[Nfbf-l] Yes, We still have a lot to do in the way of educating the Public
Alan Dicey
adicey at bellsouth.net
Thu Apr 3 16:31:35 UTC 2014
Dear Friends,
I thought this message worth sharing with you, as I know this happens to all
of us!
Hey, remind me to tell you the time I was standing in front of an Ace
Hardware store I had to go to, to get a plumbing fixture, replacing our
kitchen faucet.
I was waiting for my paratransit ride, and a lady came up to me and put a
$10 bill in my hand!
Whoa!!
As soon as I realized what happened I called to her, "Mam I really do not
need this, but she was gone!
Did I look pathetic or something?
I always dress very nice, clean shaven, nice hair cut, some say I am a good
looking clean cut looking, well Middle age gentleman, so I just don't get
it! Could it have been the White Cane I was holding?
The message I wish to share with you:
Message from the Executive Director of the NFB
Dear Friends,
One of the tremendous benefits of working on behalf of a national
organization is the opportunity for a diverse array of experiences while
traveling around country to learn what blind people are doing in local
communities. In the past month I had the opportunity to be in Louisiana and
Missouri, spending time with members of the National Federation of the
Blind. It is always interesting to witness how different the reaction can be
to a blind man traveling independently and going through life like anyone
else.
On Sunday night I returned to Baltimore from my latest trip. I was happy to
be back, so I hustled from the plane through the A terminal at Baltimore
Washington International Airport to the curb where I was to meet the ride I
had arranged. I had been standing on the curb in my suit, simply waiting for
my ride for about five minutes, when a woman suddenly ran up to me. It was
9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and she was the loudest thing around as the
airport was fairly quiet. She informed me that I was standing on the curb
and that I should step away so I would not fall off. I told her that I
thought the curb seemed unlikely to give way, that I was certainly aware of
where I was standing, and that I was simply waiting for my ride. She
continued to insist that I step away from the curb because I was likely to
fall off.
Contrast this with yesterday afternoon when my wife Melissa-who is also
blind-and I went to enjoy opening day of baseball season at Oriole Park at
Camden Yards. We traveled with our long white canes among the more than
forty-six thousand fans, found concessions and our seats, and enjoyed the
game with the crowd. Not once did someone worry we would suddenly fall out
of the stands. Instead, the fact that we happened to be blind almost never
came up, and when we asked questions to get directions we were always met
with clear answers. It got me thinking about what the difference might be in
these situations. Was it that there were two of us-does one blind person
look helpless and lonely, and two look confident and supported? Was it that
among forty-six thousand people there was no one that had low expectations
for blind people? Or is this simply an expression that in some ways we have
made significant progress, but that there are still members of the public
who do not yet know that blind people have developed the tools and
techniques to live the lives we want and pursue our dreams with ambition.
In my travels, I meet blind people who are just coming to learn that they
are not likely to simply tumble off a curb by standing on it, and that they
can travel in a crowd of thousands confidently and independently. In the NFB
we teach each other that blindness is not the tragedy that some might think
and that we can learn to participate fully in all aspects of our society.
The fact that members of the general public still run up to us and express
low expectations for us is evidence that we have more work to do, and why
our organization provides something different to blind people. Whether you
are at the airport or attending a baseball game, I hope you take an
opportunity to teach people about the work of the National Federation of the
Blind and invite them to support our work.
Thank you for all you do,
Mark A. Riccobono, Executive Director
NFB Jernigan Institute
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