From Mira Wilson, Calgary, Canada:
I really enjoyed "Not the Type," the short story in the June issue. What a good twist at the end! The main character, Carrie, had a good name--it suited her, as Carrie means "dark one."
I read with interest the articles on disaster preparedness for people with disabilities. I was somewhat surprised at how deficient the official procedures are in the United States. That means other countries are even more lacking, in ways I can only imagine.
Katrina Wright's letter in June's Readers Forum struck a chord. I think it took courage for her to describe what has been--and regrettably still is--a tendency for blind people to segregate each other. I noticed this tendency when I attended school at Jericho Hill in Vancouver, BC. Prior to that, I attended the school for the blind in Brantford, ON, where I didn't notice this tendency so much. However, a good percentage of students at the Vancouver school could not have attended the school in Brantford. Also, at the Brantford school we had no print materials or writing tools. We had to learn braille.
As an adult, I still notice this type of segregation. However, I think it's more a question of being drawn to those with whom you feel you can best relate. It makes sense that if you have good partial vision and you're adjusting to vision loss, you would gravitate toward those who seem to be in a similar situation. It's also possible that some individuals are not adjusting well to loss of sight and feel fear of what they will face.
Of course, there are exceptions: I made friends with students who had partial vision. The degree of vision just isn't a part of what I consider in making friends. I choose my friends based on what we have in common to share and enjoy!
I believe there needs to be more unity in the blind community despite differences in vision loss--if there's to be more success in getting governments to legislate on matters of great concern in our community.
I read with interest the articles on disaster preparedness for people with disabilities. I was somewhat surprised at how deficient the official procedures are in the United States. That means other countries are even more lacking, in ways I can only imagine.
Katrina Wright's letter in June's Readers Forum struck a chord. I think it took courage for her to describe what has been--and regrettably still is--a tendency for blind people to segregate each other. I noticed this tendency when I attended school at Jericho Hill in Vancouver, BC. Prior to that, I attended the school for the blind in Brantford, ON, where I didn't notice this tendency so much. However, a good percentage of students at the Vancouver school could not have attended the school in Brantford. Also, at the Brantford school we had no print materials or writing tools. We had to learn braille.
As an adult, I still notice this type of segregation. However, I think it's more a question of being drawn to those with whom you feel you can best relate. It makes sense that if you have good partial vision and you're adjusting to vision loss, you would gravitate toward those who seem to be in a similar situation. It's also possible that some individuals are not adjusting well to loss of sight and feel fear of what they will face.
Of course, there are exceptions: I made friends with students who had partial vision. The degree of vision just isn't a part of what I consider in making friends. I choose my friends based on what we have in common to share and enjoy!
I believe there needs to be more unity in the blind community despite differences in vision loss--if there's to be more success in getting governments to legislate on matters of great concern in our community.
posted by Matilda Ziegler at
6:37 PM
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