Bud,
You said, "Nobody will hire someone where the exchange of money is
involved if there is a chance that they could be cheated." I don't think
this is the case. My brother is blind and has such a position. I think
there are quite a few other blind people in the same situation.
I agree that having different sized bills would make things easier and may
open some opportunities for some blind people. My chief concern is that
resorting to a law suit and using terminology that says the blind cannot
independently participate in society until the size of our paper currency
changes comes with its own price. I feel that whenever a group uses a
lawsuit to get what it wants it loses some good will with the general
public. This is necessary for some issues and in some situations, but I'm
not convinced this is such an issue.
I know a lawsuit needs to use strong statements to make its case, but
stating that blind people cannot participate in activities integral to
society because of the currency that has been in circulation for decades
paints a poor picture of the blind. What about positions where someone
has to handle a credit card, a drivers license as a form of
identification, receipts and so on. Based on the statements used in this
lawsuit, I'm not sure someone would feel comfortable hiring a blind person
for a job that requires any of these activities.
I also agree completely that we don't have to just work on one issue at a
time. My problem isn't with working on several fronts at the same time;
it's more with our priorities. Filing and pursuing such a lawsuit will
take time and resources away from other issues, and in my opinion, it
could damage the ability of blind people to fight other battles, at least
in the short term.
Christopher
Christopher J Chaltain
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"Kennedy, Bud" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent by: "VICUG-L: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List"
<[log in to unmask]>
05/07/2002 08:30 AM
Please respond to "Kennedy, Bud"
To: [log in to unmask]
cc:
Subject: [VICUG-L] FW: [VICUG-L] American Council of the Blind seeks changes in
U.S.
-----Original Message-----
From: Kennedy, Bud
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 8:35 AM
To: 'Leslie Fairall'
Subject: RE: [VICUG-L] American Council of the Blind seeks changes in
U.S.
It seems as though there would be a lot more jobs available if you could
tell what bill you were being handed. Nobody will hire someone where the
exchange of money is involved if there is a chance that they could be
cheated.
We also seem to think that you can only pursue one thing at a time. We
can
still be helping people find jobs while lobbying to make money accessible.
Bud Kennedy
-----Original Message-----
From: Leslie Fairall [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 10:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] American Council of the Blind seeks changes in
U.S.
I tend to agree with Tom and Chris on this one. I believe employment of
blind people is a more important issue to tackle. If you don't have a job,
you won't have much money to identify. I have wondered recently what our
priorities as a blind community really are. Sometimes It seems like
entertaining ourselves is more important than finding and holding down a
job.
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