[nabs-l] Lines

[justin williams]

Do you take the time and a half on tests?

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
Silverman
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 11:04 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] Lines

Hi all,
Thank you Kirt for making such a great point. When I was growing up my
parents and friends often pressured me to use my blindness so that we could
cut lines and sometimes my parents even required it without giving me a
choice about it. I used to try and justify our behavior but in  the end when
I did this I always felt a deep sense of shame and anger, but I could never
figure out why. Since then I have learned about self-perception theory in
psychology classes and I think I understand why it bothers me (and many of
us) so much. Basically, self-perception theory posits that we draw
conclusions about ourselves by observing our own behavior. I think whenever
I used my blindness as a reason to get a guest pass and skip the line, it
made me start to see myself as a handicapped or crippled person, which was
very upsetting. For some people who have trouble standing for long periods
of time, or who have guide dogs who get uncomfortable standing out in the
sun, cutting in line seems legitimate. But if we can physically handle the
lines, accepting the special passes doesn't do us any real favors. I insist
on standing in line with everyone else because I want to see myself (and my
fellow blind friends) as strong, healthy, normal people. I feel I have
little to gain by skipping the lines, and much to lose in terms of
self-esteem and self-respect. I think every time we take an accommodation,
we need to think about what we are gaining from that accommodation vs. what
we are potentially losing in terms of normalcy. If an accommodation like a
piece of technology is  truly necessary, it will give enough benefit that
it's worth the self-esteem hit. But if an accommodation isn't really needed,
I think we have more to lose than we have to gain by accepting it. For this
same reason I also do not write off blindness as a reason to claim a tax
deduction.
I am proud to be (barely) earning enough income to be required to pay taxes
and paying taxes just like anyone else in my income bracket makes me feel
good about myself and where I belong in the world.
There's also the argument that if we want to be allowed the same rights
sighted people get, we need to be willing to saddle the extra
responsibilities. If we want to be allowed to ride amusement park rides
without discrimination, we need to be willing to wait in line.
It sends a mixed message to skip the line and then insist on equal treatment
by the ride operators, just like it sends a mixed message to request
unnecessary extra time on tests and then ask for a professor's letter of
recommendation.
Again, though I'm not a dog user, I think having a guide dog is a legitimate
reason to not wait in lines.
Arielle

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