[nfb-talk] Question of Philosophy- fund raising

[David Andrews]

One sign of the progress I think we have made is now I am regularly 
propositioned for funds by sighted pan handlers.  Twenty or 30 years 
ago, this rarely happened.  In fact, I was walking in New York city's 
Port Authority bus terminal once, and brushed up against a sighted 
panhandler.  He saw my cane and apologized for horning in on my 
territory.  That was back in the 1970's.

Dave

At 10:54 PM 8/30/2010, you wrote:
>There are still sighted "pan handlers" asking strangers for money in the big
>cities.  It is actually a big problem that a blind person wouldn't see and
>which I wouldn't have known about unless my friends and family told about
>them.  (Sure, they are in the news, but people pass them commuting to work.)
>What one friend of mine said about the problem in NY is that rather than
>hand them cash, which he knew might go for drugs or alcohol, he would
>sometimes invite one to join him for a meal at McDonald's. Then he would get
>the know the person.
>Anyway, with all the support available nowadays, a blind person would be
>less likely to end up on the street than a sighted person with less
>identifiable problems.
>It's kind of funny -- in the condo where we lived in NC a few years ago,
>there were panhandlers lined up near the intersection nearby.  One of them
>came up to the car and asked for money (not a scary guy, just someone with a
>problem).  I gave him something for a meal.  So I had the white cane and he
>was taking the money.   Kind of a strange twist that is not unusual in this
>crazy society.
>--le
>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
>To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 9:53 PM
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Question of Philosophy- fund raising
>
>
>And I'd bet most Americans don't remember blind persons running newsstands,
>either. I remember!
>
>Mike
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Michael Bullis" <mabullis at hotmail.com>
>To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:35 AM
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Question of Philosophy- fund raising
>
>
> > One thing that occurs to me is that we're several generations in America
> > away from the 1930's when begging was seen as a large activity among blind
> > people.  The Randolph-Sheppard program was started as an alternative to
> > that
> > activity.
> > Most Americans have never seen blind people regularly begging as a part of
> > their community so don't necessarily equate blindness with begging.  Those
> > of us born in the 50's were still close enough to relate and certainly
> > there
> > is a strong flavor of blindness and begging in American and other
> > literature.
> >
> > So, it may be that those of us who are older are more sensitive than
> > younger
> > people about an image that has for the most part not been a part of our
> > culture for two or three generations.
> > I just read the annual publication by Beloit College on the mindset of the
> > students who are starting college today.
> > Perhaps one of them should be:
> > "for this generation blind people have never been beggars."
> > Mike Bullis
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> > Behalf Of Drenth, Joe
> > Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:10 AM
> > To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> > Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Question of Philosophy- fund raising
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > There are at least two reasons why someone would financially support a
> > cause or individual:
> >
> > 1. Pity -- The person or group is incapable of providing for
> > himself/herself/themselves.  Weakness, dependence, and inability to
> > survive without assistance are emphasized to invoke compassion and
> > possibly guilt.  This is begging.
> >
> > 2. Cooperation -- The cause represented by the person or group is a
> > worthy one, and contributions to further its programs is a way of
> > showing agreement with the work being done.  Financial support is given
> > to encourage those on the front lines and to further the reach of the
> > efforts.
> > Information about those who are directly helped through the financial
> > support can be provided as evidence of the good and just purposes of the
> > cause, such as statistics about children who are at risk of being
> > illiterate without proper Braille training.
> >
> > Setting up a table to raise funds could be done in such a way that it
> > leans in either one of these directions, but I think the second approach
> > more adequately matches the philosophy of the NFB.
> >
> >
> > Best regards.
> >

                         David Andrews:  dandrews at visi.com
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