[nagdu] NFB philosophy and guide dogs

melissa R green graduate56 at juno.com
Wed Sep 9 00:20:31 UTC 2015


Very well thought out and said
Julie M.  you nailed it.  I
have to say that like you I
didn't know much about guide
dog laws and or the ADA.  Also
there isn't much in the ADA
that really helps blind
People.  If we look at the law
carefully.  I also believe
that many times people have
used the law and it makes it
hard for those of us who use
it correctly.  That is what
happened to me yesterday on my
way home from a visit to
colorado springs.  It's a very
long story.  But I was able to
state my case and did get on
the shuttle.  I intend to file
a complaint after I make sure
to have my research done.  

Warmly,
Melissa R. Green and Pj
It is 'where we are' that
should make all the
difference, whether we believe
we belong there or not. 


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of Julie
McGinnity via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, September 03,
2015 1:42 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users
Cc: Julie McGinnity
Subject: [nagdu] NFB
philosophy and guide dogs

Hi all,

This is a spin-off of the
guide dogs and training center
discussion.
I want to give you my take on
NFB philosophy and guide
dogs-how it
intersects and why it has been
problematic in the past.  Keep
in mind
that I am only 25 years old,
so some of you may think I'm
crazy.  My
suppositions are based on
research, the perspectives of
friends, as
well as my own experiences.

When I joined the NFB five
years ago, I was sold the
first time I
walked into the convention
hotel, and I never looked
back.  The
speeches, the friends, and the
progress all hooked me
instantly.  But
it was NAGDU that encouraged
me the most to join.  Here was
a group of
people who were guide dog
users, who knew their rights,
and were proud
of it.  I am embarrassed to
say that until I joined, I
knew little
more than the basics of ADA
not to mention the other laws
that pertain
to guide dog use.

I have never thought that NFB
philosophy contradicted the
use of a
guide dog.  Federationists
believe that it is ok to be
blind.  Low
expectations, misconceptions,
and negative attitudes of the
blind are
what hold us back.  Now our
tagline states that we can
live the lives
we want.

These words are presented in a
number of contexts.  At their
core
they embody how we choose to
live as people who just happen
to be
blind.  Part of living the
lives we want is working with
a guide dog,
and part of dealing with the
misconceptions and negative
attitudes of
the public is knowing our
rights and standing firmly to
uphold the
law.  We have earned the right
to work with our dogs, so we
must also
shoulder the responsibility of
combatting the public's
attitudes,
disrespect, and disobedience
of the law.  In other words,
we do not
let these things hold us back.

Let's look at another angle.
If we consider society's
attitudes
towards guide dogs more
closely, we may find some
misconceptions that
are transfered from them to us
(the blind).  How about the
idea that
our dogs know where everything
is and can simply take us
there without
any navigation necessary on
our part?  That relates to the
idea that
our dogs take care of us.  How
about the teachers and parents
who
strongly encourage their young
blind people to get a guide
dog as soon
as possible?  Maybe that
happens less now than it used
to, but I still
hear about it.  It is as if
the guide dog is the magical
solution that
will solve that pesky
blindness problem and
normalize us.

The most damning concept that
contradicts the views many
federationists hold about
blindness link the guide dog
to
independence.  Guide dog
schools, the public, and as a
result the
blind tend to believe that
guide dog users are more
independent.  But
think about what I wrote
above.  The blind are not more
independent by
our own merit; no, the
independence came to us upon
transference of
that leash.  That dog by our
side gives us the independence
we
couldn't find anywhere else.
And that is the misconception
that
directly opposes NFB
philosophy.  The claim that
our dogs are our
independence, make it ok for
us to be blind, or are in any
other way
elivated from the status of a
tool (albeit a living, beloved
tool)
damages the public's as well
as our own perception of the
blind.

NFB philosophy does not
mention one single tool or one
narrow method
for living the lives we want.
But it does refer to societal
attitudes
obstructing our paths.
Perhaps those attitudes have
effected us as
well both personally and as an
organization.  I think we
should
examine them and prepare
ourselves to deal with these
issues if we
truly wish to experience the
full use of our guide dogs at
training
centers.


-- 
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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