by Christopher Gray
Over the Labor Day weekend, ACB was joined at a virtual online card table by 225 enthusiastic participants in our premiere, fun-filled card party, assisted by the great folks over at AllInPlay. For the first 25 hours of the holiday weekend, ACB members and their friends sat together at several online card tables and played some of the finest poker many had enjoyed in years. No real money changes hands in this friendly game, just chips that you receive when you "walk" in the door of the ACB festival hall. There are tables for fast players as well as for those who want to take their time and enjoy a leisurely game. You can "chat" with the other players at your table, and it's a great way to get acquainted while people decide what cards to throw away or what to do next. As many as 60 people gathered at any one time, and we divided into tables of five players. To provide action coverage, ACB Radio was on hand, keeping participants and listeners updated on who was ahead and behind throughout the tournament.
Three prize winners, based on their final point tally, were awarded prizes at the end of the tournament. The grand prize, $200 at the ACB Store, went to player Gucci of Singapore. We haven't quite figured out how to manage exchange rate and shipping details from here to Singapore, but this is a wonderful example of how ACB and technology are expanding the universe of opportunities for blind people, not just in our country, but all around the world. Second and third prizes went to players kena298 of the U.S. and Tom Lorimer (Scottie) of Scotland. Both of these prizes were provided by AllInPlay (http://www.allinplay.com). Finally, and this says something very important about events such as this and about the people who participate in them, several players decided to make their own personal donations of door prizes which were awarded to other players. Several of the donors are weekly broadcasters on ACB Radio Interactive.
Any report involving me and my luck during this tournament would have sounded about as exciting and jubilant as our poor, cracked Liberty Bell. Mercifully, I did not wind up in last place, but only in 136th place and feeling lucky to be there! Fortunately, I can honestly say that for me, winning or losing wasn't as important as participating and being a player in this fun event. Without participation, you have neither the chance to win or to lose. Sometimes, it can be very frustrating to sit down and work hard on something, yet come away from the table with little or nothing to show for the work, despite putting forward the best effort possible. It's felt pretty frustrating at times these past couple of years as we in ACB have worked on issues of concern and interest to our membership. We have had to wait patiently for rehabilitation reauthorization in order to have the chance to put appropriate legislation in place to protect and strengthen the rights of those who choose to work in "non- integrated" settings. In a second round of biased and unfair rule-making, we had to watch the federal government deny significantly effective eye treatment to those who could not afford to pay for it themselves. In a third area, we stood helpless as the judiciary snatched descriptive video from our hands by narrowly interpreting one sentence of the rule which had been passed in order to pilot test and then enable this valuable program.
Despite these disappointments and setbacks, ACB neither left the table nor gave up on these and the many other positions we champion for all blind people. Despite the disdain shown by the RSA commissioner and others in that bureaucracy for the employment choices many blind people wish to make, we remain in dialogue with them while striving in Congress to promote stronger safeguards and guarantees of employment in both integrated and non-integrated settings for people who are blind. As mid-September approaches, it appears very possible that we will achieve victory in amending language of the Rehabilitation Act to promote these safeguards and we will then be well on the way to achieving our goals in this area.
Also in September, we can see great success on the horizon for protecting the rights of any person, regardless of their income, to have the benefit of Visudyne treatment for macular degeneration. We had to go to court and then testify in front of the Medicare advisory committee to get the ball rolling in the right direction, but again, we did not give up, we did not leave the table, and we did not allow federal bureaucracies to place a price on treatment to prevent blindness beyond which medical coverage would not be provided.
In the area of video description, we are also seeing new possibilities and successes. Specifically because of your work and advocacy, pressure has remained focused on cable television providers, local television stations, and satellite broadcasters to carry the described video that does exist today. Despite the unfavorable ruling of the federal courts, descriptive video continues to be produced for videotape, DVD and television broadcasts. Sen. John McCain, a longtime supporter of people with disabilities, is sponsoring a Senate bill to reinstate requirements for providing descriptive video.
These have been hard-won victories for the American Council of the Blind. Today, the victories are only partial and, as is so often the case, much work still needs to be done. You can be certain that as events and actions unfold in each of these areas and in many others as well, your organization will remain active at whatever table we are seated, to achieve what the membership has asked us to do. In essence, we are players, not watchers. We are not afraid to protect the rights of all blind people, whether some of these rights may seem "politically correct" to a minority of blind people. As an organization, we stand for the right to choose and the new-found freedom such choice engenders, as well as the responsibility it requires and the dignity that such freedom and choice imbue.