[nfb-talk] So very proud

kaye zimpher kaye.j.zimpher at gmail.com
Tue Sep 27 22:56:30 UTC 2016


I wonder if anyone has ever thought of writing a collection of stories about 
matters such as this. I have had some funny things happen to me as I am sure 
many have. I've had bad things happen too, but perhaps those accounts if 
told or written would educate some, humor others and even make some who are 
newly blind not feel so alone.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Heim via nfb-talk" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "John Heim" <john at johnheim.net>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] So very proud


> 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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>>>>> d.t.prater%40gmail.com
>>>>>
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>>
>>
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>
> -- 
> John Heim
> john at johnheim.com
>
>
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