Good point. So many of our newly blinded clients have very low
expectations. They grew up in a sighted world, holding the same
unspoken beliefs. We're working with a man in his mid 70's. He had a
heart attack and a stroke. He has had an amazing recovery, and has
regained most all functions except his sight. His wife waits on him
hand and foot, believing that he should do more, but not allowing it.
We finally had him preparing his own breakfast, finding all the
supplies and utensils. His wife found fault with just about his every
move. She has no confidence, but talks a great fight.
We work with folks whose children want them to be independent, but
will not allow them to move on their own.
You are right regarding the Lion volunteers. They see us through
those damned eternal stereotypes.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/23/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Lions were doing the same thing in the 90's, and probably still are. In
the 90's, Art was living with me and attending a recreation program for
seniors at Helen Keller Services. He'd been fully sighted all of his life,
became legally blind in his sixties, and in the 90's, when in his seventies,
had lost quite a lot more of his vision. He was unable to make the
accommodations that most people who've been blind for decades, take for
granted. At any rate, the Nassau Library system was distributing talking
books at that time and they sent out invitations from the Lions for all
sorts of parties. Helen Keller Services also distributed invitations and
there was one night when they had their own volunteers take people to attend
an opera at a local college. I went with Art to one Lions' Christmas Party
and to that opera. The experience was demeaning, to say the least. But the
volunteers were just being kind and they and the newly blinded seniors whom
they were helping, shared the same assumptions about blindness. Casey is a
different cup of tea. I'm sure there are principals of schools for the
blind, agency directors, and some officers of blindness advocacy
organizations who are more similar to him than are the ignorant volunteers
for the Lions of Helen Keller Services. For people like him, power and
control are involved to a much greater degree.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2018 3:20 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: 'No Accident' Brett Kavanaugh's Female Law
Clerks 'Looked Like Models,' Yale Professor Told Students
Miriam,
Your remarks remind me of just how bad attitudes were back in the 40's and
50's. The Lion's in Everett put on a fishing derby for the blind, each
summer. Each blind person had a sighted Lion assigned to him/her. That
person led you on board, sat you down where they wanted you to sit, baited
your hook and tossed the line into the water, handed you the pole and
grabbed it away if you actually got a bite.
They brought you your lunch and took you to the Head when you had to go. I
never accepted their offer. The Rainier Lions held a Holiday dinner for the
blind. It was always halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The
members would pick you up and drive you to the church basement, seat you
and cut up your food for you. I did go once, just to see how it felt.
The Queen Anne Lions had a Lion's Roundup one night each month. This was
city-wide. They would send members to your door, put you in their cars and
take you to the large church on Queen Anne Hill. You were served dinner and
provided with entertainment. The blind man I rented from at the time, told
me I should go to these events. I asked him why he attended, since he owned
something around 40 houses and a fuel company. He said he did it because it
was free.
But the Lions did it because they believed they were doing something nice
for the poor blind people. The Casey's of the world come in a wide variety
of shapes and personalities, but I believe they are mostly motivated by this
need to feel superior.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/22/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I knew Casey and I'm sorry. I don't buy the, "good intentions", bit.
He may have fooled himself into thinking that he was doing what he did
in order to help the blind, but actually, he was fulfilling a Napoleon
complex. He was a short, stocky man, as I mentioned, someone who was
magnetic, but not especially physically attractive. But here he was,
with a lot of social power in a world of blind folks, and he could
judge them. He could tell them which one of them was acceptable to the
sighted world, and which people needed to be hidden. And he could also
use these occasions to express his aggression. I remember another
incident. He took the teenagers from the Saturday recreation program
on a boat ride on the Hudson River Day Line each spring. It was
something we all looked forward to. He played guitar, and would sit
out on the deck with all of us surrounding him, and lead us in all
sorts of songs, folk tunes, old popular tunes. Then at our
destination, we'd picnic, and the athletic kids would play ball. One year,
there was a thirteen year old kid named John, who was totally blind and
very very weird.
He was probably autistic or psychotic. He would sometimes make strange
noises and get a weird look on his face. Sometimes he said
inappropriate things. I don't remember what he did or said that day,
but whatever he did or said, it was on this big river boat in front of
all the people who were in the area where he was, at the moment. Casey
took him aside and gave him this tongue lashing about how weird he was
acting and what kind of image he was presenting to the world of blind
people. I don't know whether or not John was enough in contact with
reality to have even heard what he said, but as far as I was
concerned, it was Casey who was being inappropriate. Maybe Casey hated
himself. I suspect he actually hated blind people. One summer, I had a
job as the dishwasher at Camp Lighthouse so I was at camp during the
pre camp training session for counselors. The counselors were generally
young sighted college students. I remember one of Casey's warmings to
them.
"Don't get too emotionally close to the campers. Don't become over
friendly and don't become physically involved. You may think that they
like you and want to be your friend but remember, the only reason that
blind people are warm and friendly toward sighted people is that they want
to use them".
That's pretty much a direct quote from the summer of 1953 or 1954.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 3:22 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: 'No Accident' Brett Kavanaugh's Female
Law Clerks 'Looked Like Models,' Yale Professor Told Students
Hi All,
"Casey" opens so many doors for discussion, that it's difficult to
limit my thoughts to just one or two.
"Casey" usually takes the form of a well intentioned, positive
sounding person. In my nearly 50 years of activity in the field of
work with the blind, I've met many, many "Casey's". In fact, when I
first came into contact with the National Federation of the
Blind(NFB), I bought the line, and soon became an active booster of
this belief that we blind people could look and behave just like the
"normal" sighted public. This was the Hay day of Kenneth Jernigan,
and many young men, and even a few young women adopted, "The Jernigan
Look". We believed that the NFB Way was the only Way to achieve
equality. While, on the one hand, proudly waving our extra long
white travel canes under the public's noses and showing our Braille
skills, we worked hard at looking and acting "normal".
And worst of all was the smugness of those of us who "passed inspection".
We called those who bumbled along, "Magoo", and we mocked folks who
squinted and strained to read print, rather than demand it in Braille.
We were focused on creating a role model, an image that would be
acceptable to the sighted public. Many capable young blind men and
women were passed over because they could not fit the mold. And
today, fifty years later, the public image of a blind person is not
much improved. At one level we cried out, "We know who we are and
we'll never go back", and announced that we were, "The blind leading
the blind", even as we strained to appear "normal".
We need to understand, and even to cut a bit of slack for the sighted
Casey's. They see our behavior due to our lack of eyesight to be the
problem. While they can't fix our eyes, they believe that they can
help us to look sighted.
But this approach also affects how we, the blind see ourselves. From
among our ranks rise up bright, charismatic people like Jacobus
tenBroek and Kenneth Jernigan, who tell us that we do not need to look
like Mister Magoo.
They lead the way, creating an entire movement of the Super Blind,
the NFB ers.
Still, as we consider the impact of the Casey's, we need to remember
that while it is true that the road to Hell is paved with good
intentions, those same good intentions have built cathedrals and begun
social services.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/21/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I never told anyone on this list stories about Casey, and the story
about him is a long, complicated one. But to tell this little piece
which Carl's response brought to mind, I need to provide just a bit
of background. The Lighthouse for the Blind in Manhattan had a large
recreation program. First, I attended as a child, and then a teenager.
Then, because of that program, I learned to play the guitar and to
love folk music. And then, as an older teenager, I worked in the
program, first as a volunteer and later, until I left for graduate
school, teaching children and adults to play the guitar and the auto
harp, running singing groups and even, if I remember correctly, a
discussion group. The director of the program was a man whom we
called Casey. He was short and stocky with a forceful, magnetic
personality.
He had a master's degree in education, I think, was married, and had
two sons. He was fully sighted. He ran the program during the winter
and Camp Lighthouse, a camp for blind young adults during the summers.
His wife and children did not spend the summers with him at the camp.
Just so you know, for discussion at some other time, he always had a
favorite female employee each summer, and during the summer and
during the winter, he fondled and flirted with female volunteer and
paid staff. Anyway, the camp was located on Barnegat Bay in New Jersey.
Actually, the camp was located on dry land and one had to walk on a
long boardwalk that crossed a very wide swamp to get to the beach.
But there were also homes on that beach, owned by wealthy people, and
Casey had cultivated these folks and socialized with them. I'm sure
they donated money to the camp. The blind people who attended the
camp were a heterogeneous group. There were workshop workers,
graduate students, people who were self employed in various
occupations, rehab teachers, and people with multiple disabilities.
One weekend my sighted friend and I visited the camp, on the way home
from a vacation and I think I stayed on a few days extra. I was,
perhaps, 18 at the time. One evening at dinner, Casey made an
announcement to the camp.
One of his friends who owned a beach house, was hosting a party for
the campers that night. There would be live music, good food, and
alcohol. He, Casey, would choose the campers who would accompany him
to the party. Almost everyone could go. However, he wanted to be sure
that the campers whom he brought would make a good impression on
these wealthy, influential people who were hosting the party because
he was trying to improve the image of blind people among sighted people.
Therefore, he would only choose blind people who could properly
represent the blind as a whole. Certain people would not be chosen
because they would spoil the impression that he was trying to make. I
remember how angry I became. I was angry at the message he was
giving to the people he rejected. Everyone was so excited and was
hoping that they'd be chosen. I remember walking up to him after
dinner and telling him that I would not be going to the party. I
don't remember what reason I gave and I doubt that he cared. I spent
the evening trying to socialize with the few lonely souls who were left
behind.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2018 6:15 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: 'No Accident' Brett Kavanaugh's Female
Law Clerks 'Looked Like Models,' Yale Professor Told Students
Okay, I can understand that many bosses(male) like to surround
themselves with young, attractive women clerks. But for a female
Yale professor to coach young female students in how to dress up
their looks in order to be attractive to Judge Cavenaugh, well that
is just plain ugly.
My experience is that bosses who are focused on a staff of young
attractive women, rather than on competent women, are far more apt to
be the groping kind. In my years in management in the Department of
Services for the Blind, I employed at least five personal secretaries.
The qualities I looked for were intelligence, concern for the needs
of the people with whom we worked, able to put people at ease,
ability to work with little supervision, self starter, and neat in
personal appearance.
In fact, I am suspect of men who hire women based on their appearance
over their ability.
When I was one of two Braille instructors in the Adult Training
Center, my counterpart was a very attractive woman who placed great
value on looks.
When new students entered the Center, she would look them over and
select those whom she felt were the better looking. She was able to
do this because she was spending her evenings...very late evenings,
with the Center supervisor. Because my counterpart was legally
blind, she was very dependent on others to describe the men she
considered dating. She did not want to be seen with a man who did
not compliment her. She put appearances way above all other
qualities. And believe it or not, she went from one bad relationship
after another.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/20/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
'No Accident' Brett Kavanaugh's Female Law Clerks 'Looked Like Models,'
Yale
Professor Told Students
By Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Jessica Glenza, Guardian UK
20 September 18
Guardian learns Amy Chua said she would advise students on their
physical looks to help win post in Kavanaugh's chambers
Atop professor at Yale Law School who strongly endorsed supreme
court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a "mentor to women" privately told
a group of law students last year that it was "not an accident" that
Kavanaugh's female law clerks all "looked like models" and would
provide advice to students about their physical appearance if they
wanted to work for him, the Guardian has learned.
Amy Chua, a Yale professor who wrote a bestselling book on parenting
called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, was known for instructing
female law students who were preparing for interviews with Kavanaugh
on ways they could dress to exude a "model-like" femininity to help
them win a post in Kavanaugh's chambers, according to sources.
Kavanaugh is facing intense scrutiny in Washington following an
allegation made by Christine Blasey Ford that he forcibly held her
down and groped her while they were in high school. He has denied
the allegation. The accusation has mired Kavanaugh's confirmation in
controversy, drawing parallels to allegations of sexual harassment
against Justice Clarence Thomas by Anita Hill in the 1990s.
Yale provided Kavanaugh with many of the judge's clerks over the
years, and Chua played an outsized role in vetting the clerks who
worked for him. But the process made some students deeply
uncomfortable.
One source said that in at least one case, a law student was so put
off by Chua's advice about how she needed to look, and its
implications, that she decided not to pursue a clerkship with
Kavanaugh, a powerful member of the judiciary who had a formal role
in vetting clerks who served in the US supreme court.
In one case, Jed Rubenfeld, also an influential professor at Yale
and who is married to Chua, told a prospective clerk that Kavanaugh
liked a certain "look".
"He told me, 'You should know that Judge Kavanaugh hires women with
a certain look,'" one woman told the Guardian. "He did not say what
the look was and I did not ask."
Sources who spoke to the Guardian about their experiences with Chua
and Rubenfeld would only speak under the condition of anonymity
because they feared retribution and damage to their future careers.
Chua advised the same student Rubenfeld spoke to that she ought to
dress in an "outgoing" way for her interview with Kavanaugh, and
that the student should send Chua pictures of herself in different
outfits before going to interview. The student did not send the photos.
There is no allegation that the female students who worked for
Kavanaugh were chosen because of their physical appearance or that
they were not qualified.
However, the remarks from Chua and Rubenfeld raise questions about
why the couple believed it was important to emphasize the students'
physical appearance when discussing jobs with Kavanaugh. The couple
were not known to do that in connection with other judges, sources
said.
"It is possible that they were making observations but not following
edicts from him," said one student who received such instructions.
"I have no reason to believe he was saying, 'Send me the pretty
ones', but rather that he was reporting back and saying, 'I really
like so and so,' and the way he described them led them to form
certain conclusions."
Kavanaugh is close to Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement from
the supreme court left an opening, and Kavanaugh was one of three
judges who vetted clerks to serve in Kennedy's chambers. His role as
a so-called "feeder" judge made his clerkships among the most
coveted posts for law students across the country, but especially at
his alma mater, Yale.
According to one source, Chua invited a group of students that she
mentored to a bar last year to catch up and discuss their plans for
clerkships. The conversation turned to a high-profile #MeToo case
that was emerging in the news at the time involving a well-known
public figure.
The group began to talk about whether the federal judiciary would
ever face similar scrutiny, and, according to a source, Chua said
she did not believe it would. She told the students she had known
about allegedly abusive and harassing behavior by another judge,
Alex Kozinski, who was head of the ninth circuit and was forced to
retire from the bench last year after more than a dozen women
accused him of harassment.
The conversation then turned to Kozinski's protege and good friend
Kavanaugh, who one source said was a familiar name even though he
had not yet been nominated to the high court. Chua allegedly told
the students that it was "no accident" that Kavanaugh's female
clerks "looked like models".
Student reacted with surprise, and quickly pointed out that Chua's
own daughter was due to clerk for Kavanaugh.
A source said that Chua quickly responded, saying that her own
daughter would not put up with any inappropriate behaviour.
Chua has cancelled her classes at Yale this semester and, according
to her office, has been hospitalised and is not taking calls.
Rubenfeld sent an email to the Yale Law School community that said
his wife had been ill and in hospital and had a long period of
recuperation ahead of her.
The Guardian has learned that Rubenfeld is currently the subject of
an internal investigation at Yale. The investigation is focused on
Rubenfeld's conduct, particularly with female law students. Students
have also raised related concerns to Yale authorities about Chua's
powerful influence in the clerkships process. The investigation was
initiated before Kavanaugh was nominated by Donald Trump to serve on
the high court.
Rubenfeld said in a statement to the Guardian: "In June, Yale
University informed me that it would conduct what it terms an
'informal review' of certain allegations, but that to preserve
anonymity, I was not entitled to know any specifics. As a result, I
do not know what I am alleged to have said or done. I was further
advised that the allegations were not of the kind that would
jeopardize my position as a long-tenured member of the faculty.
"For some years, I have contended with personal attacks and false
allegations in reaction to my writing on difficult and controversial
but important topics in the law. I have reason to suspect I am now
facing more of the same. While I believe strongly that universities
must conduct appropriate reviews of any allegations of misconduct, I
am also deeply concerned about the intensifying challenges to the
most basic values of due process and free, respectful academic
expression and exchange at Yale and around the country.
"Nevertheless, I stand ready to engage with this process in the hope
that it can be expeditiously concluded."
In a statement, Yale Law School said it could not confirm or deny
the existence of an internal investigation.
A Yale Law School official said in an emailed statement: "This is
the first we have heard claims that Professor Chua coached students
to look 'like models'. We will look into these claims promptly,
taking into account the fact that Professor Chua is currently
unreachable due to serious illness.
If
true, this advice is clearly unacceptable."
The official added: "I can assure you that we take allegations of
faculty misconduct very seriously."
Chua and her husband are towering figures at Yale and were described
by one student as being the centre of gravity at the elite law
school, connecting students to jobs and clerkships, and rewarding
loyalty.
The couple wrote a controversial book together in 2014 called The
Triple
Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of
Cultural Groups in America. It said that a mix of feeling superior
with some insecurity were two traits that led to success. It also
emphasised the need for "impulse control".
The couple have hired a well-known crisis communications expert but
he did not respond to specific questions from the Guardian about
Chua's remarks or the internal investigation.
In an emailed statement, Chua told the Guardian: "For the more than
10 years I've known him, Judge Kavanaugh's first and only litmus
test in hiring has been excellence. He hires only the most qualified
clerks, and they have been diverse as well as exceptionally talented
and capable.
"There is good reason so many of them have gone on to supreme court
clerkships; he only hires those who are extraordinarily qualified.
As I wrote in the Wall Street Journal, he has also been an
exceptional mentor to his female clerks and a champion of their
careers. Among my proudest moments as a parent was the day I learned
our daughter would join those ranks."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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