[blindlaw] CLE agenda language that is negative toward the blind

Wed Sep 27 13:56:38 CDT 2006

Why are you guys going on and on about this issue?

Also, I thought  Scott said to indicate in the subject line  if  what we're 
wrtiting about is off topic!  Hey, enough about this wheelchair/cane/dog 
talk already!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark BurningHawk" <stone_troll at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 1:46 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] CLE agenda language that is negative toward the 
blind

> *grins at your comment about sexual proclivities* having never need to
> resort to using a wheelchair, and only having fooled around with power
> chairs, doing figure eights and such, for amusement's sake, and with the
> wheelchair user's permission and amused cheering-on, I admit freely that 
> my
> "consciousness has not bee raised," to the height that it has been about
> being blind, since I was born blind and have lived a lifestyle which has
> very little to do with blindness as a "binding factor," or restriction.  I
> often forget that I am blind, and am bewildered by others' almost 
> exclusive
> focus on this part of my character, rather than how good-looking and sexy 
> I
> am, or any number of other positive traits.  Other than working for 
> doctors
> (transcriptionist) I have very little to do with them, for blindness or 
> any
> other reason.  Since you weren't exactly "offended," by my use of an
> imprecise term, I will count myself lucky and having been taught, and bow 
> to
> you for this lesson in thanks for its gentleness.  I am quite sure that 
> your
> wheelchair, for you, is a symbol of freedom and ability, rather than a
> prison.  This reminds me of a song by someone, Flan I think, "growing up 
> in
> a wheelchair," and it's a rather dismal song; all about a kid who is free
> inside his head, in the vivid dreams he has, but "then the nurse turns on
> the light, and there's his ... wheelchair..."  I'm sure such a dismal song
> could be written about blindness and growing up without sight.  I was an
> only child and grew up in rural Vermont, so perhaps was spared the full
> impact of that until I could take it in hand and command victory from the
> situation.  This discussion comes at an interesting time for me, as I am
> currently training with my third guide dog from Guiding Eyes for the 
> Blind,
> which is MY symbol for freedom, as a cane could never be.  Wonder how I"d
> like "dog bound."  Hmmm.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Carrie Ann Lucas" <clucas at disabilitypride.com>
> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 8:51 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] CLE agenda language that is negative toward the
> blind
>
>
>> Oh my.  Do we really want to go to the medical establishment for guidance
>> on
>> disabilities.  I'm not sure it would be so empowering for people who are
>> blind either.  The medical model view of disability is not very
>> empowering.
>>
>>
>> When people talk about being wheelchair bound, I usually ask them to not
>> reference their sexual proclivities.  What they do in the privacy of 
>> their
>> home is their own business.
>>
>> As for my wheelchair, in terms of your context, my wheelchair equates 
>> with
>> freedom, not restriction.  Without my wheelchair I am stuck in bed, with
>> my
>> wheelchair I have all the freedom in the world.
>>
>> The reality is that all of us with disabilities, be we blind, deaf,
>> wheelchair users, or any combination of them, or all of them as the case
>> may
>> be, is that we adapt to our disabilities and they aren't very disabling 
>> at
>> all, provided we have the proper tools and skills to navigate a world 
>> that
>> is not very accessible to anyone with a disability.
>>
>> This discussion has been interesting and absolutely no different from the
>> ones I see among people who are deaf or people who are wheelchair users.
>> People who are deaf often hear other people say that deafness must be the
>> worst disability, quadriplegics hear the same thing, etc. etc.  Most
>> people,
>> disabled or not, have a limited world view when it comes to disability.
>> We
>> "get" those disabilities we live with, but often don't "get" the others.
>> In
>> a way I am lucky because I am deafblind and use a wheelchair, so I get
>> some
>> things on a level that others do not, but on the other hand, I'm not
>> really
>> a blind person, I'm not really a deaf person, and I'm not just a
>> wheelchair
>> user. The combination makes my experience very different from others, and
>> I
>> know I don't completely get the issues faced b any other community. 
>> While
>> I
>> live with my 3 children with cognitive disabilities,  I also don't get
>> cognitive disabilities either.  My world view is shaped by their
>> experiences, and I probably get the issues better than many others, but I
>> still don't "get" it all.
>>
>> Carrie Ann Lucas
>> Attorney/Equal Justice Works Fellow
>> Center for Rights of Parents with Disabilities
>> Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition
>> 655 Broadway, Suite 775
>> Denver, CO 80203
>> 303.839.1775 (voice
>> 303.839.0015 (TTY and CapTel)
>> 303.839.1782 (facsimile)
>> 800.817.1435 (voice)
>> 877.267.1621(TTY and CapTel)
>> www.ccdconline.org
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> My use that term stems from my work with doctors, who use the term when
>> discussing, in a purely scientific/medical/clinical context, their
>> patients.
>>
>> It also reflects my personal opinion that being forced to use a 
>> wheelchair
>> would be a "binding," for me, used to physical freedom and great strength
>> in
>> all extremities.  *shrug*
>>
>>
>>
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>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
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>>
>
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