[Nfbf-l] [NFBF-l] Letter Opposing Dining in the Dark

Sat Oct 13 03:45:45 UTC 2018

Kathy Davis would never host a dinner that used words or videos that would portray blind people as victims or helpless. I am certain that after the dinner,  it is made clear that blind people with proper training and opportunities are able to lead independent lives using alternative techniques. I also do not see myself as a victim, I am a woman who is blind and African American. I attended college, taught school and worked for local government. Today I volunteer in my church, on our TD Board, and with the League of Women Voters. I also helped to create our county Disability Advisory Board, along with my NFB work. I also live with several health challenges. With God by my side, and my faith I have a wonderful life with supportive family and friends. Education, training and the NFB all have helped to make this possible. 

I think that Fundraising Dinners for the purpose of supporting programs for blind people can be effective if done well, emphasizing the abilities of people living with blindness and the importance of good training programs that will enable blind people to live the life they want to live. 
Sincerely,  

Marilyn Baldwin 

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 12, 2018, at 6:18 PM, Roanna Bacchus via Nfbf-l <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Kathy thanks for your message. I am also an opposition of these events. There are also things that I wish I could do such as seeing my mom and dad's faces, and seeing the looks on my sisters faces when they open their presents on Christmas morning. I think these events should be cancelled.
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On Oct 11, 2018, at 3:48 PM, Kathy Davis via Nfbf-l <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Beautifully stated Brook! I totally concur with you! I have raised 3 sighted children as a blind mother, worked for 30 years as a counselor and teacher at Daytona State College, founded the Center for the Visually Impaired, carved out a new life for myself after my beloved husband was called home to the Lord, engaged in a myriad of community activities, lived alone for almost 15 years now, graduated from the Louisiana Center for the Blind in my sixties and on and on. By no means do I consider myself a victim but instead strive to be an example to others who have recently lost their sight or were not blessed with parents like I had who made me believe I could do most anything. Sure, there are things I truly wish I could do like drive a car, see my children and grandchildren's faces, enjoy photographs like was once the case but then most of us have some sort of disability or challenge that make some things not doable. 
>> I am all about dining in the dark events and have chaired two of them for the Center for the Visually Impaired, a wonderful agency I founded back in the late eighties. Although our guest all dine in complete darkness, I am able to address the guests when the lights come on once more. At that time, I stress the fact that blindness doesn't have to hold us back from achieving most of our hopes and dreams once we learn the crucial skills of blindness. Our guests learn a whole lot from the event and so much interest is stimulated about the worth of the Center for the Visually Impaired. Many want to observe the training activities we provide and make a donation to support our mission. No, I do not feel like a victim. Instead, with God's help and guidance from the NFB and CVI as well as the Louisiana Center for the Blind, I am able to lead a very active and productive life. I particularly enjoy reaching out to other blind and visually impaired folks who need my guidance and support. 
>> 
>> With warmest regards,
>> 
>> Kathy Davis
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nfbf-l [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of PLipovsky via Nfbf-l
>> Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2018 2:11 PM
>> To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
>> Cc: PLipovsky
>> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Letter Opposing Dining in the Dark
>> 
>> Wow Brook, that was excellently stated.  
>> 
>> I too love that little jem of a quote, "be yourself, everyone else is already taken".  
>> 
>> I personally have never thought of myself as a victim, but someone who can do what she wans, when she wants.  I've never let anyone tell me I couldn't do anything, although I know as a person living with vision loss there are definitely limitations.  For instance, I'll never be a brain surgeon, but then this also applies to a whole bunch of other folks sighted or not.  
>> 
>> Anyway, just adding my two sense.  Hope you are doing well.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NFBF-l <nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Brooke Evans via Nfbf-l
>> Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2018 11:55 AM
>> To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Brooke Evans <brooke6358 at aol.com>; nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Letter Opposing Dining in the Dark
>> 
>> Bah humbug!  I say.
>> 
>> I have read every word posted on the dining in the dark opinions, which are not always in sync with all people at any given time. 
>> 
>> Briefly, I support any activity I can use as a tool to enhance my life not only as a blind, low vision person but a blind profoundly hard of hearing person diagnosed as  deaf blind.
>> 
>> What I hear throughout all I read has been the blind are still perpetuating the idea that we are a victim of society. I am not a victim of society. As a blind woman with profound hearing loss I have engaged in education about my own way of living life as I moved through my life as a young child, student, wife, mother of four, grandmother, great-grandmother, supporting a career military husband for 28 years, working part time, full part time, whatever was needed to help the family coppers and never ever thinking I was a victim of my own circumstances. 
>> 
>> Any event, such as dining in the dark, to me is an invaluable tool for   myself as well as four  others in my life  circles. I have attended for dining in the dark events in the past 10 years and believe it or not, I have learned more about my own self through these events which has given me a wider perspective on blindness and how to communicate that to my family, and people in the public square.
>> 
>> Just giving  my humble opinion here which  was hugely   expanded when I saw a “hashtag” gem of a    quote,  by one of our very own NFB Floridians.    
>> 
>> This nugget told me to* “be yourself. Everybody else is taken.”
>> 
>> This little Oscar Wilde gem tells me I am not a victim of the world I see. I am walking through life as everyone else walks through life... experiencing and lending my understanding to those whom I meet along my journey, and this includes events such as dining in the dark.
>> 
>> I appreciate the psychological data and what it takes to build data but we are no longer  avictim of anything but ourselves. Take a look at what we have accomplished in nearly 80 years of advocacy, tough  advocacy, breaking down all manner of  barriers. The list is long. This is now 2018 and for me all that has gone before me has helped me to come into this moment of wisdom. 
>> 
>> Thank you for listening.
>> 
>> Brooke Evans
>> 
>> Ask yourself: “do I dare shake up the universe?”     ~T.S. Eliot 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Begin forwarded message:
>> 
>> From: Marion Gwizdala via NFBF-l <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: October 10, 2018 at 8:06:13 PM EDT
>> To: "NFB of Florida Tampa Chapter List" <nfbf-tampa at nfbnet.org>, "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Marion Gwizdala <marion.gwizdala at verizon.net>
>> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Letter Opposing Dining in the Dark
>> Reply-To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>> 
>> Dear Florida Federation Family,
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>              A week or so ago, I sent a message to these lists concerning Dining in the Dark fund raising events. These messages were triggered by a Tampa Bay chapter member who, in spite of knowing the National Federation of the Blind's opposition to such events, announced one being hosted by the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind. I understand another community rehabilitation program (CRP) is hosting such an event. As per my previous message, it is the policy of the NFB to voice our opposition to such events when we learn of them and to encourage those conducting them to reconsider an event that only serves to reinforce the negative stereotypes of blindness and demean the blind they purport to serve.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>              As the president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users and with the encouragement of President Riccobono, I have written the message below with the unanimous consent of the NAGDU board of directors. I encourage you to read this message, along with the supporting supplemental information accompanying it so you are better educated about our rationale for opposing these sort of events.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Fraternally yours,
>> 
>> Marion Gwizdala
>> 
>> From: president at nagdu.org [mailto:president at nagdu.org]
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2018 4:00 PM
>> To: 'cbenninger at guidedogs.com'
>> Cc: board at nagdu.org; officeofthepresident at nfb.org
>> Subject: Concerning Canine Heroes Auction
>> Importance: High
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dear Ms. Benninger,
>> 
>> Via Email: CBenninger at guidedogs.com
>> 
>>          I am writing on behalf of the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), a division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), concerning Guide Dogs for the Blind's intention to use a blindness simulation episode during its upcoming Canine Heroes Auction. Though the National Federation of the Blind is a proponent of the use of learning shades - sometimes referred to as "sleep shades" - to effectively train individuals in the techniques of blindness, we object to the use of simulation as a fund raising technique. Whether intended or not, simulation exercises tend to invoke fear and pity in the participants, compromising the goals of the National Federation of the Blind and, I would hope, those of guide dogs for the Blind.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>          Placing a blindfold on a sighted person does not help the person understand what it is like to be blind; rather, such simulations only serve to reinforce the negative stereotypes and misconceptions that compromise our ability to fully participate in our community as we strive to live the lives we want. This is not only the opinion of the National Federation of the Blind; it is also the conclusions of research in simulation exercises conducted by social psychologists. A blindfolded sighted person will not encounter a waitress asking their 5-year-old what her father wants to drink, strangers grabbing and pushing the blind person where the well-meaning individual thinks they are wanting to go, A doctor asking the blind person who bathes them, or the condescending comments of pity offered by the public, all incidents I and nearly every other blind person have experienced. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>          We realize the importance of raising funds to continue the work of Guide Dogs for the Blind; however, we object to the exploitation of the fear of blindness and the demeaning of the blind as the tool for raising those funds. We believe the Canine Heroes Auction would be just as successful without the simulation episode and urge Guide Dogs for the Blind to publicly join the National Association of Guide Dog Users and the National Federation of the Blind by condemning and opposing the use of simulation exercises as a fund raising technique.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>          For your information, I have attached the text of Resolution
>> 2012-04 condemning the use of simulation exercises as a fund raising event.
>> I am also including below links to two articles which recently appeared in the Braille Monitor, the monthly publication of the National Federation of the Blind. One of these articles is written by Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind, and the second by Dr. Ariel Silverman, a Social Psychologist. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Walking a Mile: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Simulations by Mark Riccobono
>> 
>> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1704/bm170402.htm
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Disability Simulations: What Does the Research Say? 
>> 
>> By Ariel Silverman, Ph.D.
>> 
>> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1706/bm170602.htm 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>          In closing, I would like to share the spontaneous, unsolicited impressions of an executive with a major airline after attending two simulation events. "It struck me as not a realistic simulation of what it must be like for a blind person to eat a meal.After having done the exercise twice, I have learned a few of the techniques that a person might use to eat their dinner, but I have no illusions that it taught me much at all about the overall experience or skills required in life.  Unfortunately, I'm sure that a large number of people who left the exercises think they learned more than they really did.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> With kind regards,
>> 
>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>> 
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
>> 
>> National Federation of the Blind
>> 
>> (813) 626-2789
>> 
>> President at NAGDU.ORG
>> 
>> Visit our website <http://nagdu.org/> 
>> 
>> Follow us on Twitter <http://twitter.com/nagdu> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds you back.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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