We will discuss together where

we stand with regard to how we feel about how those who are blind or low vision are portrayed in the movies and on television. We will also consider who and how the media cover the activities that we take part in. What do you think of the "super blind"? Are they "inspiring" or do they mislead the public? What do such stories do to the expectations of parents with blind or low vision children? Time permitting, we will also dip our toe in the waters of audio description and museums. Co-host Paul Edwards will have visited a number of museums between now and then and will share those experiences with us, and we hope that you will do the same.

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We will explore together where

we stand with regard to accessible voting as we approach the mid-term elections. Are there new things to celebrate? Are there basic issues that still need to be worked on? How valuable is accessible email voting without return? How can we work to make return happen and what advantages do the military offer us? Voting machines operate. How is early voting operating in various states? What issues surround voting machines and what should we do about them? How do we get information about candidates and what they represent? Are there states that are doing things to make this kind of information more easily obtainable? What other issues do we need to be concerned about as elections draw extra closer and how should we report issues? These are just some of the questions that we will explore on next week's Tuesday Topics!

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Sometimes it's fun to take risks! Tuesday Topics has quite a few regular participants. While we have asked people for suggestions, my email has been notably

devoid of messages about this! However, I think it might be fun to devote some of Tuesday Topics to an opportunity for folks to raise issues they think we should discuss! I am therefore urging folks to consider a topic they believe warrants some consideration and be prepared to take the lead with its discussion. I am not prepared to leave things entirely to chance, however. I have this vision of asking for topics and being greeted by silence as absolute as the number 0. So, here are a couple of issues I think may be relevant. If we don't use them this time, we might use them at another session. One of the emerging realities of the post-covid period is the community call. In some cases, local chapters of ACB have held meetings virtually. Meetings in person (, for a long time, not happening! In Florida and in other states a new phenomenon has emerged. Florida calls their version "calm" which, I think, stands for Chapter of At Large Members. It is a statewide organization aimed at recruiting members who are geographically not close to a local chapter or who, for some other reason, do not choose to join a local chapter. Should we encourage such chapters? What are the consequences of having them? What about at large members of ACB? We have recruited more during the pandemic! What impact has this development had? We have spent some time talking about the effect that hybrid conventions have had at the national level. How have hybrid conventions affected state affiliates! More and more special interest affiliates are holding business meetings away from the ACB convention! How does that affect the price of cheese?

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We will once more tackle two topics

which are connected. We will begin by looking at "blind jokes" or humor concerning people who are blind. We will, unfortunately, have to include some examples to make our points clear. Is it okay for blind people to tell "blind jokes"? What is objectionable about them, if anything? How should we handle being told such jokes by others? Should we start telling "sighted jokes"? Can you provide us with a few? Once we have helped this topic make its unsightful way past our notice, we will do what you may very well expect! The term "politically correct" is being widely used to stifle dialogue. At least, I think that is its effect! Am I right? Where did the notion come from and how should we feel about it? What has the impact of "politically correct" speech been? Has it created a less hostile environment within which to discuss minorities in general and disabilities in particular? Has it outlived its usefulness? Is there a better paradigm for us to use? Who knows how many of these issues we will actually get to explore but we, as the blind, will find lots to say! Oops, was that politically incorrect?

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We are once again going to tackle two topics! We thought it might be interesting to

talk about an issue that is not blindness-related. It may be a little scary for us to discuss this topic but we want to know if we are creating holidays or, I suppose, special days that focus too much on specific issues of particular groups. So, juneteenth, Martin Luther King Day, Jewish holidays, Christmas, Easter, and so on. We do not have a holiday celebrating the ADA! Should we have one? What is the impact of these specific holidays. If you look at a calendar, virtually every day is dedicated to something.

In a couple of weeks we will reach October 15 which is known as "White Cane Safety Day". That day has often been used to create an understanding of mobility problems faced by people with low vision and who are blind. How effective are these celebrations? What do they accomplish? In the past, we had lots of partners including the White House, state and local governments, local agencies serving people who are blind and companies interested interested in allying with us. Now the White House is describing what we are celebrating as Employment of people who are Blind Day or some such title. What messages are we sending with our White Cane celebration? When we ask sighted people to wear blind folds, are we creating a better understanding of the problems we face? Do we create room for partnerships with White Cane Day or are we allowing ourselves to be used to create advantage for other groups who feel like they can take advantage of the day? What might we do to make it better? What kind of outcomes would make White Cane Day more valuable? We hope that many of you will take part in both these discussions that will explore together the things that bring us together and the things that divide us! This is another of those situations where we don't think there may be right answers. We do think it's important for us to think about the implications that our actions include!

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In Florida, as a part of the the Florida Council of the Blind, we have a special interest affiliate called the Council for the Concerns of the Totally

Blind. In Florida and, of course, throughout the country there are chapters of and a national organization championing the issues of people with low vision. This organization is, of course, Council of Citizens with Low Vision (CCLVI). Do we need an organization like CCTB or CCLVI. If so, why? If not, why? Do we need one more than the other? What does creating organizations for people with particular issues do to our organization as a whole?

We hope that many of you will take part in this discussion that will explore together the things that bring us together and the things that divide us! This is another of those situations where we don't think there may be right answers. We do think it's important for us to think about the implications that our actions include!

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Last week, as usual, we bit off more than we could chew. Essentially, we did not have the opportunity to discuss Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Section

8 housing and homelessness. These are all components that impact people who are blind or have low vision. We hope that some of you who have dealt with subsidized housing will call in and tell us about your experiences. Many of us qualify for subsidized housing. How equal is our access to this system. Is the system accessible. Does state and Federal law need to be strengthened or do housing employees need to be better trained? There are clear rules governing some elements of access for people who use wheel chairs or have mobility problems. What kinds of accessibility options ought to exist in housing for people who are blind or have low vision? What is ACB doing about this and what else should we do?

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People with disabilities are among the population with the least disposable income. hat means, among other things, that many people who are blind or have

low vision have very limited choices where housing is concerned. Despite this, like many of our non-disabled peers, we want to own our own homes. What are the barriers that particularly apply. As a person who has just sold and bought a house, I am fully aware of how things have changed since I last moved. Many of us qualify for subsidized housing. How equal is our access to this system. Is the system accessible. Does state and Federal law need to be strengthened or do housing employees need to be better trained? There are clear rules governing some elements of access for people who use wheel chairs or have mobility problems. What kinds of accessibility options ought to exist in housing for people who are blind o! have low vision? What is ACB doing about this and what else should we do?

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Right at the end of Tuesday Topics there was a brief discussion of audio description. It has been a while since Tuesday Topics has spent some time talking about this most powerful equalizer for people who are blind. During our discussion there were a couple of questions that came up. First, do descriptions actually describe what is most important? Second, how different would different audio description files be from one another. There are some opportunities to find out with the arrival on HBO Max of new descriptions which describe the same shows as were described in England. There are beginning to be several podcasts about audio description. Brian Charlson and Carl Richardson do one called "picture This" which we have already discussed here. However, it might be good to hear more about their first full year and where they are going in the future. Are there other podcasts? If so, what are they? Should we be subscribing to some of them? Our hand raiser Marianne Grignon knows about one which she will tell us about. It offers a unique idea and allows listeners to have input into what it does which is pretty unique!

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For a third week in a row, Tuesday Topics found itself completing only part of what was planned. We heard lots of fascinating stories of how people became blind and how folks felt about whether they would want to see again! So, what about next week? We will look at research as we were supposed to this week. In particular, we want to know what kind of research should we support? There are efforts to create vision that, so far, have not borne a lot of fruit. There are genetic efforts that appear to be gradually creating some real hope. There have been some amazing new drugs that have made a huge difference in some diseases that affect older people who are losing vision. We will look at some of these elements but will also ask how we should feel about research that doesn't offer much hope to many of us. Should we argue for spending more on services instead?

After spending some time on these weighty matters, we thought it would be fun to explore a question we want to get answered. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what happens if the beholder beholds nothing? How do people who are blind measure beauty? Do we rely on what other people tell us? Do we think beauty doesn't matter? Do we make decisions about who's beautiful based on what we hear or what we smell? Are we comfortable with someone who is, in the eyes of others at least, terminally ugly or do we have prejudices about what we expect that are just as real as those held by folks who can see? I am looking forward to learning a lot! Come and teach me and Brian and Mary Ann and Rick and Larry! All of us on Tuesday Topics want to know what beauty is for blind people!

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