[nagdu] Signed up by family?

Tue Jun 23 00:52:39 UTC 2015

Thanks Shannon and Melissa,

I think the guide dog schools have something that will get them
donations, something that the blindness organizations don't have: cute
puppies!  :)

I don't know if any of you have family members who "must donate" after
seeing the puppy pictures, but I see my mother do this all the time.
Why they need to embellish stories about a wife pressuring a husband
to get a dog, I don't know.

On 6/22/15, melissa R green via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 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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>>>> y
>>>> ahoo.de
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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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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-- 
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