[Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
Toni King
tkk at samobile.net
Mon Sep 17 18:47:47 UTC 2012
Hello Ms. Davis,
I wish you great success with your DID and thank you so much for all
you have and continue to do . I am sure all your guest will have a
fine time and come away with more knowledge then ever before about what
it means to be blind.
Sincerely,
Toni King
Original message:
> Hello Everyone,
> Let me begin by saying that I am the co-chair of a dining in the
> dark fundraiser for the Center for the Visually impaired located here in
> Daytona Beach Fl. I am totally blind and a founding member of this wonderful
> organization. We have never put on such an event so this will be our first
> such activity.
> I did not even know about the resolution that was passed at the
> national convention this summer. I can see where some of the supporters are
> coming from; however I do not agree with the fact that dining in the dark
> fundraisers are demeaning for the blind.
> The first Dining in the Dark (DID) fundraiser I attended was
> sponsored by Carolyn Lapp's rehabilitation agency, the Florida Outreach
> Center, in West Palm Beach. It was most informative and fun too. Having
> been asked to be a guest speaker, I was able to address the supporters by
> sharing some of my accomplishments as a blind woman. I will not go in to
> detail about all of that here because most of you are acquainted with me
> since I served on the NFBF Board of Directors for many years and held the
> position of President of the Florida Affiliate for two terms as well as
> founding President of the Greater Daytona Beach Chapter. DID fundraisers are
> a marvelous opportunity just to give patrons a brief sense of what it is
> like when someone loses their vision. The really neat thing is that blind
> attendees are able to help out the sighted by serving them more iced tea or
> coffee, pouring salad dressing if they have not a clue how to do this and
> the like. In addition, I will be a guest speaker at our own event scheduled
> for October 17 and there will be many other blind people in attendance.
> There is great enthusiasm about our forthcoming DID event and I am certain
> that it will be a huge success. Not only will we raise needed funds for the
> Center for the Visually Impaired but we will also do lots of educating about
> blindness. Naturally I will share with the audience that those of us who are
> blind have undergone specialized training plus simple life experiences to
> become as competent as we are. They will understand that we can cook, travel
> independently most anywhere we wish, hold varying positions of employment,
> and raise a family.
> Thank you Patricia, Kathy and Toni for chiming in on this matter.
> I'll be the first to let the list know how our Dining in the Dark fundraiser
> goes. Believe me, sighted attendees will leave the dinner having a new
> respect for blind people!!
> Sincerely,
> Kathy Davis and new Seeing Eye Dog Chloe
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Mark Tardif
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 10:42 AM
> To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
> Hello, Lenora. I was one of the ones not aware of this resolution. I
> think, however, that it is a good one. Obviously, promoters of this kind of
> activity have major stereotypes about blindness and the abilities of blind
> people. For example, the idea that blind people cannot cook for large
> numbers of people, and the idea that somehow blind people must have a hard
> time with their table manners, because we cannot see when or if a piece of
> food ends up on the table. I could go on and on. I think maybe the worst
> of these misconceptions is that eating in darkness for the first time ever,
> is somehow like blindness for someone who has lived it for many years. In
> fact, those of us who have been blind for many years no better. But the
> worst thing by far, is these promoters, who probably have never talked with
> a real blind person, shamefully use this approach to get people to feel
> sorry for blind people and therefore provide funds for their agencies. That
> is unethical and atrocious!!!
> Mark Tardif
> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lenora J. Marten
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 5:58 AM
> To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
> Hey everyone,
> For those who are not aware, NFB passed a resolution at National Convention
> in Dallas that condemns the
> practice of Dining in the Dark.
> You will find a copy/paste of the resolution below.
> Resolution 2012-04
> Regarding Dining in the Dark
> WHEREAS, the real problem of blindness is not the loss of
> eyesight but the widespread public misconception that the blind are not
> equal to the sighted in society; and
> WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind categorically
> rejects the myth that the blind are not equal to the sighted; and
> WHEREAS, programs of the National Federation of the Blind teach
> and promote a positive understanding of blindness, that the blind are normal
> and equal members of society, and that blindness does not mean inferiority;
> and
> WHEREAS, an activity known as "dining in the dark" is being
> promoted and used to raise funds by having sighted people experience
> blindness by eating in the dark; and
> WHEREAS, an article published in Time magazine entitled "Dining
> in the Dark" assures would-be diners that the cook "works in a well-lit
> kitchen"; and
> WHEREAS, the Dining in the Dark
> website--www.dininginthedark.org--states: "you will pick from a specially
> prepared menu (designed by a sighted local 'star' chef)" and "In darkness
> everyone becomes equal. Our opinions can't be molded by dress, mannerisms,
> or makeup as none of it can be seen. You learn that without sight your
> other senses become more acute"; and
> WHEREAS, these statements lay bare the underlying philosophy of
> dining in the dark, that sight means superior ability, and that, when sight
> is removed in the dark, the blind and the sighted are equal: Now, therefore,
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
> Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
> Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore the use of dining in the
> dark in a manner that diminishes the innate normality and equal status of
> the blind in society; and
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization pursue an active
> policy of opposition to dining in the dark activities and events, including
> use of media and public protests, whenever and wherever such activities and
> events exploit blindness and blind people based on a demeaning philosophy.
> Lenora J. Marten
> NFB-Florida Secretary
> FOPBC President
> NFB-Jax Chapter Secretary
> bluegolfshoes at aol.com
> 904-777-5976 / 904-229-9554
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