[Nfbmo] What would you do?

Wed Oct 26 22:02:22 UTC 2011

Personally, I go to a wonderful church which has supported me in every way
possible. When I've had surgery, the helped me with meals and whatever I
needed.  When Ed died, they prayed with me, cried with me, laughed with me
and more.   Never have they called me evil. I don't know where Mr. Bradley
gets his figures, but perhaps the reason he chooses not to go to church is
out of anger and bitterness  

Gail Bryant
Columbia Braille Teaching Services L.L.C.
1212 London Drive
Columbia, MO 65203-2012
Phone: (573)817-5993
Cell: (573)268-4962
gbryant at socket.net

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Debbie Wunder
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 2:05 PM
To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] What would you do?

You are being ridiculous! Where do you get your facts?
This trivia night issue has nothing to do with god, or opinions of the 
blind.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dewey Bradley" <dewey.bradley at kc.rr.com>
To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] What would you do?

>I wasn't going to reply to this, but I have to say this
> its been my experience that churches and church groups do this, they do 
> not want anyone with a disability around, they just want to tell us that 
> if we pray harder we will have are sight back, and that we are evil, that 
> is why we are blind.
> They say that 95% of us don't go to church, I don't know if the numbers 
> are that high, but this is why.
> Most people that go to church and call them selves Christians are 
> judgmental like that.
> I'm not saying don't go to church, nor am I trying to get a lintch mob 
> after me, I'm just saying that is what I've noticed, that is why I never 
> go, every church I have seen do not want blind people around.
> I'm not saying that is the case here, but it could be
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "MATTHEW SIEVERT" <msievert at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 7:33 AM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] What would you do?
>
>
> Group,
>
> I hope you are all well.
>
> What I have observed is that many times people will want to "rebel" 
> instead of
> remedy a situation through other means.
>
> Equality for all will not take place over a period of one year or even ten
> years, but you can lay the foundation that other's can build upon.
>
> Representing a group in a negative light will not win over supporters. It 
> will
> bring attention to the issue, but you want people understand, not simply 
> notice
> through a negative act.
>
> Some day we will have a blind/visually impaired astronaut. Until that time

> we as
> the NFB should do what we can to build upon our organization's 
> achievements and
> represent our disabled community in a positive light.
>
>
> Equality at trivia night's should be obtained, but like all challenges, it

> will
> take time and a calm intellect.
>
> Matt Sievert
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: fred olver <goodfolks at charter.net>
> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wed, October 26, 2011 7:41:12 AM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] What would you do?
>
> Gary,
>
> I have read your comments several times and perhapse even lost some sleep
> over what I consider to be an afrontery to me and others who might wish to
> participate in an activity alongside individuals who are not limited in
> their vision.
>
> Let me say first of all that a year ago I confronted this situation and
> explained to the individuals in charge that I felt wronged because half of
> the questions were undeciferable by myself. Okay, they didn't know I was
> going to be there. This year, however nearly a third of the questions were
> again undeciferable by a blind person. It is my feeling that if the folks 
> in
> charge know that individuals will be participating who are unable to
> participate in a significant number of questions related to the activity
> that they not allow those questions. To me, the reasons ought to be very
> obvious. If you alienate a significant number of individuals you won't get
> them to come back next year. If you knowingly allow questions to be a part
> of an activity which you know will exclude individuals from participating
> then you are wrong to include them. If for example I only provide agenda's
> in Braille to individuals who don't read Braille then I am wrong to do so,
> because I have ignored their needs.
>
> Bottom line, I'm feeling ignored. Next year, I think I'll find seven other
> individuals who can not make use of visual questions and attend the same
> fundraiser and practice a bit of civil disobedience.
>
>
> Fred Olver
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Gary Wunder" <GWunder at earthlink.net>
> To: "'NFB of Missouri Mailing List'" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 5:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] What would you do?
>
>
>> Hi Fred and the folks who have commented here. Please allow me to
>> interject
>> another perspective. I find this troublesome philosophically. When I can
>> have access and am denied it because someone doesn't want to go to the
>> trouble of making their software accessible, I'm up in arms. When they 
>> use
>> artificial barriers such as possessing a driver's license when what they
>> mean is that an employee has to get around, I'm bothered. When they say I
>> have to be able to visually read print to take a job and I have a machine
>> to
>> do it, I'm outraged.
>>
>> How is the issue changed when we know of no way to make a process 100
>> percent accessible? I don't want to deprive anyone of the beauty found in
>> paintings or photography simply because I can't observe them. I 
>> understand
>> there are some cartoons that are so torturous to explain that by the time
>> one finishes putting them into words, they are no longer funny.
>>
>> Mental challenges may be audible, visual, or they might even involve 
>> other
>> senses such as taste or smell. If we look hard enough, we'll find people
>> who
>> have problems with one or more of these. So, in the areas where we don't
>> have true alternatives, should our request be that the thing we cannot do
>> be
>> stricken from the activity? Would we have been wrong to run a clip of
>> Henry
>> Kissinger saying "Piece is at hand," and asking the group to identify the
>> man or what he was talking about or the year when he made the utterance?
>> The
>> blind are at something of a disadvantage because we cannot see him. The
>> deaf
>> are at a disadvantage because they cannot hear him. The young may well be
>> at
>> a disadvantage because they weren't around when he made headlines with
>> that
>> statement, much to the displeasure of his boss, the president of the
>> United
>> States. Take the same question, put it in print, and then decide if it is
>> fair to the dyslexic who might have an easy time with the audio or the
>> video
>> clip.
>>
>> I Don't like being excluded, and if I am excluded enough, I'll find
>> another
>> activity. It hurts and seems unfair, but to me it doesn't rise to the
>> level
>> of discrimination which, if I understand it, means something which is 
>> both
>> unreasonable and detrimental. I don't think we can be critical of people
>> using sight and acknowledging that it plays a major role in the way they
>> find and even remember things. What we can and should make an unequivocal
>> stand for are things which have nonvisual alternatives but which are
>> ignored
>> to the detriment of our education and employment.
>>
>> I do not mean this as a real answer to the question of what should I do,
>> but
>> as a thought process we go through when trying to decide when to fight 
>> and
>> what we can reasonably fight for as blind people. I am not targeting Fred
>> here but trying to engage in some discussion of a philosophical principle
>> that I wrestle with at least two or three times per month. I appreciate
>> the
>> question, even if I don't have anything like a good answer.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of fred olver
>> Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 8:45 AM
>> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
>> Subject: [Nfbmo] What would you do?
>>
>> A year ago, I attended a Trivia Night put on by a food pantry in the St.
>> Louis area. This pantry is supported by my church along with several
>> others.
>> After the night's program was over, half of the categories being visual 
>> in
>> nature so that a blind person could not participate in that portion of 
>> the
>> program I wrote an item for my churches news-letter and sent it on to the
>> director of the organization. In this item I pointed out that it was not
>> fair or necessary to include only video-type questions and asked that 
>> they
>> do, in the future consider having categories which were non-video in the
>> future. I received assurances from the director of the organization that
>> indeed they would do this.
>>
>> Last Friday, I attended their Trivia Nighht again. True, only two
>> categories
>> of questions were video in nature, however these two categories included
>> roughly 1/3 of the questions. Yesterday at a meeting of a church 
>> committee
>> I
>> suggested that they with-hold two weeks worth of donations and that these
>> donations go to another organization as a protest, the rest of the
>> committee
>> said no to this idea, sighting the possibility that a family might have 
>> to
>> do without this food, I personally doubt it, and figure they're just to
>> comfortable in their place and don't wish to because it doesn't affect
>> them,
>> so what would you do if you were in my place? This really upsets me,
>> especially since I had spoken to this organization a year ago and they 
>> had
>> more or less agreed that this was not a good thing to have happen.
>>
>> Fred Olver
>> http://www.dealingwithvisionloss.com For some of us it's a way of life
>> and
>> for some of us it just makes life easier. Fred Olver
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>
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