[Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
Toni King
tkk at samobile.net
Tue Sep 18 12:43:50 UTC 2012
Good Morning Mr. Hicks,
Thank you for explaining even more about all of this and yes I agree
with you about that flyer and would be the first to not support a DID
event that was not done well and with a positive approach and outlook
to educate, promote and benefit those that are visually impaired or blind.
Sincerely,
Toni
Original message:
> Hello All,
> I was a member of the Resolutions Committee that approved Resolution
> 2012-04, the Resolution pertaining to Dining in the Dark, which was later
> passed by the convention, in which some of us took part.
> It was controversial in the meeting, in the convention, and it remains so,
> now.
> When Peter Cerullo asked me how I felt about the Daytona Beach's chapter's
> taking part in the CVI's Dining in the Dark, I told him that I don't think
> that the CVI's event as I know it would violate NFB's national or NFBF state
> policies - before or after the passage of Resolution 2012-04. This
> resolution condemns Dining in the Dark "when it is conducted in a way that
> diminishes the innate normality and equal status of the blind in society." I
> don't think CVI would conduct the invent in such a negative manner.
> Some of the Dining in the Dark activities which have been conducted by
> various organizations - hopefully not our own chapters and affiliates - have
> not done the blind any good. The example that I gave Peter told of one DiD
> flyer which emphasized that all of the food was prepared by sighted persons
> working in well-lighted kitchens. This is not something we would want
> included in the promotional literature for any of our events.
> I believe that Dining in the Dark events, if properly planned, promoted, and
> carried out, can leave a positive impression of the capabilities of blind
> people in the minds of the sighted and the blind alike. I also believe that
> a majority of those voting for the resolution in Dallas would also agree
> with that idea. At least, that was how I interpreted what took place on that
> day.
> I would, however, be interested in knowing if anyone has an opposing view on
> this subject. Discussions like this are what this list is for.
> Thank you all.
> Dan Hicks, President
> NFB of Florida
> "It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars."
> -Garrison Keillor
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Lenora J. Marten
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 6:40 PM
> To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
> I think this is a subject that is going to generate some strong opinions and
> emotions all the way around, but just to give you all a little insight as to
> how NFB National came to writing and then passing this resolution.
> As Dr. Mauer read this resolution during general session, there were a lot
> of mixed opinions. It was very surprising to hear and really seemed like
> such a dramatic approach, to actually condemn the practice of Dining in the
> Dark. He did explain that the resolution came about as a result of several
> NFB members complaints concerning DID. A blind man in California attended
> one of these events as a diner and was told he couldn't enter the
> establishment with his cane, as it would give him an unfair advantage over
> the other 'sighted but blindfolded' diners. Also, in addition to the article
> in the Times that is mentioned in the resolution, he talked about another
> article written about DID titled "Dining in the Dark Helps You Appreciate
> Your Sight" in which a particularly disturbing statement "For those
> assembled, a half hour in the dark was a humbling, and bumbling, reminder of
> the magnitude of the gift of sight." And let me tell you, we were very
> surprised to find that this article came from our own state of Florida right
> from the Tampa Bay Times. The article was from a DID that happened in 2010
> hosted by Foundation Fighting Blindness. Below, you will find a link to the
> article and a copy/paste of the text.
> http://www.tampabay.com/features/events/dining-in-dark-helps-you-appreciate-
> your-sight/1078656
> ST. PETERSBURG
> You knew your plate had been set before you only by sense of smell. It
> smelled like beef, something braised and hearty. On your right a voice asked
> what you do for a living. You turned and lobbed an answer in that direction.
> Tuesday night was the Foundation Fighting Blindness's first Tampa Bay
> Dining in the Dark event at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club. More
> than 200 people, dressed fancy and sipping cocktails, took seats in the main
> ballroom and eventually donned something called a Mindfold face mask,
> impervious to light and lined with foam. The lights dimmed and as emcee Dick
> Crippen of the Tampa Bay Rays goaded the crowd, the group endeavored to
> enjoy "the first meal you will never see."
> Other senses were heightened, texture became paramount. But more
> important, it gave all of the assembled a greater window into the world of
> the sightless. Many had come because their lives had already been touched by
> degenerative retinal diseases. Briana Pompilus, 24, was there as a volunteer
> with her mother Veronica Floyd, 44, who was diagnosed with retinitis
> pigmentosa at age 22. Still driving now, eventually her vision will close up
> as if looking through two drinking straws.
> Mary Lou Johnson Evans was there for a similar reason. Her 14-year-old
> son, Josh, suffers from the same disease.
> One of the evening's speakers, April Lufriu, a former Mrs. Florida America
> pageant winner and president of the Tampa Bay area chapter of the
> foundation, spoke of her sister's retinal disease and, more haltingly, about
> her two children's recent diagnosis.
> Degenerative retinal diseases affect more than 10 million Americans. As
> keynote speaker James Minow described it, the foundation's aim is to put an
> end to retinal disease by replacing defective cells in the retina, replacing
> defective genes and by developing new treatments to protect degenerating
> retinas. The obstacle? As is so often the case, it's money.
> According to Kim Marlow, regional director of development for the
> foundation, the evening in St. Petersburg will raise $100,000 for the cause.
> The most successful Dining in the Dark event to date, in New York, raised
> $500,000 in a single evening.
> The evening's honorees, doctors James Gill and Stephen Klasko, were
> feverishly optimistic about conceivable cures for blindness. For those
> assembled, a half hour in the dark was a humbling, and bumbling, reminder of
> the magnitude of the gift of sight.
> Laura Reiley can be reached at lreiley at sptimes.com or (727) 892-2293.
> Lenora J. Marten
> NFB-Florida Secretary
> FOPBC President
> NFB-Jax Chapter Secretary
> bluegolfshoes at aol.com
> 904-777-5976 / 904-229-9554
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Patricia A. Lipovsky <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
> To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Mon, Sep 17, 2012 6:16 pm
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
> Well said Kathy. Looking forward to this event in October.
> Give MS Cloey a big hug for me.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kathy Davis" <kdavisnfbf at cfl.rr.com>
> To: "'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 2:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
>> Hello Everyone,
>> Let me begin by saying that I am the co-chair of a dining in the
>> dark fundraiser for the Center for the Visually impaired located here in
>> Daytona Beach Fl. I am totally blind and a founding member of this
>> wonderful
>> organization. We have never put on such an event so this will be our first
>> such activity.
>> I did not even know about the resolution that was passed at the
>> national convention this summer. I can see where some of the supporters
>> are
>> coming from; however I do not agree with the fact that dining in the dark
>> fundraisers are demeaning for the blind.
>> The first Dining in the Dark (DID) fundraiser I attended was
>> sponsored by Carolyn Lapp's rehabilitation agency, the Florida Outreach
>> Center, in West Palm Beach. It was most informative and fun too. Having
>> been asked to be a guest speaker, I was able to address the supporters by
>> sharing some of my accomplishments as a blind woman. I will not go in to
>> detail about all of that here because most of you are acquainted with me
>> since I served on the NFBF Board of Directors for many years and held the
>> position of President of the Florida Affiliate for two terms as well as
>> founding President of the Greater Daytona Beach Chapter. DID fundraisers
>> are
>> a marvelous opportunity just to give patrons a brief sense of what it is
>> like when someone loses their vision. The really neat thing is that blind
>> attendees are able to help out the sighted by serving them more iced tea
>> or
>> coffee, pouring salad dressing if they have not a clue how to do this and
>> the like. In addition, I will be a guest speaker at our own event
>> scheduled
>> for October 17 and there will be many other blind people in attendance.
>> There is great enthusiasm about our forthcoming DID event and I am certain
>> that it will be a huge success. Not only will we raise needed funds for
>> the
>> Center for the Visually Impaired but we will also do lots of educating
>> about
>> blindness. Naturally I will share with the audience that those of us who
>> are
>> blind have undergone specialized training plus simple life experiences to
>> become as competent as we are. They will understand that we can cook,
>> travel
>> independently most anywhere we wish, hold varying positions of employment,
>> and raise a family.
>> Thank you Patricia, Kathy and Toni for chiming in on this matter.
>> I'll be the first to let the list know how our Dining in the Dark
>> fundraiser
>> goes. Believe me, sighted attendees will leave the dinner having a new
>> respect for blind people!!
>> Sincerely,
>> Kathy Davis and new Seeing Eye Dog Chloe
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Mark Tardif
>> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 10:42 AM
>> To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
>> Hello, Lenora. I was one of the ones not aware of this resolution. I
>> think, however, that it is a good one. Obviously, promoters of this kind
>> of
>> activity have major stereotypes about blindness and the abilities of blind
>> people. For example, the idea that blind people cannot cook for large
>> numbers of people, and the idea that somehow blind people must have a hard
>> time with their table manners, because we cannot see when or if a piece of
>> food ends up on the table. I could go on and on. I think maybe the worst
>> of these misconceptions is that eating in darkness for the first time
>> ever,
>> is somehow like blindness for someone who has lived it for many years. In
>> fact, those of us who have been blind for many years no better. But the
>> worst thing by far, is these promoters, who probably have never talked
>> with
>> a real blind person, shamefully use this approach to get people to feel
>> sorry for blind people and therefore provide funds for their agencies.
>> That
>> is unethical and atrocious!!!
>> Mark Tardif
>> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Lenora J. Marten
>> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 5:58 AM
>> To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
>> Hey everyone,
>> For those who are not aware, NFB passed a resolution at National
>> Convention
>> in Dallas that condemns the
>> practice of Dining in the Dark.
>> You will find a copy/paste of the resolution below.
>> Resolution 2012-04
>> Regarding Dining in the Dark
>> WHEREAS, the real problem of blindness is not the loss of
>> eyesight but the widespread public misconception that the blind are not
>> equal to the sighted in society; and
>> WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind categorically
>> rejects the myth that the blind are not equal to the sighted; and
>> WHEREAS, programs of the National Federation of the Blind teach
>> and promote a positive understanding of blindness, that the blind are
>> normal
>> and equal members of society, and that blindness does not mean
>> inferiority;
>> and
>> WHEREAS, an activity known as "dining in the dark" is being
>> promoted and used to raise funds by having sighted people experience
>> blindness by eating in the dark; and
>> WHEREAS, an article published in Time magazine entitled "Dining
>> in the Dark" assures would-be diners that the cook "works in a well-lit
>> kitchen"; and
>> WHEREAS, the Dining in the Dark
>> website--www.dininginthedark.org--states: "you will pick from a specially
>> prepared menu (designed by a sighted local 'star' chef)" and "In darkness
>> everyone becomes equal. Our opinions can't be molded by dress, mannerisms,
>> or makeup as none of it can be seen. You learn that without sight your
>> other senses become more acute"; and
>> WHEREAS, these statements lay bare the underlying philosophy of
>> dining in the dark, that sight means superior ability, and that, when
>> sight
>> is removed in the dark, the blind and the sighted are equal: Now,
>> therefore,
>> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
>> Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of
>> Dallas,
>> Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore the use of dining in the
>> dark in a manner that diminishes the innate normality and equal status of
>> the blind in society; and
>> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization pursue an active
>> policy of opposition to dining in the dark activities and events,
>> including
>> use of media and public protests, whenever and wherever such activities
>> and
>> events exploit blindness and blind people based on a demeaning philosophy.
>> Lenora J. Marten
>> NFB-Florida Secretary
>> FOPBC President
>> NFB-Jax Chapter Secretary
>> bluegolfshoes at aol.com
>> 904-777-5976 / 904-229-9554
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