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From: madams@ecst.csuchico.edu (Michael E. Adams)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Honor among theives (Re: suppimenting my income...)
Message-ID: <16519@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 29 Dec 90 02:54:24 GMT
References: <13143@bunker.UUCP>
Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Reply-To: madams@ecst.csuchico.edu (Michael E. Adams)
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Organization: California State University, Chico
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Index Number: 12593

In article <13143@bunker.UUCP> Gene.Zeak@p0.f219.n137.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>Index Number: 9512
>
>What follows is NOT  a plea for anyone's pity, but the honest
>facts.  From previous postings, you may already know that I am a
>person disabled with Multiple Sclerosis.  I want to suppliment my
>meager fixed (SSDI) income ( which typically runs out the 3rd
>week of the month) by writing shareware.

This sounds like a pity plea to me.  Or a least an unethical attempt
to sell your product/service by preying upon the compassion of others. 
When I was on SSDI I made my (meager) budget last all month long, and
I finally got off SSDI by selling a competitive, quality programming
service.  For as long as I needed it, I accepted the help that was
offered by SSDI.  But I see no honor in continuously milking for
charity.

I may sound mean, but your introduction frustrates me.  I admit that
M.S. must be a hard thing to live with, and that your shareware
DISKREFs probably are top rate.  But, I wish you would stop to
consider how the wording, of your appeal for business, undermines the
progress "we" are making towards changing the attitudes of "normal"
business men & women.  Specifically, it's still damn hard to get most
folks to take the disabled seriously.

Old stereotypes die hard.  Thus it is easy for us to sell pencils and
handi-crafts, but to sell $15,000 worth of computer code is only
possible if the buyer is convinced he is buying from a professional
programmer.  In sports, professional means you have been paid, in
medicine & law it means a licence, but for politicians & programmers
it is the "perception" of professionalism that really counts.  So,
until the disabled learn to STOP looking for handouts, society will
continue to perceive them as insignificant (i.e."non-players") and
hence, few of us will ever see the better side of $75,000 a year,
regardless of the profession.

P.S. In a free market economy what ever works is fair, even if it
     pisses some folks off!  So SELL! SELL! SELL!  But please don't
     give away your (our) dignity.  Good luck with your business. :{)

         (___)      |  Michael E. Adams
         (o o)      |  Custom Computer Programming
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