[nagdu] Signed up by family?

melissa R green graduate56 at juno.com
Mon Jun 22 23:49:45 UTC 2015


What a wonderful post.  I
completely agree with you.  I
had someone believe that Pj
feeds me.  Which I thought was
ridiculous and not true.  But
it supports the myth that
guide dogs take care of their
owners.  This is very
patronizing and condescending.
Of course we wouldn't get any
kind of followup on this
story.  We will just get the
gooey feel good story.  We
will not hear if the dog goes
back to the school.  If the
couple divorces.  Nothing like
that at all.  Thanks for your
thoughts Julie.  I find them
to be right on.  

Have a blessed day.
Best regards,
Melissa R Green and Pj
Love is being committed with
out a guarantee.


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of Julie
McGinnity via nagdu
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015
12:39 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users
Cc: Julie McGinnity
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Signed up
by family?

Hi Tracy and all,

I have a lot of thoughts on
this.  I think that PR like
this does a lot more harm than
good.  Here's why:

1. It promotes the idea that
guide dogs are miracles or
magical: I love the bond, the
way I walk with a dog, but at
the end of the day, he is a
dog who loves to work, and we
are a team.  We had to work
hard to get where we are, and
using a dog still isn't
perfect.  Yes, getting a guide
dog can change your life, but
is it miraculous, the being
that will solve all of your
problems as a blind person?
No.  I don't think so.

2. The blind person is
patronized: This should be
obvious, but in order to make
themselves look good, the
schools make us seem helpless
without their services.  In
addition, in this case, the
blind person is made to seem
as though he didn't even make
a decision on the matter.

3. Guides are portrayed as
rights rather than privileges:
Not every person should work a
guide dog.  Not every person
would benefit from one, and
some people are denied dogs
because of poor mobility
skills or other reasons.  What
happened to the blind person
working hard on their cane
skills to go to guide dog
school?  For something that
comes with so much
responsibility, getting a dog
surely seems like a simple
process.

4. They support the myth that
blind people must have guide
dogs to
travel: This is similar to
number two, but now I direct
your attention to the society
at large.  Cane users are
asked why they don't have
dogs, treated differently, and
there are blind people who
resent guide dog users.  I
believe that this kind of PR
leads to this behavior.
Blind people buy into the idea
that they can't without their
dog, and boom!  Resentment
from other blind people who
choose not to use a dog and a
misinformed public.

I should also add that there
are other factors that
influence these things,
especially the notions of the
public.  These are just some
ideas I've had.


On 6/19/15, Tracy Carcione via
nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> Hi Minh.
> I respectfully disagree, but
perhaps the loved ones we each
have in 
> mind are different.  I think
my husband would benefit from
having a 
> guide dog, and I think he'd
do well with one, but he says
he's not 
> interested.  Trying to nudge
him along would just annoy him
and make 
> him dig in his heels.  The
most I can do is point out
ways my dog 
> helps me, or ways it would
help in some situation, and
even that I'd 
> better not keep harping on.
I strongly believe it's a
choice a person 
> has to make himself.  Family
and friends can advise and
encourage, but 
> that's it.
>
> The GDB newsletter is PR,
and I'm sure it's not entirely
accurate, but 
> I think we have every right
to expect even PR to treat us
as 
> intelligent adults who can
and do make decisions for
ourselves. I 
> understand that a school
might feel some sloppiness is
needed, but 
> they can go too far, and
then we should speak up, or at
least point it out.  JMO.
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of minh ha via 
> nagdu
> Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015
12:06 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users
> Cc: minh ha
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Signed
up by family?
>
> The GDB newsletter is a
promotional email that they
send out to 
> everyone, so obviously some
details are blurred a little
bit. I don't 
> think I've ever seen
marketing material from any
guide dog school that 
> truly portrays the guide dog
process accurately or
adequately. What 
> probably happened was they
discussed it, but he needed
some extra 
> pushing from his wife. And
personally, as someone who is
in a long and 
> committed relationship, I
would do the exact same thing
if I whole 
> heartedly believe that the
person that I love truly
needed a guide 
> dog, but was too afraid to
do so himself.
>
> Maybe it's a different
process for those who lose
vision later on in life.
> The adjustment period can
last a really really long time
and some 
> blind people just require
that extra nudge to get them
going again.
>
> Minh
>
> On 6/19/15, Lisa via nagdu
<nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Tracy,
>>
>> I completely agree with
you. Of course it's great when
others 
>> encourage a person to
consider getting a guide dog.
But it's just 
>> the same as getting someone
a puppy for Christmas, only
even worse. 
>> It's meant as a nice gift
or
>>
>> idea but it's not
thoughtful.
>>
>> You have to be 100% sure
that you would like to share
your life with 
>> a guide
>>
>> dog. There's so much you
have to learn and plan. In the
beginning, 
>> there are
>>
>> so many things that can be
challenging and exhausting
while becoming 
>> a
> team.
>>
>> As everyone on here knows,
it's not like getting somebody
a cane. You 
>> have to be willing to get
up in the middle of the night
when doggy 
>> has got diarrhea because
he's eaten something wrong.
That's just one 
>> single example,
>>
>> I could probably think of
100 others.
>> The decision to apply for a
guide dog has to come from
yourself 
>> because you
>>
>> will be the one responsible
for your guide.
>>
>> Well, of course we don't
know whether the wife and
husband had been 
>> talking
>>
>> about the possibility of
getting a guide dog before.
Maybe the 
>> husband knew
>>
>> about his wife signing him
up and it's just a nice story
for the 
>> public. But
>>
>> if not,I think it's
irresponsible and I don't see
why a guide dog 
>> program would want other
people to sign their relatives
and friends 
>> up because it's
>>
>> likely they're facing a lot
of difficulties then.
>>
>> Just my humble and
spontaneous opinion :-)
>>
>> Lisa
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message
-----
>> From: "Tracy Carcione via
nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> To: "'NAGDU Mailing
List,the National Association
of Guide Dog Users'"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: "Tracy Carcione"
<carcione at access.net>
>> Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015
5:25 PM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Signed up
by family?
>>
>>
>>>I just got the GDB
newsletter for the general
public, and there's a 
>>>bit I  think is odd or
over-the-top or patronizing,
really.
>>>
>>> So-and-so suddenly lost
his sight, and found ways to
go on for 
>>> years, but felt something
was missing.  Then "his wife
stepped in 
>>> and signed him up for a
guide dog, and, before he knew
it, he was at 
>>> GDB, being matched with
his new partner."
>>>
>>> Really?  I've sometimes
wished I could "sign someone
up" for a guide 
>>> dog, but it takes a real
commitment from the person to
get through 
>>> the training and the first
few months of adjustment, at
least.  It's 
>>> not a decision someone
else could take for me, or me
for someone 
>>> else.
>>>
>>> When my brother fell down
a manhole using his cane, my
mother did 
>>> sit him down and tell him
he should get a guide dog,
like his 
>>> sister.  He decided
>>>
>>> it
>>> was good advice, and has
been happy with the decision,
but, if he'd 
>>> decided otherwise, there
wouldn't be a darn thing
anyone could have 
>>> done about it, even if
they'd wanted to try.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The GDB piece just seemed
weird to me.  Why would they
even want to 
>>> encourage someone to sign
up someone else?  What makes
them think I 
>>> have a keeper, who can
make life-changing decisions
for me?
>>>
>>> Has anyone actually heard
of such a thing happening?
>>>
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Minh Ha
> Boston College | Lynch
School of Education '16
minh.ha927 at gmail.com
>
> "All men dream, but not
equally. Those who dream by
night in the dusty 
> recesses of their minds,
wake in the day to find that
it was vanity:
> but the dreamers of the day
are dangerous men, for they
may act on 
> their dreams with open eyes,
to make them possible." T. E.
Lawrence
>
>
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--
Julie McGinnity
National Federation of the
Blind of Missouri second vice
president, National Federation
of the Blind performing arts
division secretary, Missouri
Association of Guide dog Users
President graduate, Guiding
Eyes for the Blind 2008, 2014
"For we walk by faith, not by
sight"
2 Cor. 7

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