[NAGDU] Looking for someone and a point to ponder

[Lisie Foster]

Dan, sorry that you didn't find who you were looking for at the convention!

Your experience with people giving you a hard time because you're deaf in one ear was eerily similar to how deafblind people are often treated by the Deaf community. I never realized that type of attitude was common among individuals who are blind, although I've long been aware of that attitude among many deaf people. It seems that a good portion of the Deaf community, as well as the blind community, don't have much patience for those of us with a dual vision/hearing sensory loss. What a shame!

Lisie and Finn 
lisiefoster at yahoo.com
Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 8, 2016, at 2:27 PM, Dan Weiner via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello, beautiful people.
> Dan here from Orlando.
> Just came back from convention and going through the post-convention blues,
> there was sso much activity and so on and now it's too quiet here--lol.
> And good job and kudos to our NAGDU leaders for the NAGDU meeting on
> Saturday.
> 
> Well I was trying to find someone but I couldn't, yes that's the story of
> our life--smile.
> A gentleman named Peter, not sure of last name, who has a black lab from
> Guide Dogs of America and speaks Russian, he sounded like an interesting guy
> and the trainer who was there from GDA, my school mentioned he was around
> but I couldn't find him.
> If anyone knows who it is please maybe ask him if he'd like to be in touch,
> my Email is:
> 
> dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
> 
> Skype:
> Danw9703
> 
> Also glad to hear from anyone else.
> 
> My only complaint and it's not about NAGDU, is that my fellow blind people
> weren't always that patient or helpful,  I can't hear out of the left ear
> and I can't localize sound for squat, and no matter how many times I would
> explain and ask for help, some people were pretty darned rude, I think as
> constructive criticism, as a momovement we need to realize there are all
> different types of blind people, some do better at some things, some do
> worse, some need help sometimes. actually everyone needs help sometimes.
> As one example:
> I asked a lady to point me or start me in the right direction for general
> session. She says "why aren't you listening, it's right there don't you hear
> it" then I went through my usual tiring spiel "I can only hear in one ear, I
> can't tell where sound is coming from, I'm sure you're busy ,b t could you
> help me".
> She said "well, but you can hear me, so what do you mean you can't hear."
> It was said rather nastily.  I felt like saying "actually my hearing only
> allows me to hear idiots that's why I hear you so well." but of course, I am
> actually for the most part pretty charming and friendly so I didn't, but
> this type of thing went on many many many many times, people questioning my
> mobility, people saying things like "why doesn't your dog find it",
> suggesting my o and m was off, suggesting that I should be hearing it,
> suggesting that I wasn't trying, saying things like they don't have
> time...of course the same people I'm sure would demand help when they need
> it.
> and there were people who had much worse hearing issues that I do...so this
> is just something to reflect on I believe.
> But it was a great experience and I look forward to living the life I want
> and participating actively in my affiliate as the year goes by.
> 
> Thee were many  warm  and helpful people too, so I would be remiss not
> mentioning that, but there was enough of the impatient, sarcastic, rude ones
> that I felt I should point it out. Why should I be talk to and made to feel
> less because of my hearing or that I need help?  I do a lot of things better
> than most people, speak multiple languages, traveled to a lot of countries,
> etc. what if I pointed that out every time someone said to me apologetically
> when we talked about languages. "I have trouble learning languages I don't
> know how you do it?"--lol"..
> 
> Warmest regards,
> Dan the man and his loyal hound
> 
> 
> 
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