[nagdu] Gratitude and low expectations WAS Re: The NFB got vote correct on ownership.

Sat Jul 11 17:49:47 UTC 2015

Buddy,

I have encountered that attitude towards our agency here, and I really 
don't get it. The taxpayers are in the same role as the donors to the 
guide dog schools, only more saint-like and long-suffering of how their 
generosity is abused by pathetic, whining, grasping blind people (you 
know how they are, sad sigh). The staff are wonderful people who 
sacrifice themselves for The Blind. This is accepted and not to be 
challenged by realities, such as the following:

1. It's a state agency, not a charity. It is established by law for a 
specific purpose, mainly providing vocational rehabilitation to blind 
people so the blind people can be more productive members of the culture 
and the tax base. It's not there to "help the blind."

2. The employees are paid by the state, which means they receive 
over-market compensation and benefits. In other words, they would not be 
paid as well in the private sector even in similar jobs. Based on what 
I've encountered in terms of work ethic, basic communication skills and 
general competency, the majority of them would not have comparable jobs 
in the private sector.

3. Blind people are taxpayers and therefore pay for the services the 
agency is supposed to provide, as well as the salaries and benefits (and 
non-allowed benefits to staffers the auditors keep turning up). The 
families and friends of the blind consumers also pay taxes. The point of 
VR is to enable the blind consumers to pay more taxes, directly and 
indirectly. This is especially true in an income tax state like Oregon. 
If I earn more, I pay more. The majority of the agency funding is 
federal, so I have been paying for the thing no matter where I lived my 
entire career. Even now, I pay hidden taxes and so continue to help fund 
the agency.

Therefore, blind people needn't be grateful. They need to expect that 
services will be provided according to law in a reasonable competent 
manner, since they are paying the people who are supposed to provide 
those services. That's my opinion, anyway, but I'm an especially 
obnoxious blind person with unreasonable expectations. /lol/

Oh, I almost forgot. The reason I have such unreasonable expectations -- 
say, that state employees earning $60k a year or more plus state 
benefits should be able to read, write and use e-mail with spell check 
-- is because I am in denial about being blind. Either that, or I want 
to be blind. It went back and forth when my case was still fresh enough 
I bothered to try to do something about it all. Mostly, though, I'm in 
denial about being blind. If I weren't, I would realize that I need to 
be grateful and also nice, which adds up to being grateful.

So perhaps that attitude of gratitude being ingrained along with the 
training and whatnot most blind people get through the agencies carries 
over to attitudes toward guide dog programs and other resources? After 
all, the programs are funded by honest-to-goodness charity and are 
considered charities themselves. And all of it to give blind people this 
wonderful thing they couldn't provide themselves because they live in 
darkness and isolation and ... Whatever. Never mind how the blind people 
are treated.

Never mind that in many cases, the "gift" is not. It is a loan. The 
donors give gifts, granting ownership of all that wonderful money to the 
programs for salaries and overhead and additional fundraising efforts 
and, oh, yeah, training dogs to loan to blind people who are expected to 
regard the dog as a gift. It seems that in many cases, the gratitude for 
the gift is to be directed to the people who are paid by the gift 
givers. Or should we call them the loan-backers? /lol/

I don't entirely understand the dynamic, and I mostly don't understand 
why it is so widely accepted. I think it is quite wonderful that enough 
people will donate enough money that so many programs can exist to train 
guide dogs for blind people they don't even know. I think it's great 
that the majority of the programs do such a good job of it so 
consistently. I've also seen the power dynamic abused enough to be 
horrified and to be more horrified that the person is truly expected to 
accept the abuse and even be grateful for that, as well. Um... If/when I 
ever do get a guide through a program, I will definitely be grateful for 
all the cost and effort that has gone into providing it. I'll probably 
get myself in a lot of trouble if I run into staffers who think my 
gratitude should include accepting being treated like a stupid child. 
Maybe I'll be lucky? /shrug/

Tami

On 07/10/2015 02:34 PM, Buddy Brannan via nagdu wrote:
> So,would you also opine that, since blind people don't privately pay for rehab training, say, from BISM, or an NFB center, or the Helen Keller Institute (whose name I probably got wrong), or the New York Lighthouse, low expectations are OK, because someone else is footing the bill, and we should just be grateful to get what we get? If not, why not, and what's the difference? Discuss.
>
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: 814-860-3194
> Mobile: 814-431-0962
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>
>
>
>
>> On Jul 10, 2015, at 5:09 PM, Howard J. Levine via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Please understand I don't what government or state paying for our guide dogs, in the united state there are more then one schools and we have choices where we go for a guide dog. What I was saying if want more control then be an owner trained guide dog, if you want can aford to pay some one to train a dog for you then you can and no one cantell you what you can do as long you don't brak any local or state laws. When you go to school and some one else is paying for guide dogs then you give up some fredom that is just way it is in life.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Leye-Shprintse Öberg via nagdu
>> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2015 3:44 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Cc: Leye-Shprintse Öberg
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] The NFB got vote correct on ownership.
>>
>> BS'D
>>
>> Howard,
>>
>> How would state (tax) funded guide dogs makes it more realistic with ownerships of the dogs for the handlers? (It's how I read your comment about statefunded vs. charity funded guide dogs anyway.)
>>
>> In Sweden, our guide dogs are financed by the government (taxes) and we've no ownerships; we've a disposal right to our dogs; and personally, I think it sucks.
>>
>> LeSholom,
>> Mlle Leye-Shprintse Öberg
>> Stockholm, Suède
>> leyeshprintse at ymail.com
>> http://www.leyeshprintse.com
>> Envoyé de mon iPad
>>
>>> Le 10 juil. 2015 à 15:13, Howard J. Levine via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> a écrit :
>>>
>>> Hi from Howard and guide dog Rhett, the NFB membership got it correct on the
>>> question of ownership by the school. In the united states we do not use
>>> public funds and the government does not provide guide dogs to blind. The
>>> schools use private funds and they answer to ones who give of there private
>>> funds. The ones who pay for our guide dogs call the shops, it cost lot of
>>> money to provide guide dogs. It cost about fifty thousand dollars to provide
>>> guide to blind person. There is no free lunches in world when you get
>>> something for free or little to no cost you give something up. If blind
>>> people want respect then we need to come another way to fund cost of guide
>>> dog teams in this country or just pull out your check book and pay for guide
>>> dog if you want owner ship that how simple it is. Just look at what is going
>>> on in Greece you can't have cake and eat it. Just look at our health care
>>> system when it is free to all then you just get crap. I don't care if I
>>> don't own my guide dog I am happy that there are others who are willing to
>>> pay and lay out large anounts money so I can have guide dog. Where would we
>>> be if there would not be others willing to give funds so  we could have
>>> guide dogs free or little cost.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---
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