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From: Lois.Briggs@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Lois Briggs)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: hot topic
Message-ID: <16552@handicap.news>
Date: 28 Jun 91 16:01:42 GMT
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[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hello David, and this really is a "Hot Topic" is it not?

 DA> You and Jake are saying that the "new view of blindness" is
 DA> taking something away from us.  I don't see it that way at all.

I am not objecting to the "new view" of blindness if we are both talking
about the group known as the "blind" being given equal opportunities in
all things and being viewed as capable human beings with something to
contribute to the good of all.  No more than I object to that premiss
for Blacks, foreigners, women or any other "group" as a whole.

 DA>  I think our progress as a group is a dynamic thing.

Again, if you are speaking about the fact that with each passing year,
through education and technology, more and more people become aware that
a properly trained blind person can do most things as well as those with
sight, then I agree with this statement.  But, it's the individual blind person
that concerns me not the blind as a group.

 DA>  Eventually, blind people as a whole won't need subsidies. We
 DA>  may as individuals, but not solely because of our blindness.

This is the statement I tend to disagree with you on.  No matter how you
cut it there will ALWAYS be those people faced with blindness who simply
can't hurdle all the emotional obsticles caused by the loss of their
sight and emerge as a well trained, confident and independent person.
There will be those who will never earn enough money to
be self-supporting or be able to afford the high tech items that allow
them to do things they couldn't do otherwise, and for whom these, shall we
call them "perks" will not only be nice but necessary, therefore, I would never
want to be the one to eliminate these things for those who really need
them.  Again, I have no problem with someone not availing themselves of
any type of assistance if they don't need it, just with eliminating the
availability of the help for those who do.

DA>   Let me give you an example.  I could spend $4000 and
 DA>  buy an Ar spend much time and read most of my mail by myself.
 DA>  It woul things be very time consuming.  I could also hire a
 DA>  reader, t him/her instructions and read my mail that way.  Am
 DA>  I less use a reader.

Of course not, but finding volunteers to help out isn't anything like I
first thought it would be when I began losing my sight.  I was certain
the people I knew would be only too happy to read things to me or help
me out in some other way from time to time, just because they could do
these things and I no longer could.  I never bothered anyone on a
daily basis or hounded them to death.  I never expected them to do these
things for me without my repaying them in some way, but money was and
still is out of the question, except on an occasional basis, and the
monetary help of reduced bus fares and the tax credit is what we were
talking about, and is a great help to many of us.

Lois

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