----- Original Message -----
From: Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: betrayal or basic lack of belief in blind people's abilities?
Back in 1954 the University of Washington cost 50 dollars' a quarter tuition. Books averaged between 3.50 and 4.50 dollars each. I worked as a dish washer, short order cook and pin setter in the campus bowling alley, all for near minimum wages, and paid for my schooling with a little beer money, too.
Speaking of blind and sighted VRC's, I've found that lack of sight does not impact the deep rooted stereotype about blind people. And in fact, it may be that blind VRC's are doubly cursed. They not only do not believe in blind people's ability but they are afraid that they will be found out.
Curious Carl
----- Original Message -----From: Miriam VieniSent: Monday, July 11, 2011 8:51 AMSubject: Re: betrayal or basic lack of belief in blind people's abilities?All true. But one of the rehab counselors whom I did not encounter
personally, but who was known to be the nastiest person in the state of New
York, was a totally blind rehab counselor who worked in NYC. Of course, my
rehab counselor who, if I remember correctly, was fully sighted, was also
pretty nasty. But back then, I didn't have to jump through any hoops to be
sponsored for graduate school in Michigan. All I had to do was to maintain
a B average or better, in college. And back then, college cost them nothing
because I went to a city college which, at the time, cost $10 a semester in
tuition. You read that right. $10. The most expensive thing about going
to college was buying the textbooks and I don't think VRS paid for them.
Miriam
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 10:49 AM
Subject: betrayal or basic lack of belief in blind people's abilities?
So, my marvelous genie, the computer repairman, came out on Sunday to
install a new power control...or some such gizmo in my computer, and after
three lonely days I am back.
There are four or five of us who have "trained" this talented fellow in the
care and love of adaptive equipment. In all of Jefferson County he is it.
Regarding the conversation about the many problems that have existed, and
still exist in the VR programs for the blind, we often turn to the examples
of uncaring, lazy or sloppy performance on the part of the VR staffs.
While I have met some of those people, and even tried to motivate them,
there is another aspect that is often over looked.
Here it is. Regardless of how VR Counselors strut behind their credentials,
Master's degrees and CRC(certified rehabilitation counselor), they actually
are living, breathing human beings, recruited right out of the employment
pool of eager, hungry people looking for a job.
"Well Mister or Miss Jones, I see you have all your credentials in place and
scored very high in everything including community volunteering."
Well my dear naive Human Resource person, you have fallen prey to the belief
that Education conquers all. But what you are really hiring is a highly
trained, Parrot, a professional who knows beyond a doubt that he/she has
what it takes to do this job. And they really, really need this job. They
have student loans to repay. Or they have family to support. They have
dreams of using this job as a stepping stone to bigger and fatter paychecks.
In other words, they are human, just like you and me,
a regular person. This regular person carries the "Blindness Stereotype
Gene" that is common to all Human Beings.
Deep down inside of them, buried beneath all of the Professional covering,
they do not really believe that blind people are capable of obtaining
equality with sighted folks.
But they need the work...fat paycheck. And they have been highly trained
to say all the right things. Like trained Parrots. And they dig right in
and become expert on such things as the State Administrative Code or the
Federal Regs, or SSDI rules. And they stride the halls spouting out all
they know. Meanwhile their job is supposed to be to move blind people
through the VR system and into successful closures. Meaning a job.
It's not that they don't want to put blind folks into jobs. The problem is
that deep down under piles of education they still do not believe in blind
people. But their job is to "26" people. And their future rise through the
system depends upon doing just that.
And so they find themselves in the position of trying to place a product
that they actually do not believe in, but do not dare say so. The very
people they have hired on to "help", are now getting in the way of their
career. And so they eventually find themselves "counseling" blind people
into jobs that blind people have worked in over the years. Safe closures.
No risk. Move onto the next widget and shove it into its nich.
Remember, I am not painting all VRC's with this broad brush, but these
people do exist. And any of us may have to place our future in their hands.
Carl Jarvis
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