[Blindtlk] Question

[Mike Freeman]

Lindsay:

First, thank you for being so open about your feelings toward your cane and 
being able to admit that it's not the kids and teachers treating you 
differently from others that hangs you up; it's your own feelings and 
thinking on the subject. Plenty of people aren't honest enough with 
themselves or others to admit this; by doing so, you're well on your way to 
an answer for your plea of help.

Second, you say you know your school well and therefore can travel around it 
easily. You also say that you see a bit more than light but not enough to 
read print; many things look like blobs to you. You may well be right; you 
can probably travel around your school without difficulty -- as long as 
everything stays the same. But the world (including your school) isn't like 
that; people put stuff in hallways; people move furniture; people leave 
doors open when they're usually closed or vice versa; administrative yahoos 
insist upon embarking upon construction projects when you know perfectly 
well that the school building is just fine as it is and doesn't need to be 
changed for the next millennium; people making posters insist upon spreading 
them out completely on a hallway floor when common sense should tell them 
that hallways are for walking - they're not drafting tables! Using your 
cane, you will get advance warning of most, if not all, of these situations; 
without it, you're likely to blunder into these situations and hurt yourself 
or others or make someone mighty irritated at you (people don't like having 
their posters stepped upon). I suspect that you don't see well enough to 
avoid these situations without using your cane. Which is worse -- making 
others mad at you or hurting them or yourself or using your cane and easily 
avoiding these situations which are, if nothing else, acutely embarrassing?

Third, you say that the cane makes you look different and this bugs you. 
Have you ever considered that you're different anyway and that the cane 
neither adds nor detracts from this difference? One of the illusions most of 
us have had to banish from our thinking as we grew older is that we can hide 
our visual impairments. You may not get stared at as much if you don't use 
your cane. But when you encounter an awkward situation as described above, 
people are going to wonder why you are such a klutz. Isn't it better to use 
a cane and not be a klutz or, if the inevitable happens and you do something 
awkward because you don't see well, people will *know* the score?

Finally, now that we've established that you're different whether you like 
it or not, what's so bad about blindness being the difference? Yes, 
blindness can be a darned nuisance at times; yes, some things are more 
easily done with sight. And yes, there are a ton of sighted folks -- and 
then there's you, the "blind one". But there isn't much you can do about it; 
we all play the hand in life we're dealt. You're blind and whether you 
realize it now or not, refusing to carry a cane won't hide this fact from 
people very long. So if you're different -- if you're blind -- you might as 
well do things that make things a bit easier and safer. Using a cane is one 
of them. There's no shame in blindness - or any other difference, for that 
matter. It's the way things are. It's respectable to be blind.

So carry that cane proudly and march through life competently, safely, 
proudly and independently. Think of your cane as a badge of independence. 
And when you use it to travel safely, you'll be showing the world that their 
notions of the blind as bumbling travelers who can't find their way out of 
paper bags and who need constant help is dead wrong!

If you need encouragement in this endeavor, all of us on this list are here 
to help. And we can find an NFB chapter near you which helps immensely with 
moral support.

Now go raise some cane! (grin)

Mike Freeman, President
National Federation of the Blind of Washington

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "lindsay" <lindsay777 at charter.net>
To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 4:26 PM
Subject: [Blindtlk] Question


>I had a question about the cane.  I'm fine with using the cane at
> school, but sometimes I don't need it.  I feel like I know the
> school practically as well as my house.  I can see somewhat.
> Light, darkness, shagows, colors, and things like that.
> Everything kind of looks like a big blob.  I can only tell
> sometimes what things are.  I'm right in the middle, I can see
> more than light, but not enough to read large print.  It's kind
> of frustrating because I go to a public school.  I'm the only one
> who uses a cane.  But if I didn't go to a public school, I would
> probably never see my family.  I don't mind reading Braille.
> Although it WOULD be more convenient if I could read print.  It's
> just my cane!  It makes me stick out.  I don't want to always be
> dependent on my parents, but I don't like everyone knowing I
> can't see very well.  Sure, it has its advantages, but for the
> most part it can be very frustrating.  Please help me to know
> what to think about my cane.  Teachers and kids treat me the same
> for the most part, I just really hate my cane.
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