[nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream cometrueon local Little League team

[John G. Heim]

I agree to a point. I don't want to play mascot either.  But at the same 
time, I wouldn't criticize someone who did. I'm not saying you are 
criticizing this kid for playing mascot. I'm just saying that if he wants 
to, that's fine by me.

Probably the best point to be made here is that while having a dream of 
being on a baseball team in any capacity is fine, maybe if he were given 
more information and more options, his asperations would be a little higher.

I guess what I'm saying is that while its important to show tolerance for 
what the boy is doing, itsalso important to make sure he knows this is not 
all he can do.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "tribble" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 7:01 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream cometrueon 
local Little League team


>I wasn't going to enter this thread but couldn't help mentioning one motto 
>I
> used while working -- "I don't want to play mascot".
> People are sometimes so anxious to grab a token minority person as a 
> member
> of their group -- whether it's a sports team or a job or whatever, that 
> they
> don't consider that that person may have talents and abilities to do more
> than just be a token.
> The little boy was popular in this role because he had a positive attitude
> that was infectuous -- but what if he is able to do something that would
> compete with another sighted team member? How long is he going to be happy
> doing nothing but act positive?
> When I was a software developer there were times when things went very
> smoothely and I fit in well, but other times when I got into conflicts of
> interest with other group members. In particular, I once was slated to
> address a large group of persons to introduce some project I was working 
> on.
> The auditorium was not accessible but was the only space available right
> then. My boss turned and asked a fellow group member to carry my 
> wheelchair
> down the stairs (with me in it) so I could give the talk. The employee
> objected and said that wasn't in his job description.  I also didn't want
> him to do it as it is rather terrifying to go down a flight of stairs in a
> wheelchair with only one person in control.  And I especially didn't want 
> to
> impose on the other employee to do something he didn't want to do.  I gave
> my notes to someone else and they gave the talk. My boss was rather 
> annoyed
> that I did this but I felt it was the right thing.
> Anyway, that is a negative example, and there were also positive
> experiences, where people worked in harmony and complemented each others
> contributions.
> Anyway, off soapbox for the time being.
> One of these days I'd like a thread about working in a sighted
> environment -- and if some of you are also rollers (in wheelchairs), 
> there's
> that issue too.  Also if anyone knows about any technical job openings 
> that
> can be done from home, feel free to send it (private to me...*smile*...)
> TIA and have a great week.
> --le
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Bullis" <mabullis at hotmail.com>
> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 12:56 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream come 
> trueon
> local Little League team
>
>
> Well, I might agree with you if the kid were actually doing something. 
> But,
> he's not.  He's not even taking care of the bats or balls, towels?  He 
> can't
> even throw the ball to the catcher but he's called a "team manager."
> The disturbing thing about this to me is that he's being lied to as though
> he were actually contributing something of value when he's not.
>
> It seems to me that this is political correctness at it's worst.  The 
> Little
> League coach should have said yes when asked by the little boy for an
> opportunity, but, they then should have figured out something for him to 
> do
> besides look cute.  To give him the title of "Manager" only compounds the
> issue for me.
> And, sadly for his mom, there is apparently little or nothing going on for
> this kid so just sitting on the bench is the high point of his life.
> Mike Bullis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of d m gina
> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 10:59 AM
> To: nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind baseball player "hears" his dream come true 
> on
> local Little League team
>
> Even though the mom needs more help with what can happen for the blind, I
> admire the team for taking this child on, and giving him a thrill of his
> life.
> Not to many coachs would do this.
> That is a mild stone itself.
> I hope as this child grows he can stay with the team and help others.
>
> --
> --Dar
> every saint has a past
> every sinner has a future
>
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