This is what I've been thinking about this morning, most probably, because
of the new computer that is supposed to arrive momentarily. There was a time
when agencies for the blind provided rehab teaching services which included
"skills of daily living". Well guess what? In 2020, using modern technology
is a skill for daily living that one must have in order to function in the
modern world, not just to hold a paying job, but just to be integrated into
society. And, to some extent, blindness organizations and the blindness
industry recognize that which is why Apple is praised for manufacturing
technology that includes accessibility for blind people right out of the box
and why some corporations are sued when their websites, (of course, always
commercial websites), are sued when they're inaccessible to blind customers.
However, those of us who don't have an innate talent, as Roger does, to
learn how to use the computer and to learn new programs on our own, there is
no readily available agency to provide this service to us. We need to find
someone on our own, to teach us stuff, to install stuff when necessary, and
to update stuff, and we have to pay them. It's difficult for everyone when
Windows changes, but older sighted people can easily learn from the younger
people in their lives. For blind people, it's a very different matter.
Things have to be set up so that the screen reader will work most
efficiently, and we often need to learn new things. One would think that the
national advocacy groups would be demanding that state agencies for the
blind provide this service for blind people of all ages. But they don't. The
young people in these organizations are accustomed to a system of scarcity
and those who have mastered technology, feel so superior and so entitled,
that they think that people should be able to do so on their own or if
they can't, than they aren't worth the trouble bothering about. I think that
every blind person should be entitled to an up-to-date computer and a smart
phone, and free instruction, whenever necessary, to help him or her use the
technology effectively. I also think that every blind person should be
entitled to an instruction plan for any other services he or she may need,
at whatever point in life, these services are needed. None of this is,
available, of course, because of budget cuts. But the advocacy organizations
haven't fought to hold onto our services. They have cooperated with
politicians and business interests as a way of getting whatever crumbs might
drop from the table. And beyond that, NFB has nurtured the fantasy that
blind people aren't really disabled, only inconvenienced. So audio
description wasn't necessary, nor protection from accidents on platforms in
New York City subways, nor any other accessibility measures.
Miriam
