Hello All,
This discussion has become quite heated. I don't see what politics has to do with it. I won't debate whether government does any good other than to point out that if it weren't for government, we wouldn't have the quality of life we enjoy. I say this because providing more Braille would improve the quality of life for many blind people. Yes, we live in a sighted world, but not everyone has access to sighted help to label the vast quantity of products people come into contact with. Considering that more commerce is done by delivery, and that some blind people may live alone. People need a way to independently identify products.
I ran into a situation where having items labeled in Braille would have been very helpful. I take medication on a daily basis for a seizure condition which is under control. I got a refill from my pharmacist who didn't bother to tell me that the formulation of the pills had changed. Consequently, I was taking a double dose and didn't know it. I ended up in the emergency room, and the doctors were very puzzled. It wasn't until I got a sighted person to come over and look at the bottles that she determined that the medication formula had changed. Fortunately, now pharmaceutical products are labeled in Braille, so I know this problem probably won't occur again. Some people might ask me why I didn't ask the pharmacist for the details about the medicine. Why would I have been in a position to ask since the formula of the medication haddn't changed for many years.
With regard to groceries I think Braille labels are now feasible for several reasons. The technology to produce Braille is falling. Consider the fact that there are embossers which can emboss Braille on plastic. People have also looked at creating low-cost Braille embossers, and modifying existing embossers to create Braille using ink which is already available on the open market. Not only that, but there is open source Braille software which can easily translate print into Grade Two Braille. There is also 3d printing technology already being used by sighted people which could easily be modified to emboss Braille and graphics for the blind.
Using a smart phone and scanning software is helpful, but requires someone to make sure they know how to use the phone, and that the batteries are charged up. In addition, smart phone technology won't help someone with a hearing loss unless a person with a hearing loss also carries around a Braille display which further complicates the issue. A case in point where using smart technology as a partial solution is currency identification. It is nice to have a currency identifier but again this doesn't help someone with a hearing loss. In addition how is a blind person supposed to use an identifier in a loud environment? They would have to also carry around headphones. Using the currency identifier also slows down the process of organizing money which increases the likelyhood that other people would be impatient for a blind person to complete financial transactions, and the possibility that a blind person could be robbed.
To automatically assume that any litigation to achieve civil rights for anyone is selfish and stupid. If it weren't for litigation, people wouldn't have any quality of life. I could cite many examples but that would make this e-mail too long. I'm going to stick with being a Braille advocate so blind people can live independently and participate in society. Isn't this what conservatives claim they want?
Thanks,
Dan
Sent from my iPhone
> On Aug 24, 2017, at 5:31 AM, Mike Pietruk <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Colin (and others)
>
> Part of the problem in a discussion such as this is that we need to
> separate what we prefer what is good for us individually (or what we're
> comfortable with) from what is feasible in a mass market.
> Sure, being in the same age group as many others of you (will be 65 in
> Jan), I use Braille for some things; but more and more rely on electronic
> files for things I need to quickly reference (it's far faster searching a
> file than scowering a bunch of papers given the search abilities of
> files).
> That, however, has nothing to do with what Harry brought up -- the
> comments from Larry S of APH on labeling packaged products in stores.
> I just don't see his idea as feasible as much as it might assist me --
> costly, more intervention in the private sector, more potential litigation
> only benefiting the attorneys and costing taxpayers even more -- and
> it goes on.
> Like it or not, we live in a sighted world -- I was taught that too as a
> youngster along with Braille -- and, as my parents and teachers often
> reminded me, you'd better get used to it.
> And that hasn't changed and, thankfully, there is less and less blindness
> and, while it still is an issue for the elderly -- they're not going to
> learn Braille anyway tying it
> to the the idea Larry has.
> Braille is wonderful for personally labeling stuff but would only be a can
> of worms and a pandora's box for the idea under discussion.
> And governments, every time they attempt to fix something, create and mess
> things worse -- see my quote at the bottom of this post.
>
> So, conceptionally, Larry, great idea in a perfect world. But I cannot
> support it if it would require enforced compliance. If manufacturers
> are willing to do this voluntarily, they have my support and blessing; but
> it has little value to them commercially I would suspect.
>
> Sorry for raining on this parade; but there are far more important issues
> in this world beyond a bit of greater convenience.
>
>
> Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere,
> diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
> – Groucho Marx
>
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> Archived on the World Wide Web at
> http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
> Signoff: [log in to unmask]
> Subscribe: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Archived on the World Wide Web at
http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
Signoff: [log in to unmask]
Subscribe: [log in to unmask]
|
