[NFBF-L] Discrimination Against the Blind Isn’t Just a Sighted Thing from July monitor

Sat Aug 14 17:44:08 UTC 2021

Go for it, Scott!
Judy Hamilton

On Sat, Aug 14, 2021 at 12:40 PM Scott Siegel via NFBF-L <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> I like this brief article many of us need to change our attitudes about
> blindness ourselves I ran into somebody three days ago using a long White
> cane turns out they were from New Jersey also a member of NFB And they
> cannot believe but I was in a foreign country By myself without a caretaker
> or sighted guide. Until we collectively realize that we can travel any
> place or do anything that we choose to do independently we will always
> Succumb to the idea that we are less than the sighted world. I am not less
> than anybody else. I am also considering writing an article for the monitor
> about my experiences this trip might not be worth reading to most but if it
> helps somebody get an inkling of what it’s like it might become a valuable
> tool for that person
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Aug 9, 2021, at 12:42 PM, Tish Kooper via NFBF-L <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
> 
> I think this article is so true, and sadly merely taps the surface on a
> variable set of false attributions, biases, barriers, and limitations we as
> blind people perpetuate within our community of diverse blind persons. It
> often feels like sources of assumed support , in reality, represent
> unfortunate mindsets we must fight against. I say "assumed" as it would
> seem beyond the quest for major causes at the national level, we often
> carry perceptions of ourselves, at the individual level, that are not very
> healthy or positive resulting in (consciously or unconsciously) imparting
> barriers upon our fellow blind community members.
>
> The article was not shocking to me, but I appreciate it being put into
> print. It highlights how insecure persons who are blind  push out into the
> world upon others who are blind unnecessary and unfortunate barriers.
> Obviously, it is not just  a blind person thing, but a "human" nature
> thing. One hopes (in theory) when encountering someone who is also blind  a
> greater state of empathy and understanding, and even willingness to learn
> from a blind person who is pushing past or against barriers and limitations
> in order to help one push past an insecurity.
>
> Beyond that, parents hardly think the mate their son or daughter chooses
> is ever good enough! So, there's that thing too! All a matter of
> perspective and openness to hear others and have the courage to change your
> own falsely held perceptions.
>
> The article is only one side of a larger story!
>
> On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 8:34 AM DENISE VALKEMA via NFBF-L <
> nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>> What are your thoughts on this article?
>> Discrimination Against the Blind Isn’t Just a Sighted Thing
>>
>> *by Gary Wunder*
>>
>> [image: Gary Wunder]Reading Shawn Calloway’s story in the June issue of
>> the *Monitor* got me thinking about my first romantic relationship, and
>> what a pleasant thought and a life changer that was. I was raised during my
>> teen years in a small town with a sign saying population 216. Like every
>> young man, I wanted to date, but besides a date for the junior senior prom,
>> mostly I struck out. In my town and in those times, the boy drove the car
>> that picked up the girl, and without a car, there was nothing to do. Our
>> town had a gas station and a post office; neither helped with romance
>> unless one was dating from afar.
>>
>> My life changed when I came to the University of Missouri Columbia and
>> found that I could walk almost anywhere I wanted to go. The bank, the
>> restaurant, the movie theater, and a nice park were all within my ability
>> to reach without first having to arrange or beg for a ride. It didn’t take
>> long after coming to campus to realize that there was more to college than
>> books. There were girls, women, and one of them in particular liked me and
>> I liked her. I love the touch of the hand, the embrace so much different
>> from hugging mom, and the way it felt when she put her head on my shoulder.
>> I felt more alive than I had ever felt.
>>
>> She was not at all concerned about the fact that I was blind, but, like
>> the fathers in Shawn’s experience, there was rough sailing ahead. In my
>> story, however, the father was blind, and he was quite sure that his
>> daughter could do quite a lot better than a relationship with a blind man.
>> My girlfriend’s father did not work outside the home. He had very little
>> self-confidence, and one of my girlfriend’s wishes was that she could get
>> him in contact with people who might help change his perception of what
>> life might have to offer if only he had a different view of himself.
>>
>> After an eight-week summer program, I went off to get myself a guide dog.
>> Sam, my girlfriend, was still uppermost in my thoughts, so one of the first
>> people I called using the payphone at the school was her. When her father
>> realized to whom she was talking, I heard him say, “He’s not calling
>> collect, is he?” That might’ve been a reasonable question from any father,
>> no matter how well he could or could not see.
>>
>> It is strange to think about what motivates us in the work we do because
>> sometimes those motivations seem contradictory. I was motivated by people
>> who did things I didn’t think blind people could do and therefore opened up
>> opportunities to me I didn’t think existed. I was motivated by blind people
>> who broke down barriers so that I could go to school, hire human beings to
>> read to me, receive special tape-recording equipment that would let me use
>> books on tape, and the programs gave me enough money to buy food and other
>> necessities. But I’m here to tell you that I was also motivated by that
>> father who thought his daughter deserved better than to date a blind man. I
>> might not be able to change his life, but what if I could change life for
>> people of my generation and those who would come after?
>>
>> My girlfriend and I were both young; we drifted apart without a single
>> bad word or argument, and almost two decades later we started to write to
>> one another. She was never quite sure how much her father’s opposition
>> played in our drifting apart. The part of her who valued being rebellious
>> thought that it played no part at all, but the part who loved her father
>> and wanted to be the good daughter also knew that his opinion did matter.
>>
>> There is no question that we want to change the opinion of the sighted
>> public about our worth as human beings and our ability to participate in
>> society, but it is equally true that we want to change the minds of other
>> blind people who cannot envision the opportunities open to them if only
>> they can believe in themselves and other blind people. When we pledge
>> ourselves to go build the Federation, it is not organizational momentum or
>> preservation of some legacy that we are talking about. It is talking about
>> having a mechanism to bring about effective change, a structure that lets
>> blind people talk among ourselves, venture to risk new ideas leading to
>> opportunities, and knowing that we have the support of one another as we
>> attempt the traditional or untraditional. If we are to have a hand in
>> building the world we will live in and in the world our children will
>> inherit, we need the right tools, and one of the most important is the
>> National Federation of the Blind.
>>
>> Denise Valkema, President
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind of Florida
>>
>> valkemadenise at aol.com
>>
>> (305)972-8529
>>
>> WWW.NFBFLORIDA.ORG
>>
>> Follow us @nfbflorida
>>
>> Live the life you want.
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