[blindlaw] Pimp My Cane

[Chris Danielsen]

Hi Mark,

With due respect, I think you are misunderstanding the NFB's philosophy and
some of our positions. The NFB didn't oppose audible signals, or the lawsuit
seeking identifiable money, because we don't believe that blind people need
accommodations. What we believe is that blind people ought to have the tools
and receive the accommodations that are necessary, not just every
conceivable accommodation. Now, you may well disagree with us on what
accommodations are necessary, and that is all well and good. Even our own
members don't always agree on everything, but we take a vote on the issues
we disagree on and once a position has been voted on we stick with it until
there is a vote to change it.  The white cane is a tool that many blind
people have found useful, primarily because it helps us get around. A guide
dog is useful to other blind people for the same reason. In the NFB we
generally believe that a blind person should be able to have access to these
tools and make choices about the ones they will use. Symbolically, the white
cane is important because it means we believe it is respectable to be blind,
but that's not the only or even the primary reason to carry one. If one has
some vision, a white cane may be useful and will certainly avoid
misunderstandings arising from not being able to see very well. That said,
of course being identified as blind has its down sides. A lot of us have
decided that the benefits of carrying a cane outweigh those down sides. 

In a speech on the nature of independence, our long-time president Kenneth
Jernigan pointed out that the white cane and Braille are simply tools that
can make a person independent and that many blind people find useful. But he
warned us against defining whether a person was independent based on whether
or not they chose to use any given tool. Sometimes all of us forget this
warning, but I still think it is generally what we believe. We do push for
things like Braille literacy and cane training because those who are blind
or have low vision should know what all of their options are. It's fine to
make a choice, but we believe it should be an informed choice, and not one
that is merely made because one doesn't want to seem blind because of
society's attitude about blindness. Beyond that, the choice is up to the
individual blind person.

Chris


-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mark BurningHawk
Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2010 5:51 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Pimp My Cane

I'm following this thread, and I know a large percentage of the folks here
are NFB members; I personally a not, nor any organization, for that matter.
I find a bit of hypocrisy in this discussion:  First the NFB rails against
things like audible cross walk signals and so on, claiming that the blind
don't need them, that it's not what the blind "want," whatever.  Same with
identifiable currency.  Now, however, I hear a bunch of the same people
saying, in effect, "I want to carry a symbol of blindness! I want to
proclaim my blindness to everyone so that they can alter their behaviors
appropriately in recognition of the fact that I'm blind!"  I should think
the true spirit of the NFB might be to use a black cane and give no
indication whatsoever of blindness, except on a purely voluntary basis.  I
just don't understand this.

Mark BurningHawk
Skype and Twitter:  BurningHawk1969
Home:  Http://MarkBurningHawk.net/
Namaste!


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