[nfbwatlk] Fw: NFB Article by Dr. Maurer in today's NewYorkTimes

[Albert Sanchez]

Amen!
A.S.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mackenstadt, Gary" <Gary.Mackenstadt at ed.gov>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: NFB Article by Dr. Maurer in today's 
NewYorkTimes


> It is truly a great article.  I believe that our position on this issue is 
> really on the money--no pun intended.  We need to let Dr. Maurer know that 
> we really support this position.  I believe that our position really 
> reflects the organizational integrity.  I also believe that a lot of blind 
> people, who may not belong to the NFB, support our position because the 
> Federal court decision does not make sense.  The lawyers can talk about 
> legal standards all they want.  However, as a blind person, I am concerned 
> about my role in society.  As independent blind individuals, we need few 
> modifications to participate fully in the community.  Modifying money is 
> not necessary for first-class citizenship.  For the most part, blind 
> people are economically poor.  Blind individuals need access to money, not 
> accessible money.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
> Behalf Of Judy Jones
> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 8:22 PM
> To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: NFB Article by Dr. Maurer in today's New
> YorkTimes
>
>
> Hello to all,
>
> This is such a great article!!!
>
> Money can be such a great equilizer.  Has anyone ever told you all, 
> "Sorry,
> I can't take your money, you're blind."  Or, "Don't worry about paying 
> those
> bills or that mortgage; we don't accept money from blind people."
>
> We have a hard time with gainful employment to earn money, but to my
> knowledge, no one has ever stopped us as a body from spending it!
> (grin)
>
> Judy
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 5:26 PM
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw: NFB Article by Dr. Maurer in today's New York 
> Times
>
>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
>> To: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
>> Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 7:52 AM
>> Subject: NFB Article by Dr. Maurer in today's New York Times
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The Midas Touch
>> By Marc Maurer
>> The New York Times
>> December 18, 2006
>>
>>
>> IN a ruling in a lawsuit last month, Judge James Robertson of Federal
>> District Court said that United States currency discriminates against
>> blind people because bills are all the same size and cannot be
>> distinguished by touch. His decision was applauded by some advocates for
>> the blind, including the American Council of the Blind, which brought
>> the lawsuit. But as president of the National Federation of the Blind,
>> the nation's oldest and largest organization of the blind, I believe
>> that Judge Robertson's ruling is wrong.
>>
>> Discrimination occurs when the blind are barred from enjoying benefits,
>> goods or services. This definition of discrimination is what most people
>> understand the word to mean. If a landlord refuses to rent an apartment
>> to someone because of race, color, creed or disability, then
>> discrimination occurs. Sometimes people with disabilities are barred
>> from certain facilities or services because of the way they are
>> designed. A person in a wheelchair cannot climb the steps of a public
>> building; if the building does not have a wheelchair ramp, that person
>> is prevented from entering it. In another example, my group is suing the
>> Target Corporation because the company's Web site doesn't accommodate
>> the special text-reading software that the blind use to surf the
>> Internet. In both cases, a person with a disability is kept out of a
>> public place or denied use of a service, just as African-Americans were
>> not welcome at whites-only lunch counters.
>>
>> But while blind people cannot identify paper currency by touch, that
>> does not prevent us from spending money. When we hand merchants our
>> money, they take it and provide us with the goods or services we have
>> paid for, no questions asked. People with whom we transact business
>> provide us with correct change if needed, and we then organize the money
>> in a manner that allows us to identify it in the future. We transact
>> business in this way every day.
>>
>> There is no evidence that the blind are shortchanged more often than the
>> sighted; if a question does arise about a particular transaction, it is
>> the responsibility of the blind person to sort out the matter.
>> Identifying money by feel, as the blind are often able to do in many
>> other countries, may be more convenient, but inconvenience is not the
>> same thing as discrimination.
>>
>> While it is crucial that minorities have a voice in society, it is also
>> the responsibility of every minority group to use that voice wisely and
>> not to cry ''discrimination'' when no discrimination has occurred. The
>> blind of America will fight discrimination wherever we find it, but we
>> achieve nothing by falsely portraying ourselves as victims and engaging
>> in frivolous litigation.
>>
>> Marc Maurer is the president of the National Federation of the Blind.
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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