[NAGDU] Standing out

[Julie McGinnity]

Hi Ashley,

It's funny that you bring up what things will be like.  I have been
doing some reading lately about the treatment blind people received by
airlines in the 1980s.  President Jernigan said that by 2009 those
troubles with airlines would be in the past.  And they are for the
most part.  The law is now on our side, and we don't hear as many
stories of people being asked to give up their canes or move seats
because of a dog.

The world is designed for sighted people.  They are a majority.  The
thing is...  That doesn't make us less capable of living in the world,
and that's the misconception out there.  We live less because we are
blind.  We all know this is not true, but we are still (in 2016)
convincing society of this reality.

My dog is lovely, but I have an outgoing, hopefully friendly
personality.  I will stand out because I am a slightly quirky
performer type.  :)  If people can't get past my dog to see that, then
really...  they aren't using their eyes!

On 5/27/16, Ashley Coleman via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi all,
> Yes, we will all stand out whether we use a cane or a dog. The world thinks
> that people who are blind are different because we do not meet  their
> perceptions of who a blind or disabled person is.
> What we can do though is keep educating others and using the methods we are
> most comfortable with. For me that will always be a dog; but for others,
> that will be a cane.
> I saw an article that says by the year of 2050 the number of blind people
> will grow substantially. I'm not sure of the exact numbers though.
> If we were to go back and look at how things were 10 or 25 years ago, we
> would see how differently things are today. So what about the future? What
> if we were to go into the future 25 years?
> Just some thoughts I had on the recent conversation.
>
> Ashley
>
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-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7