folk will 
> take issue with this, but I'm so over educating the public. Look what good 
> it's done for us, your conference coordinator being a shining example. 
> Darn it all, we don't need education. While ignorance is curable, there's 
> plenty of education to be had, should people care to have it, and it 
> doesn't have to come from me. It's time that we quit with this belief that 
> our lot in life is to be the ambassador for every stink in blind person 
> out there and by god just live our lives and do our things. But it's also 
> time that we demand the respect due us as human beings.
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>
>
>
> On Jul 7, 2012, at 8:08 AM, "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> I wrote a bit about this a couple of weeks ago, but I've been thinking 
>> more on the topic ...I know scary!  LOL  Anyway I attended this diversity 
>> training seminar last spring.  It was a part of a larger training event 
>> on drug/alcohol prevention and not something I would have attended 
>> separately.  anyway the presenter talked about education and 
>> understanding different cultures and whatnot.  There was a lot of 
>> emphasis on what she called cultural competency, which I took to mean 
>> being educated about various cultures.
>>
>> the whole time I'm sitting there listening to this presentation I'm 
>> thinking about the conversation we had about my hotel reservations.  This 
>> particular presenter was the coordinator for the conference.  She made 
>> the hotel reservations for many of the attendees because the sponsoring 
>> agency was covering the hotel.  It's much easier to do the paperwork that 
>> way.  Anyway she knows I'm blind and that I have Monty.  she also knows I 
>> can walk up and down stairs and whatnot.  Still she informed the hotel 
>> that I needed a first floor room and that I'd be accompanied by a guide 
>> dog.  she also assured the hotel that I'd be no problem that I was quite 
>> independent.  I have no words to express my feelings about this 
>> statement.  Unimpressed is about the nicest thing I can say.
>>
>> So back to diversity training...she's talking about understanding and 
>> education and how important it is to know all about other people of 
>> various cultures, races, disabilities etc.  Immediately after this 
>> lecture we have a break where no less than three people come up to me to 
>> ask inappropriate questions or to pet Monty without asking.  Honestly I'm 
>> not opposed to answering questions, but when I'm engaged in a different 
>> conversation and you interrupt to ask how much I can see, well it's just 
>> rude.  It was at that moment that I realized that I don't give a crap 
>> about education or understanding or cultural competency or whatever you 
>> want to call it.  Sure if people understood, I mean really got it, about 
>> blindness that would be grand.  I don't need that though.  What I really, 
>> really want is respect.
>>
>> What do you all think?
>> Julie
>>
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>
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