The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for content, style and space available. Opinions expressed are those of the authors, not those of the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. “The Braille Forum” is not responsible for the opinions expressed herein. We will not print letters unless you sign your name and give us your address.
Regarding the June “President’s Message”
Anyone who wishes to criticize a president of an organization had better be willing to praise him or her when it is deserved. Thus, although I am not shy about expressing myself when I have disagreed with our president, I want to indicate how moved I was by the June “President’s Message” in the Forum. For my money, the most important thing about a person is not necessarily his or her achievements, but his/her feelings for others. I think this message shows a depth of feeling in our president that makes me proud to be an ACB member. Paul deserves a great deal of credit for the sentiments contained in that message.
— Jeff Thom, Sacramento, Calif.
Regarding a previous letter to the editor and “Newsline”
I’m writing in response to Mark Miller’s letter regarding the president’s message in the February “Braille Forum.” In his response, Miller accuses President Edwards of advocating that everyone go out and buy a computer. This response is an example of how too many hear but don’t listen and read but don’t pay attention. I would like to invite Miller to read the message again, pay attention to what he is reading and think about it. If he does this, he is very likely to come to a different conclusion. He will discover that President Edwards is questioning why the $4 million allocation is going to just one source of news delivery, and whether that news delivery source is the best when there are so many options. If he pays attention to the message I think he will discover that the computer is mentioned only once. The president talks about how the computer allows him to access information. The whole point of the message is that there are many options that we can choose from. When I read the message I came away thinking about how I loved options and how glad I was to have them. Read the message again, Mr. Miller, and you just might come to the same conclusion.
— Phil Jones, Lilburn, Ga.
It profoundly disturbed me to read Paul Edwards’ article, “Of News and Lines,” in the February 2001 issue of “The Braille Forum.” He denigrates Newsline while admitting he has never tried it.
I love Newsline. My father was a journalist and he instilled in me a great love of news and sports. I used to look forward to his reading the paper to me every day. Since his death I have felt deprived, even bereft, at the loss of my newspaper.
Then came Newsline. I can now get all the sports statistics and local news I want. I can also read the New York Times and discuss it intelligently with my college professor friends. These are only a few of the benefits I receive from Newsline.
Now to my point of concern: Edwards proposes several alternatives to Newsline which he believes would be better. Every one of these options requires the Internet. One of the good things about Newsline is that one does not need a computer to use it. There are many middle-aged and older blind people who through no fault of their own do not have computers at home. The ones who do are usually employed or in school. My husband and I are retired and went through vocational rehabilitation before advanced technology became available. There are many people like us who lack the financial resources, if not the aptitude, to purchase expensive equipment for ourselves.
Please don’t lobby to have our telephone Newsline service replaced with something accessible only on the Internet. The American Council of the Blind professes to be a democracy. Democracy should mean that information, like liberty and justice, should be for all.
— Dr. Judith Anne Dent, Kirkwood, Mo.
Regarding glaucoma
I was glad to see Norma Krajczar’s letter about glaucoma in the November 2000 issue. My parents were informed about the possibility of my developing glaucoma secondary to retinopathy of prematurity when I was a child, and they always took any complaint about eye pain very seriously. What they didn’t know about was the fact that there are several forms of glaucoma, some of which do not cause pain. During my teen years my trips to the eye doctor became infrequent. My parents assumed that as long as I was having no symptoms I was fine.
I wasn’t fine. I was losing vision so gradually that I didn’t know it until I was 19 years old. Previous episodes of temporary total blindness had been diagnosed as ocular migraines. When the gray fog returned that year, I at first assumed I was experiencing another of these migraines. When the fog didn’t go away, I returned to the doctor for an exam under anesthesia, which was the only way to get an accurate measurement of my intraocular pressure because of my severe nystagmus. Although I had no pain, my pressure was 42. A normal measurement is under 21.
After treatment with eye drops and surgery, my pressure was brought down to an acceptable range. However, I had already sustained permanent damage to my optic nerve which prevented me from perceiving contrast clearly. Not only did this cause me to lose the ability to read print with magnification (something which I cherished for small tasks when braille was not available), but it also caused changes in my methods of orienting myself and navigating in the environment because some of the visual cues I used were no longer available to me.
I second Ms. Krajczar’s comments about the importance of regular examinations. Beyond that, I wish to emphasize the importance of taking prescribed medication regularly, even when one feels fine. After my surgery in 1992, I was prescribed medication which worked well for keeping the pressure down. In 1994 I was prescribed a contact lens for the eye with some vision, and this made a world of difference in my ability to locate certain types of landmarks when traveling. However, I became lazy in taking my medication. The optometrist who had prescribed the lens warned me several times about seeing the glaucoma specialist and getting my medication adjusted because my pressure was creeping up slowly. I ignored these warnings until I began to experience that same fog again. The pressure had risen to 30, and I needed a cornea transplant. Apparently, the prolonged period of high pressure had caused my cornea to become cloudy. The first transplant failed, and I have recently had a second one in order to preserve the vision I have left.
I wish it had not taken the vision loss to make me understand the importance of regular exams and taking medication correctly. Eye care is a very important issue, even and especially for those of us who are blind or visually impaired.
— Sarah J. Blake, Anderson, Ind.
Regarding “Lessons to Learn”
I’m glad we are finally waking up and saying that NFB can no longer make the claim that they speak for all blind people.
For example, how can they say that blind people are normal and then ignore our needs as a group? After all, we blind folks are normal. And normal people have needs. Just because we want audio description doesn’t mean that we are demanding a special accommodation. Anyone with a rational thinking mind can see that.
How can the NFB criticize sighted people for judging all blind people by one standard when they do it themselves? I echo what you said in your editorial. Enough is enough! We are not subnormal, not supernormal, but normal people with normal needs and sometimes we have to use alternative techniques to have those needs met. Thank you for speaking out.
— Phil Jones, Lilburn, Ga.
Do we need to change the name of the magazine?
After listening to the various speeches at the convention and hearing the discussions and debates over resolutions, one idea came to mind. It seems that ACB wants to be able to get more people involved in the organization and reading “The Braille Forum.”
This may be a radical idea, but maybe it is time to consider making a minor change in the name of “The Braille Forum.” As this excellent publication is now offered in several formats, with braille being just one of them, maybe the word “braille” should be dropped from the name. A name such as “The ACB Forum” would not sound so limiting. This way, we keep the word “forum” which holds on to the great history of the organization and add “ACB” which broadens the scope of the publication to the casual reader.
I know that the board of publications would probably have to debate such a change and then the board of directors and who knows who else.
How many people see the name “The Braille Forum” and don’t get past that to realize it is the publication of the American Council of the Blind, not a publication about braille?
— Steve Bauer, Wichita, Kan.