[Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
Kathy Davis
kdavisnfbf at cfl.rr.com
Wed Sep 19 16:02:56 UTC 2012
Hi Sherri,
Gosh, it seems like ages since we last chatted. Thanking you for
your comments and I too wish you could attend the CVI's Dining in the Dark.
Did you hear that I just returned from The Seeing Eye last Thursday
and am now the proud owner of a beautiful little Golden Retriever named
Chloe? I already love her to pieces. She's so beautiful and smart as well as
fun and loving.
Do write to me privately and let me know what is going on in your
world. I miss you!
Kathy
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Sherri
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 12:15 AM
To: NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
Very well said. If managed correctly, these events are not always negative,
but can have positive outcomes. Generally though, I am opposed to them. In
the case of CVI, since you are planning it Kathy, I'm sure it will be great.
Wish I could attend.
Sherri
----- Original Message -----
From: Kathy Davis
To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] 2012-04 Dining in the Dark Resolution Info
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
_______________________________________________
Nfbf-l mailing list
Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Nfbf-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/markspark%40roadrunner.c
om
_______________________________________________
Nfbf-l mailing list
Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Nfbf-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/kdavisnfbf%40cfl.rr.com
_______________________________________________
Nfbf-l mailing list
Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Nfbf-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/flmom2006%40gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Nfbf-l mailing list
Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Nfbf-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/kdavisnfbf%40cfl.rr.com
More information about the NFBF-L
mailing list