[nfb-talk] So very proud

Tue Sep 27 15:41:01 UTC 2016

Well, I wouldn't blame Dining In the Dark for that. But, yeah, it's a 
problem. I was rude to someone just yesterday evening. I had stopped at 
the grocery store on the way home from work and was standing at the bus 
stop when a guy came up to me and asked if I was okay. I knew what he 
meant right away, of course. But why the f**k would some stranger think 
a blind guy standing at a bus stop needs help? I wasn't that rude. I 
just said, "Why would you think I'm not okay?" He gave some vague reply 
about not knowing what I was doing to wich I responded -- with the 
incredulity obvious in my voice, "I'm waiting for a bus!"  Then *he* got 
mad.

That is just so irritating.

After he left, I was a little angry at myself for not being more polite. 
But after rethinking it, I almost wish I had kicked his ass. I could see 
myself in front of a judge saying, "Your honor, you just have no idea 
what it's like."

[This is tongue-in-cheek, of course. I am the most non-violent person in 
the world. I'd never actually hit anybody. I'm just trying to convey how 
frustrating this is.]

On 09/26/2016 04:42 PM, Peter Donahue via nfb-talk wrote:
> Good afternoon John and everyone,
>
>     Then left the event and probably told a blind person needing 
> occasional hands on deck for reading mail and other tasks that they 
> had no business living alone, that their neighborhood was unsafe, and 
> they should live in assistive living facility. That happened to Mary 
> and I last week. The individual that told us this is a member of one 
> of the largest churches in San Antonio, 20,000 members including us to 
> be exact. I thought that these days the goal is to help those able to 
> live independently stay in their home. This church has more than 
> enough able-bodied members that could assist us with grocery shopping, 
> reading mail, etc. We offered to give some of them gas money for rides 
> too and from church so we could attend services regularly. All they 
> said was "Don't worry about it." Due to problems with public 
> transportation we ceased attending church regularly.
>
>     This particular church plans to establish what it calls its 
> Sanctuary of Hope. One of it's missions is to be an alternative to 
> Planned Parenthood which will assist unwed mothers with learning to 
> care for their babies when they're borne, finishing their education, 
> finding employment, and helping them get on their feet. Given their 
> attitude towards helping the blind members of their congragation God 
> help any unwed blind mothers who may seek help from the Sanctuary of 
> Hope when it begins operation unless this outfit has a serious change 
> of attitude! Here is a classic case of why the antics of outfits like 
> the Foundation for Fighting Blindness need to be stopped and 
> organizations like the NFB avoid engaging in similar activities. 
> Several Dining-in-the-Dark events were hosted by the Texas Affiliate 
> until a resolution was passed in 2011 condemning these events and 
> forbidding NFB affiliates from engaging in them. Mary and I were there 
> when the resolution was adopted.
>
> Peter Donahue
>
> John Heim via nfb-talk wrote:
>> I'm not surprised that the NFB has come out against this.
>>
>> It's kind of an odd choice by the FFB. I was once a waiter at an FFB 
>> Dining In the Dark event. That was a blast, by the way. I had a great 
>> time. I was going around making fun of the people at my table for not 
>> even being able to stuff food in their mouths. They took it really 
>> well and pretty soon they were all actually trying instead of being 
>> deliberately helpless. I went up to the guy who was most into it and 
>> pretended to pour him a glass of champaign, making a popping sound 
>> effect with my mouth. He played right along and the woman on the 
>> other side of him actually asked for a glass too.   It was hilarious 
>> and the whole night was just a blast.
>>
>>
>> Even so, I'm not sure I'd do it again. A couple of things bothered 
>> me. First, in the after party, a lot of people seemed to think I 
>> really was a waitor.  I'm like, "No, I manage the research computers 
>> for the math department at the University of Wisconsin. I'm just 
>> doing this to raise money for the FFB." Admittedly, it's a little 
>> egotistical for that to bother me. I was a little insulted to think 
>> that people didn't assume I had a real job. The second thing was that 
>> a hefty percentage of the people, even those at my table, remained 
>> unconvinced. I pointed out that with a little effort, they had 
>> figured out how to feed themselves and I had had no problems serving 
>> as their waitor. You get used to it, right? But they weren't really 
>> buying it. Maybe a little. I'm not sure I did any good. Hard to say.
>>
>>
>> Actually, this is a thing that has puzzled me for years. I have 
>> friends who still think being blind is absolutely horrible -- except 
>> for for me. When I point out that I am doing fine, better than they 
>> are in some cases, they don't think that is proof that being blind 
>> isn't so bad. They think I'm some kind of special case or something.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 09/26/2016 11:53 AM, Devin Prater via nfb-talk wrote:
>>> Oh yes, I was nicely surprised when the NFB stood against that.
>>>
>>> Devin Pratersent from Gmail.
>>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 11:49 AM, beth.wright--- via nfb-talk <
>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi, fellow listers.
>>>>
>>>> Just wanted to say how very proud I am of the NFB for taking a 
>>>> courageous
>>>> stand against this misguided blindfold challenge campaign by the 
>>>> Foundation
>>>> Fighting Blindness. I've been a Federationist for over forty years, 
>>>> been on
>>>> the PAC plan for a long time, and thus made a donation online. I 
>>>> encourage
>>>> others to do the same. Now is the time to stand up and be counted.
>>>>
>>>> Beth Wright
>>>>
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>>>>
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>>
>
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-- 
John Heim
john at johnheim.com