[Nfbmo] Fw: [Missouri Chat] Letter to Senators

[Nancy Lynn]

From: Denny Huff 
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 1:48 PM
To: ew at moblind.org 
Cc: Missouri Chat ; A private list for MCB board members. ; Missouri-L 
Subject: [Missouri Chat] Letter to Senators

All,

 

                Chris has composed a letter that is going out to all of the Senators today in print and in braille.  Below is a copy of that letter.

 

Dear Senator:

 

What would you do if there were no print copy of this letter? No print labels on packaging or signage to help you locate streets and businesses 

 

I am enclosing in this packet both a print and braille letter. The braille letter says the same thing as the print version. But, you would have no way of knowing that without the print letter telling you.

 

Why have I sent this to you?  

 

It is important that you understand that blindness is different from many other disabilities.  It is not only a physical disability such as having to use a wheelchair.  It is a sensory disability and carries with it huge issues that can be virtually impossible to resolve for many people.

 

Reading and writing print is one of these issues.  Some of us rely on braille But many more blind people cannot read braille:  some because they lose their sight later in life; some because they lose their sense of touch from diabetic and other forms of neuropathy. This large group of blind people is, then, unable to read or write in the conventional sense.  No wonder they are in grave difficulty.

 

The disability of blindness is so severe that most people cannot imagine having to live with it.  Perhaps for that reason, they are unwilling to employ those who do not see.

 

If you lost your vision tomorrow, you would have to change your life completely.  If you were successful, the adjustments would take years.  Sadly, many are not entirely able to adjust when faced with this necessity. Try to imagine running your next electoral campaign as a blind person. The simple logistics of campaigning would be hugely complicated. Daily living tasks like matching your socks or finding a dropped object would require learning alternative methods than depending on vision. If you live in a rural area, you could find yourself forced to hire a driver for something as simple as going to the grocery store.

 

Now, you are being asked to make major decisions on Missouri's budget that directly affects the lives of blind people. You've been put in the position of bearing responsibility for approximately 3,000 blind individuals who may have had some small degree of success but who, by any definition are severely in need of assistance.  They are counting on you not to forget that real people will be harmed if they lose access to the state health care program for the blind.

 

Blind people care about education. They also need medical care.

 

It has been argued that providing this funding for the blind is inequitable to those with other disabilities.  However, the argument of Equity is insincere if, to achieve it, we take from one group but give nothing to others who supposedly suffer from unequal treatment. Any perceived inequity between blind people and others who are disabled is not addressed by taking money from the blind and giving it to higher education. If there is any merit one wants to claim by this transfer, argue straightforwardly on the basis of who will win and who will lose, and in calculating the losses, and try to understand the cost one assigns to life.

 

We sincerely hope you can find the means of assisting those blind people who desperately need it. Your predecessors understood their plight, and provided a program designed to meet it. We ask you once again to do the right thing and restore the funding diverted by the State House of Representatives.

 

Sincerely,

 

Denny Huff, President Missouri Council of the Blind

Gary Wunder, President National Federation of the Blind of 

Missouri

David Ekin, President St. Louis Society for the Blind

Reinhard Mabry, President and CEO Alphapointe Association for the Blind, Kansas City 

John Thompson, President and CEO Lighthouse for the Blind, St. Louis

 

 



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