[Nfb-editors] article feedback

Tue May 3 14:59:54 UTC 2011

Chris, great article.   I think it's not the blindfold, though, but the 
attitude.   I spent some time at NFB under blindfold, baking brownies (a 
challenge) but because I knew it could be done, the brownies got baked.   
Sometimes I had to ask for help, at least once I had to invent a new technique (For 
one teaspoon of vanilla, use a teaspoon medicine dropper with rubber bulb), 
and at various times I had to stop a "sighted" person from "helping" me.   
Lori
In a message dated 5/2/11 5:27:43 PM, newmanrl at cox.net writes:

> 
> From: nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Chris Kuell
> Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 2:07 PM
> To: Correspondence Committee Mailing List
> Subject: [Nfb-editors] article feedback
> 
> Hello, editors. Below is an article I drafted a week ago for our state
> newsletter. While I stand by every word, my gut is warning me that it may 
> be
> too harsh, too judgemental. Any thoughts? All comments, suggestions,
> criticisms are welcome.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> chris
> 
> 
> Blindfolded
> 
> By   Ira Tating
> 
> 
> You know what I hate? Granted, hate might be too strong a word, and my
> mother did warn me dozens of times never to use it, but 'dislike' or 'find
> irritating' or 'have an aversion to' just aren't powerful enough to convey
> how I feel about the following situation. You are at a place, and the time
> is perfect for a teaching opportunity. Maybe it's talking to a group of
> fourth graders, or a troop of boy scouts, or as happened with me recently,
> waiting to testify before the Appropriations Committee of the state's
> General Assembly. A well-meaning blind person uses this opportunity to
> influence the public by saying something like-I challenge you to wear a
> blindfold for 24 hours. Go ahead-I dare you. Put yourselves in our shoes 
> and
> see what it's like to be blind, the challenges we face every single day, 
> and
> so on.
> 
> We've all heard it done, maybe even done it ourselves. The speaker wants 
> the
> listeners to appreciate what their life is like, to simulate blindness 
> even
> if only for a few minutes, and gain the listener's sympathy. And it drives
> me nuts. Because while you may get their sympathy, what you are really 
> going
> for, either consciously or subconsciously, is their pity. It is painfully
> revealing about the speakers attitude and acceptance of their vision loss.
> Whenever I hear the "wear a blindfold" speech, I think to myself-there's a
> person that's really saying, "Poor, pitiful, blind me. Feel sorry for me."
> 
> My reaction at this point is two-fold. First and foremost, it's a lie. Of
> course putting on a blindfold will make life difficult for a sighted 
> person,
> just like taking away any sense would. But it's not a realistic portrayal 
> of
> blindness. Very few people are struck instantly blind, and even when it
> happens, they can change their life paradigm and learn the skills that all
> successful blind people have. They can learn how to travel independently
> with a cane, to read Braille, to use technology, to do all the things they
> used to do but in new ways. Obviously that doesn't happen within the first
> 24 hours-it takes time, practice and persistence.
> 
> The truth is, blindness is not a tragedy, and no pity is required or even
> desired. I know I sound like a broken record at times (do people even know
> what those are anymore? Maybe I should say a CD with a dust particle on 
> it)
> but I know that with proper training, a positive attitude, and equal
> opportunity, nothing can get in the way of what a blind person can 
> achieve.
> 
> Which brings me to the second reason I cringe when somebody talks about a
> blindfold. It is always done as a teaching tool, at what I think of as a
> learning moment, when the speaker has that rare opportunity to change the
> misconceptions held by the sighted public. When they could be saying that
> blind people can do anything, that we know blind doctors and lawyers and
> artists and computer programmers and teachers and trainers and scientists
> and writers, that blind people travel independently all over the world, 
> have
> families, do volunteer work and contribute to their communities-they 
> choose
> instead to say "It's so-o-o hard being blind. Pity me."
> 
> There are two major obstacles which face every blind person. The first is
> themselves-their attitude, their life philosophy, their determination and
> belief in what they can accomplish. The second is the sighted public who
> hasn't had positive interactions with a blind person before, and holds the
> common misconceptions that to be blind is equivalent to being completely
> helpless, lost, less capable than a child. Pitiful.
> 
> The first obstacle is best addressed by spending time with capable,
> competent blind people like those in the NFB. Learn from the things they 
> say
> and do, and push yourself to reach further. With each success, you will 
> gain
> confidence and start to believe.
> 
> Changing society's misconceptions is far more daunting. The only way to
> accomplish this is to take advantage of those teaching moments when they
> come your way. Throw away that useless blindfold and reach out with your
> cane. Put out your hand proudly and teach the truth about blindness. Make
> the listener rethink everything that movies and books and cartoons and
> comedians have impressed on them regarding blind people. Only then can we
> affect the change we want in the world.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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