[nfbwatlk] drive in custodialism

[Debby Phillips]

That must have been terrifying. I think independence is wonderful but I have aon which says it all for me being in control tpo ask. I will write this later.definition

Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 12, 2014, at 9:53 PM, Lauren Merryfield <lauren at catlines.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> I do not care for the attitude that we never need help either. I know that
> we're "supposed to" be always in teaching mode, according to some
> Federationists, but some of us are just living our lives and function in a
> whole lot of different modes, teaching mode being only one of them. And some
> of us have more difficulty multitasking multiple modes. 
> 
> I had the same problem in Omaha when, especially in the winters, I really
> needed help with the ice and huge piles of snow, though my cane gave me good
> info. The upshot of Omaha's sighted people fearing helping the blind brought
> on a terrible experience for me. I was heading down to meet my bus to get to
> work. It was snowy, icy and treacherous out and I lived on a hilly street.
> The sidewalks were not scooped well at all so I walked at the edge of the
> street. At one point, I lost my balance and landed in the middle of the
> street. Cars drove around me. I was horrified! No one stopped to help
> because the NFB in Omaha made sure people knew never to help us. It took me
> a while to wait until there was a gap in traffic so I could roll over to the
> curb and get up. My clothes were a mess so I walked back home to change. I
> was so shaken up and so cold that it took me a while to take another bus and
> arrive late to work, which they didn't like. This was a bad day that could
> have been prevented if we hadn't been so hard-nosed from the NFB to the
> agency for the blind. I know people saw me, but they refused to stop. The
> whole thing didn't do anything to help my sense of self-esteem either.
> Except that I was able to get myself up, back home and eventually to work by
> myself.Whoopy! I vaguely remember functioning okay by myself but hearing the
> cars driving around me as I lay there in the muck and freezing weather I
> remember vividly.  I was fortunate not to have been hit or even killed due
> to hard-nosed attitudes. I remember wondering how I was going to get to the
> edge of the street or if I'd even make it. I was terrified! 
> Thanks
> Lauren, who reminds some that not all Federationists are alike. Some of us
> do have a heart. 
> Blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ 
> "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own
> understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy
> paths." Proverbs #3#5-6
> My book is now available in audiobook format:
> www.TheresMoreThanOneWay.com
> Visit my new website at 
> www.mythirtyone.com/604934
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Debby
> Phillips via nfbwatlk
> Sent: Friday, December 12, 2014 9:32 PM
> To: Don Mitchell; NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List;
> portillo.jim at gmail.com; k7uij at panix.com
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] drive in custodialism
> 
> Okay, I'm probably gonna piss some people off, but okay, what the 
> heck.  You know, we are blind.  We don't always see what's ahead.  
> It isn't that we need people's help to do things in our lives, 
> but it sure isn't a bad thing if somebody offers to tell us 
> what's ahead down the road.  You know, in Denver blind people 
> have such a reputation for being rude that if a blind person did 
> need help nobody would help them.  This is the one thing that 
> used to piss me off when I was not in NFB.  It's that damned 
> attitude of "I don't need anybody".  We all need each other and 
> people just need to stop getting their knickers in a knot every 
> time somebody offers a helpful piece of information.  This world 
> is so frickin non-civil anyway.  Why do we have to add to it? 
> Isn't it okay to just smile and say, Thanks, and go on your way? 
> What does it hurt to treat people respectfully and not assume 
> just because they offer some information that they think we can't 
> do stuff without them.  I have been with my husband when he tried 
> to tell a blind person, "Hey, there's something in front of you." 
> He could tell that by the way they were using their cane or not 
> paying attention to what their dog was trying to signal that they 
> were going to bump in to it.  The person would get all snappy.  
> And then bam! They'd bump into the very thing he was trying to 
> tell them was there.  And then they'd be all mad because they 
> bumped into it.  This is the one thing about NFB that I don't 
> like, and I'll NEVER be this way.  I have given sighted people 
> directions.  They don't seem to get all pissy because I do.  It's 
> only blind folks that do do.  So kick me out if you want to, but 
> this really frosts me.  We've lost the ability to be human with 
> one another because we're all so damned scared that people are 
> going to think us inferior, or dependent, or God only knows what.  
> We need to get over ourselves.  Well, now that I've had my rant 
> and will probably get a private reprimand, I think I'll go to 
> bed.  Good night everybody.    Debby
> 
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