[NFBF-Tampa] Dining in the Dark

[Marion Gwizdala]

Dear Fellow Federationists,

 

                During our last Tampa Bay Chapter meeting, a member made an
announcement about the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind's upcoming "Dining in
the Dark" fund raiser, prefacing it with, "I know how the NFB feels about
this sort of event!". I know we have quite a few new members who may have
wondered what was meant by this disclaimer. There has also been some buzz on
the discussion list of the National Association of Guide Dog Users about a
similar event being hosted by Guide Dogs for the blind (GDB) and many GDB
consumers are writing to the program to express their concerns about such an
activity.

 

                In an effort to help our members understand our position, I
am pasting below and attaching to this message Resolution 2012-04 which I
had a hand in writing. One way in which policies of the National Federation
of the Blind are made is through the process of resolutions that come before
the convention, are discussed and debated on the floor and voted on by the
assembly. I am also attaching a scholarly article entitled "Simulation as a
Learning Method to Facilitate Disability Awareness" which appeared in the
Journal of Experiential Education. Volume 23, Issue 1, p. 5,  2000. 

 

Resolution concerning Dining in the Dark

 

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.

 

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