[Oabs] Convention address

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi, OABSters,

As I listen to Dr. Maurer's last convention address back home, I am
torn between feeling cynical and amused by the points Dr. Maurer has
brought up.  I have to say, I like this speech a lot more than last
year's or the speech from 2012, and it is quite humorous to me.

The points he makes about E-How are all true.  I remember that over a
year ago there was a big fus on NAbS about the articles, and several
of our student division members were furious that there was no way for
the material to be removed by their own means as far as they were
aware.  I, to an extent, was among them; I didn't think material that
ridiculous should be on the internet because it is damaging to the
character of blind people, but I knew something substantial would have
to be done to convince E-How staff to remove free thought, even if it
is wrong or damaging to the character of other people.  I think Dr.
Maurer presented the material on E-How with grace and humor.  He
pointed out how ridiculous it was, without insighting anger or firing
up the guns to go blazing in on the E-How staff.

I have mixed thoughts about the accounts of people who try to see as
much as they can, which Dr. Maurer talked about in length.  I do agree
that these people need different world views, especially the attitudes
of the parents of that little girl, Molly.  Perhaps I am a little bit
hindered in forming a complete opinion on that, since my parents tried
to help me see a lot of things as a kid, too.  However, I have to
question the differences between their behavior, and the behavior of
this little girl's parents.  I feel like my parents showed me things
at the same time as they showed my sighted siblings, and though they
sometimes asked museum officials if I could get a little closer to
exhibits to see the details that others could see from greater
distances, or ask if I could have someone explain a picture to me that
I could not get close enough to examine myself, they did not do these
things to squeeze in visions before I lost vision.  I think that this
little girl has just as bright of a future after she loses her sight
as she does now with the vision she has, but I admire the parents.
Although they're misguided, their desire to show their daughter all
kinds of things she can't forget is a good thing.  Perhaps a blindness
organization such as the NFB can steer them towards the right
attitude.  Still, I know even older adults who have gone on trips to
Paris to see world wonders in that city upon learning they were going
blind, and for them it was just a matter of seeing what they wanted to
see before they could not.  The Eifel tower isn't exactly something
you can actually feel in full image, and the person in question was a
confident adult even after he went blind.  I have to question in
myself what possesses people to see things.  See, in quotes, because
take the word see, for visually perceive or experience as you will.  I
do think that I would still want to "See," as in experience, certain
things even after I lost my sight.  I would still like to climb a
pyramid and get to the top of the Eifel tower.  I'd still like to take
a ride in a canal in Amsterdam or Venice, and I'd like to go to
historical places in Vienna and Italy.  If I were to find tomorrow
that I had a limited amount of time to "see," as in visually perceive
these things, I don't know if I'd want to cram all these experiences
into that short time, lest I damage the experiences by rushing them.
I'd much rather take my time and experience these marvels regardless
of whether or not I can visually perceive them, rather than try to get
the visual image I may not even describe to another person in 30
years, and move on to the next thing.  In regards to the other woman,
I agree with Dr. Maurer's assessment of her attitude, however I wonder
if the comments she made about her personality and emotions getting
out of whack might have been taken out of context.  After all, she
does have a brain tumor, so her comments on emotional and personality
centers of the brain might have been in reference to fear of those
areas being damaged in surgery rather than the fear of losing control
of these aspects of life along with sight.  Then again, perhaps my
knowledge of these areas is also getting in the way of what the woman
really said and the context in which the comment was made.

Just some thoughts I've had.  What do you all think?

-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma