[Nfbmo] Blindness is not a gimmick

[Roger Crome]

I agree whole heartedly with the message you shared, Daniel.  The only thing that I do not necessarily agree with is the fact that the ad run by the Senate candidate is belittling to the blind.  I think what is missing in the context of the message of the ad is that he is a veteran and war vet.  Part of the training for soldiers include being able to assemble and break down the assault rifle blindfolded because you never know what situation you will find yourself in.  The other candidate has been running a campaign claiming that he is anti-gun and wants to take all the guns away.  The other candidate claims to be a big proponent of guns.  So, I think that the purpose of the ad was to highlight the skill gained in his training and voice that he believes in the rights of gun owners but wants to keep those kind of weapons out of the hands of criminals.  He did make the comment that he wanted to see the other candidate do that, but I think that was more of a display of bravado than the blindfold.  So, I can see how this can be perceived as being a "look, I can even do it blindfolded."  But, I really believe that it was a display of the training he has received and the respect he possesses for the weapon.

Of course, the above is only my opinion.  Very well put sir.
Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Garcia via Nfbmo
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2016 9:07 PM
To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
Cc: Daniel Garcia
Subject: [Nfbmo] Blindness is not a gimmick

In the Imagineering Our Future newsletter that came out today from President Riccobono there is a citation:
"We have a very personal interest in publicity about us, and we will tell the story as it truly is. We are a part of this society, and we expect to be welcomed within it, not made the butt of somebody else's so-called humor."
- Dr. Marc Maurer "The Power of Belonging." 2013 NFB National Convention, Orlando, Florida, July 6, 2013.

Not only is the How We See It Campaign harmful, but in Missouri there is a candidate for U.S. Senate who is running an ad in which he is assembling a gun with a blindfold on. I sincerely believe that this add belittles the blind. This kind of gimmick promotes the idea that blind people are "amazing" because they can assemble a gun, tie their shoe, or even cross the street without eyesight. The May, 2015 Braille Monitor has an article titled "Blind People and talking Dogs." The author Dick Davis makes the point that people consider blind people to be similar to talking dogs in the sense that if a dog said something, people would not care what it said, but they would be amazed that it said something at all. And so it is with the blind, the fact that blind people can do every day things with alternative techniques of blindness strikes some people as "amazing."

No, I am not a big fan of extreme political correctness, but we do have a first amendment right to firmly express our disagreement and to further explain why we disagree. 

Best Regards

Daniel Garcia


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