When I have been involved in cross disability groups, I have found that those issues that impact blind people are not issues that impact most other disabilities. Also, our issues are usually harder to solve. So the tendency of the group is to sadly shake their heads and then go about solving their issues, expecting the blind members to join in. If the blind members protest, they are either ignored or accused of not being supportive of the needs of the majority.
Remember, all of us, whether blind or disabled in other ways, are in a life and death struggle for little crumbs from the Master's table. It might not be right, but in a struggle for survival we tend to look out for ourselves first and foremost.
Curious Carl
----- Original Message -----From: JRAYLSent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 4:26 AMSubject: Re: [acb-l] EMPLOYMENT OF BLIND PEOPLEI have also attempted, at various times and in various ways to get involved with groups with other disabilities, especially those with physical disabilities. There still lies a disstinct separation among us, even within the disabled student programs, literature of research, etc. Some tffy not to make it anywhere quite so apparent as Andally and some others experienced it, but its there-that is, unless we can pinpoart a real and direct commonality and work on it together. But generally, there comes this: _your issues and _our issues-and the implications that _our issues are _ours and _your issues need to be with in _your own circles. I tried _andin ha" dealt with in x^for to inct separation tried, for example, to get the other groups to support our APS endeavor. Well first, I barely got the Blind group to support it-they did in heart but _not on paper or certainly not in body. But the other groups? Nooo way.
Jessie
----- Original Message -----
From: Baracco, Andrew W <Andrew.Baracco@va.gov>
To: <acb-l@acb.org>
Date: Monday, Mar 12, 2012 02:07:58 PM
Subject: Re: [acb-l] EMPLOYMENT OF BLIND PEOPLE
>
>
>
>
> When I was in grad school, I decided to get involved with the Disabled Students Union on campus. I attended a meeting that was sparsely attended, and the President, who was a woman in a wheelchair strongly urged the folks to bring in new members. When they had their next meeting, I showed up with 10 blind people in tow. That President said something to the effect of "What are all these blind people doing here?" She said that perhaps they would address the concerns of the blind after their issues were addressed. That was my last effort to work with the cross disability community.
>
> Andy
>
>
> From: acb-l-bounces@acb.org [mailto:acb-l-bounces@acb.org] On Behalf Of Ken Metz
> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 5:46 PM
> To: 'Acb List'
> Subject: [acb-l] EMPLOYMENT OF BLIND PEOPLE
>
> There are many of us who have worked all or most of our lives. On the other hand, how many of us ever got to the full potential in our jobs whereby HR and other folks felt that we couldn't be promoted specifically because we were blind. Whether or not the ADA will help you in the future is, in my opinion, still being tested, but it sure hasn't improved the employment rate of blind folks. The one difference is that we moved some from assembly work or making brooms to a few in computer science, transcription, and many customer service entry level jobs, but the percentage stays the same.
>
> People tell us that we should consider working in coalition with other disabilities, and many of them will bite you in the butt as fast as any other of those in the public sector. If you go to disability meetings, the majority of those meetings refers to persons in wheelchairs, the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and even those with mental illness. Because of the low incidents of blindness, we are forgotten or hardly considered. Even other disability groups often forget to have handouts in accessible formats.
>
> When a blind person gets some adaptive equipment we hear how expensive it is, but we sure don't hear many complaints about someone getting an accessible van to drive and the cost of that van.
>
> When I was a Rehab Counselor, I heard of two cases in California whereby the Department paid over $100,000 for each of at least two people who wanted gender change operations because it effected their ability towards a vocational ending.
>
> So, if I got some kind of a blind pension, would it bother me? Hell no. I am personally very tired of seeing others catered to and not having equality for persons who are blind or visually impaired.
>
> Finally, look at Para Transit. Blindness alone is not an automatic reason to get Para Transit. Well, the disability community has fought to get wheelchair lifts on buses, so they should also be treated evenly when signing up for Para Transit.
>
> Is life fair? No, and no one ever said it was. Should life be equal in its treatment of people having abilities? Yes, but it isn't if you're blind.
>
> While there is never an all or none, blind folks have to go through a lot of crap to do those things they have learned to do to be gainfully employed and/or to just have as full a productive life as possible.
>
> Ken Metz
>
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Jessie Rayl, MA, LPC, ALPS
www_pathtogrowth_org
thedogmomffcc%frontier_com
304-671-9780
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