[nfb-talk] So very proud

[Peter Donahue]

Good afternoon John and everyone,

     Then left the event and probably told a blind person needing 
occasional hands on deck for reading mail and other tasks that they had 
no business living alone, that their neighborhood was unsafe, and they 
should live in assistive living facility. That happened to Mary and I 
last week. The individual that told us this is a member of one of the 
largest churches in San Antonio, 20,000 members including us to be 
exact. I thought that these days the goal is to help those able to live 
independently stay in their home. This church has more than enough 
able-bodied members that could assist us with grocery shopping, reading 
mail, etc. We offered to give some of them gas money for rides too and 
from church so we could attend services regularly. All they said was 
"Don't worry about it." Due to problems with public transportation we 
ceased attending church regularly.

     This particular church plans to establish what it calls its 
Sanctuary of Hope. One of it's missions is to be an alternative to 
Planned Parenthood which will assist unwed mothers with learning to care 
for their babies when they're borne, finishing their education, finding 
employment, and helping them get on their feet. Given their attitude 
towards helping the blind members of their congragation God help any 
unwed blind mothers who may seek help from the Sanctuary of Hope when it 
begins operation unless this outfit has a serious change of attitude! 
Here is a classic case of why the antics of outfits like the Foundation 
for Fighting Blindness need to be stopped and organizations like the NFB 
avoid engaging in similar activities. Several Dining-in-the-Dark events 
were hosted by the Texas Affiliate until a resolution was passed in 2011 
condemning these events and forbidding NFB affiliates from engaging in 
them. Mary and I were there when the resolution was adopted.

Peter Donahue

John Heim via nfb-talk wrote:
> I'm not surprised that the NFB has come out against this.
>
> It's kind of an odd choice by the FFB. I was once a waiter at an FFB 
> Dining In the Dark event. That was a blast, by the way. I had a great 
> time. I was going around making fun of the people at my table for not 
> even being able to stuff food in their mouths.  They took it really 
> well and pretty soon they were all actually trying instead of being 
> deliberately helpless. I went up to the guy who was most into it and 
> pretended to pour him a glass of champaign, making a popping sound 
> effect with my mouth. He played right along and the woman on the other 
> side of him actually asked for a glass too.   It was hilarious and the 
> whole night was just a blast.
>
>
> Even so, I'm not sure I'd do it again. A couple of things bothered me. 
> First, in the after party, a lot of people seemed to think I really 
> was a waitor.  I'm like, "No, I manage the research computers for the 
> math department at the University of Wisconsin. I'm just doing this to 
> raise money for the FFB."  Admittedly, it's a little egotistical for 
> that to bother me. I was a little insulted to think that people didn't 
> assume I had a real job. The second thing was that a hefty percentage 
> of the people, even those at my table, remained unconvinced. I pointed 
> out that with a little effort, they had figured out how to feed 
> themselves and I had had no problems serving as their waitor. You get 
> used to it, right? But they weren't really buying it. Maybe a little. 
> I'm not sure I did any good. Hard to say.
>
>
> Actually, this is a thing that has puzzled me for years. I have 
> friends who still think being blind is absolutely horrible -- except 
> for for me. When I point out that I am doing fine, better than they 
> are in some cases, they don't think that is proof that being blind 
> isn't so bad. They think I'm some kind of special case or something.
>
>
>
> On 09/26/2016 11:53 AM, Devin Prater via nfb-talk wrote:
>> Oh yes, I was nicely surprised when the NFB stood against that.
>>
>> Devin Pratersent from Gmail.
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 11:49 AM, beth.wright--- via nfb-talk <
>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi, fellow listers.
>>>
>>> Just wanted to say how very proud I am of the NFB for taking a 
>>> courageous
>>> stand against this misguided blindfold challenge campaign by the 
>>> Foundation
>>> Fighting Blindness. I've been a Federationist for over forty years, 
>>> been on
>>> the PAC plan for a long time, and thus made a donation online. I 
>>> encourage
>>> others to do the same. Now is the time to stand up and be counted.
>>>
>>> Beth Wright
>>>
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>