[nfb-talk] A few of my own observations

[Jim Marks]

The biggest battle blind people face occurs inside our own heads.
Traditional wisdom tells us that we are inferior, and hardly a day passes in
which that message is not sent and received.  However, if we really believe
in ourselves, even when the faith defies reason, we can accomplish much more
than if we allow the outside world to tell us what it means to be blind.

John you raise two issues that you suppose to be examples of how badly the
blind are treated.  I can see why you might think this.  For me, accessible
money is a ho-hum sort of thing.  Sure, it would be nice to have accessible
money, but it's just not high on my priority list.  The audible pedestrian
signals are a different matter for me.  Many believe that they provide
better safety.  Although I'm sure there are a few instances in which the
extra information may be necessary,  I've yet to see any research that
supports the claim that the audible pedestrian signals increase safety in
most instances.  My personal experience is that the chirps, beeps, and
clicks actually interfere with traffic noise, which creates a safety
problem.  But we're not really debating these two issues, are we?  I think
we are really debating what we think about blindness.

The NFB philosophy is about doing for yourself the things you can do for
yourself before asking that the environment be changed.  To be a non-victim
is to thrive in any environment, accessible or otherwise.  Moreover, no
amount of environmental accessibility will make my blindness go away.  I
could live in the perfectly accessible world, and I would still be blind.
So, it makes good sense to become good at being blind.  The first attention
goes to positive thoughts and sound blindness skills.  Then, when we do ask
for modifications in the environment, we do so with the dignity that we are
not depending on the kindness of strangers.  And that's what I mean by being
a change victim.  I do not want to depend on others to do for me the things
I can do myself.  Sometimes, I do rely on environmental accessibility and
support from others.  The NFB is not aiming for a world in which blind
people are islands.  Inter-dependence can be healthy, and we merely want to
do our part in the give and take of humanity.  For sure, the NFB emphasizes
personal responsibility.  I like the NFB emphasis on personal responsibility
because this is where real power comes from.  My thinking these days goes
way beyond being stuck in victimhood.  I want to influence and to make life
better for others while enjoying a decent lifestyle at the same time.  And
that's why it's so important to truly and completely believe it is
respectable to be blind.

John, you don't have the corner on truth.  I'm not sure if any of us really
do.  But my money is on the NFB to deliver for me and others like me.  I
hope for your sake and the sake of others that you will listen more than you
talk, and that you will think critically about your own prejudices and the
voices in your own head.  Best of luck to you!



-------
Jim Marks
blind.grizzly at gmail.com
 
-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces+blind.grizzly=gmail.com at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-talk-bounces+blind.grizzly=gmail.com at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
John Heim
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:56 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A few of my own observations

Well, the debate seems to have come around full circle.   This is good 
though because philosophy is still my #1 priority.

I just cannot buy this "change victim" line of reasoning. People in wheel
chairs don't seem like "change victims" when they demanded and got curb
cuts, wheel chair ramps, accessible bathrooms, and disabled parking spaces. 
The AARP doesn't seem like a group of victims. They seem pretty successful. 
On the other hand, the United States is the only country in the world with
money that blind people can't differentiate.

Can you please explain to me exactly what a "change victim" is? Can you
explain to me exactly why I should not demand that the world be remade to my
liking? Say I sued the Treasury Department for accessible money and won. 
What bad thing would happen to me?  All of a sudden i might start demanding
still more accomodations? Like how people in wheelchairs demanded curb cuts
and then wheelchair ramps, and then accessible bathrooms, and then disabled
parking spaces? Huh... I'm just not getting what the drawback is here.

These are not intended to be rhetorical questions.  I have yet to see anyone
really explain what advantages there is to the "don't be a change victim" 
approach. Because I sure don't feel like a victim when I demand that the
Treasury Department, part of my own government, not use my own tax dollars
to print money that I can't differentiate.  on the contrary, I think we
should be saying, "I am VI, hear me roar!"

A few years ago, I got a different job at the UW and I had to start crossing
a very busy street each morning. Well, the light gave me only about 15
seconds to cross. And often, because cars run the red, I couldn't be sure I
had the green until I had 10 - 12 secondss to cross.  By that time, cars
going my way but turning were in the intersection and I'd have to wait for
them. It wouldn't do any good to wait for the next cycle because it would
just happen again.  And believe me, the oncoming cars didn't wait for me to
finish crossing before coming on when the light changed back. More than once
I stood huddled between lanes while cars zoomed past.

So I called the city and asked to have audible signals installed. The city
planner balked saying people complained about the noise. This was obviously
absurd since it's a very busy intersection right in the middle of the
University of Wisconsin campus.  After trying to reason with him with a few
more calls and emails , I finally said, "you're going to put audible signals
on that corner or i'm going to call the local TV station and you can explain
to them why my safety is less important than your imaginary complainers." 
The signals were installed the next week.

At what part of that process should I have felt like a victim?

Because I have to say, I felt like anything but a victim when those signals
were installed. Although, if I had it to do over again, I'd have started
wacking oncoming cars with my cane when I was pinned between lanes.  Would I
have pissed people off? You bet I would have and I'd have been damn proud of
it.

as for what I personally am doing... Well, I'm hoping to plant the seed of
doubt in the minds of some percentage of the people on this list. I don't
expect to  convince everyone. I'm not sure I can convince anyone. But, I'm a
believer (for lack of a better  word) in Mohandas K. Gandhi's idea of
satchygraha. Roughly translated it means "power of truth". The idea is that
the truth itself has power.