When checking my
e-mails this morning I found a very disturbing message forwarded to me about an
effort by the Foundation Fighting Blindness to collect stories for a
book. The Foundation Fighting Blindness claims that their goals is to
give comfort and support to people who are blind and their families, but in
this message they are asking people to contribute stories to a book that will
paint a picture of hopelessness and tragedy. Through stories that make
fun of or highlight inabilities or shortcomings that are most often experienced
not because of blindness, but rather because of a lack of training or sometimes
as a result of a mistake that could be made by individuals blind or sighted,
the Foundation Fighting Blindness is portraying the outlook for the blind as
one that is bleak and sad. As a member of the National Federation of the
Blind, I am here to tell you that blindness is NOT heartbreaking, sad, nor does
it have any determination on the bleakness of our future!!!
We of the
National Federation of the Blind of Colorado like to support other agencies who
are doing positive work the blind even when their missions and visions may differ from ours. We can work in variety of capacities to bring about
positive change. However, WE DO NOT support making blind people look
incompetent and or incapable through either humorous or heartbreaking stories
about the poor pitiful blind.
Here is an
example of a story that was submitted BY one of the folks working to create the
book!!!! His name is John and he has RP. He is an employee of the
Foundation Fighting Blindness.
I was in a hotel
recently, for a business trip, and it was the first time I'd gone solo. Well, I
was doing fine walking the many corridors and going up and down escalators and
elevators. The only exception was
when I got in
the elevator once and hit the wrong button. Instead of finding the "L"
button for Lobby, I found the button that summoned the front desk! I knew
I was in trouble when, after I pushed the button again I heard the sound of a
telephone ringing and then a voice saying, "Front desk, may I help
you?" I said, "I'm sorry, just another one of your visually
challenged guests trying to ride the elevator alone." . . .
When the elevator door opens to take me somewhere, and there is no one else on
board . . . That dreadful silence means that I am on my own to my destination
and, who knows, another chat with the front desk!
This story
starts off okay. John is taking charge with confidence by going on his
first business trip alone. It sounds like he is doing reasonably well
navigating the hotel so there are no red flags here. When he talks about
pushing the wrong button we can see that he might need a little braille
training, but still, who hasn't gotten in an elevator and pushed a wrong button
at some point in time. The REAL problem comes with his response to the
front desk. Instead of just saying "oh sorry, I pushed the wrong
button" he has to make a big deal about blindness which is completely
unnecessary!!! The last sentence where he discusses the dread of being in
the elevator alone knowing he is in charge of getting to his destination is the
only part of the story that strikes me as funny. I think it is funny
because I know how ridiculous and untrue it is to believe that a blind person
must feel fear and anxiety at the idea of being in an elevator without someone
to "take them where they need to go."
The story John
tells does not lend a sense of hope to a person who is blind. It tells
them that life is difficult and sometimes seems impossible. THIS IS NOT
THE TRUTH ABOUT BLINDNESS!!!!!
BLIND PEOPLE CAN
TRAVEL ALONE, USE ELEVATORS ALONE, GO TO WORK ALONE, GO SEEK OUT NEW PLACES
ALONE, OR WHATEVER ELSE THEY WISH. John sounds like he needs some serious
blindness training. John, if you are reading this go to www.coloradocenterfortheblind.org
and get yourself some blindness training so that you start enjoying your life
and stop looking at it as a tragedy that will only end when doctors have the
ability to restore your sight! With a good dose of confidence and
blindness skills, you will be able to take charge of your future destination
without fear of the empty elevator!
TO THE
FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS
While the
National Federation of the Blind of Colorado respects your effort to conduct
research to cure diseases that cause blindness, IN THE MEANTIME, you need to
represent the abilities of the blind accurately. With the proper tools
and training, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical nuisance. If
you want to give people hope, tell them how to get training that will give them
the skills and confidence to become successful and productive members of
society. THIS IS REAL HOPE, not the idea of sitting around for 10 years
doing nothing while you wait on doctors to find a way to give you your
sight.
I hope that our
readers can agree that blindness is NOT the tragedy. The real tragedy is
spreading the perception that the blind CAN'T when we the trained, competent,
and confident blind are in society every day actively proving that we CAN and
that we DO!!!
