Refreshable Braille Displays

Assalamu alaikum, the Mere Islam blog has a post dealing with my recent TV appearance on WKRN in Nashville. In the post, he refers to a “braille monitor”, that he observed another blind computer user using on their computer.

I’d wanted to leave a comment, but he’s enabled that “word verification” thing, and Jaws can’t read that, so I can’t comment. Thus, my posting here on my blog.

Firstly, the technology I’m using isn’t “new”, although the software is always changing and evolving to meet the ever-changing computer needs of the users of the software. The “Braille monitor” that is referred to in the Mere Islam blog is called a refreshable Braille display. These are still made, however, they are more expensive than screen-readers. So, they tend not to be as widely used, though you will see them in adaptive technology labs on college campuses and at schools for the blind, and other places like that.

Most of the time, individuals won’t own a refreshable Braille display themselves, unless they somehow have the money to afford it. And most state agencies for the blind will not purchase a Braille display over a screen-reader unless there is a demonstrable need for the Braille display, principly because of the cost. It is cheaper to purchase a screen-reader, and though some blind computer users would prefer a Braille display, most blind people find a screen-reader to give them access to what they need on the screen.

However, for certain people, like computer programmers and people who are deaf-blind, a Braille display would be the better option.

As far as Braille keyboards, I think they are in use also, though I, personally, have no reason to use them. But I’d guess that some blind people would. I find that every blind person is different in what works for them and how they implement independent living skills in their daily lives.

My addage is that what works for me as a blind person, may not necessarily work for the next blind person who comes along. Everyone has their own way of doing things.

Muslim man alleges discrimination at Subway

Assalamu alaikum, a friend of mine told me about this earlier today. Even if the man allegedly discriminated against was “rude” or whatever, why would the manager have told him the store was closed, even as he was serving other people sandwiches?

And then try to cover his butt by offering to give the man’s wife a free sandwich?

As far as being “rude” goes, I don’tt think I’d be too happy if it was two in the morning, and I’d gone into a restaurant to get something to eat, and was told the place was closed, even when it should have been open 24 hours, and even when there were others in line waiting to be served. Granted, the man in question may not have acted in the best way, but I can’t say I’d have acted in the best way either, given that it was two in the morning, and I was hungry lol… This also ties into our recent discussion here and in other places about “white privilege”. This man’s wife seems to definitely be aware of her “white privilege”, wouldn’t you say?

Link: Hillsborough: Muslim man alleges discrimination at Subway.

Winston-Salem Journal | Holiday: Muslim Senegal loves Christmas

Link: Winston-Salem Journal | Holiday: Muslim Senegal loves Christmas.

Disabled Privilege?

Assalamu alaikum, along with the “white privilege” topic, which has been discussed here and on other blogs, I’ve often thought if there was a such thing as “disabled privilege”?

I’ve wondered this because I’ve not gotten the trouble that other Muslims have gotten, and I wear hijab. And maybe my “whiteness” comes into play here too. But I also think that my blindness kind of shields me from the more ruder aspects of some people’s Islamophobic or other reactions to me being Muslim.

Having said this, though, I can never be sure, and traveling for me always has an element of fear and trauma to it, especially when I’m flying. I remember one incident when I was at the airport, and had attempted to go through the metal detector, and I set it off. I completely froze! I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t think what could possibly have been setting off the detector. The lady who was helping me get through security, though, was very calm and reassuring to me. She immediately said to me, “Oh, don’t worry. It’s your shoes. Just take your shoes off, and everything should be fine!” Evidently, as the lady explained to me, my shoes had metal in the supports, and I had no idea of that. Needless to say, I don’t wear those shoes any time I plan to fly. Mashallah for her! Because I had this terrible fear flash through my mind that they were going to want to strip search me or something, simply because I’d set off the detectors.

Every time I travel, I make sure to not accidentally travel with something that is not allowed on board a plane. I just try to keep as low of a profile as a blind woman in hijab can when going through security. And I make dua, most of all. But I think one thing that also helps me is the fact that when I travel, I always ask the airport staff at the check-in desk for assistance in getting through security. Maybe that helps too.

I don’t know if there is such a thing as the “blindness card” as there is with the so-called “race card”. I kind of think that there is. And most of the time, I don’t like to play the “blindness card”. But admittedly, I do some times use it, especially when dealing with issues of airport security. Because, sadly, I’m too afraid not to use it. Hey, I’m blind, airport settings, especially at airports like O’Hare in Chicago, are very overwhelming for me. So to me, attempting to get through the airport, security, check-in, and all, that is not the time to play “super blind person”, as some of the more militant members of the NFB would seem to have us blind people do.

A mobility instructor of mine used to have a phrase that he would always use and that was, “Always use the sighted public.” And I have definitely taken that to heart, both as a blind person and as a blind Muslim.

And is that wrong? Am I using my “blind privilege” or my “white privilege”, or both? Is there a certain “privilege” that comes with being white and disabled, that other ethnic minorities who are disabled don’t get? Just some thoughts from me…

I thought I was Going to, but…

Assalamu alaikum, I thought I was going to actually go back and categorize all of my previous postings, but…

Well, from the looks of it, I’m actually going to have to go back, click on “edit previous posts”, and click on each one individually in order to categorize it!

And well, ya know, at this point, I’m just too, uh, lazy to do it! Sorry. And I had such grand ideas of categorizing just bouncing around in my head, too.

If anyone knows if there are any easier ways to go back and put my previous posts into their respective categories, could someone let me know?

I thought I was Going to, but…

Assalamu alaikum, I thought I was going to actually go back and categorize all of my previous postings, but…

Well, from the looks of it, I’m actually going to have to go back, click on “edit previous posts”, and click on each one individually in order to categorize it!

And well, ya know, at this point, I’m just too, uh, lazy to do it! Sorry. And I had such grand ideas of categorizing just bouncing around in my head, too.

If anyone knows if there are any easier ways to go back and put my previous posts into their respective categories, could someone let me know?

Thoughts on “White Privilege”

Assalamu alaikum, I’ve been wanting to blog on this for a while, I’ve just not had the time or the energy to do it.

Firstly, I do believe, though it’s uncomfortable for me to say so, that there is a such thing as "white privilege". And my "uncomfortableness" stems for the fact that I don’t like the "privilege" that I have, just because of the color of my skin, which is something that Allah has endowed me with, and which is something that I have no control over.

And I’m not sure if my blindness makes me immune to white racism or racist / prejudiced ideology and sentiments or not. I used to think that because I couldn’t see color, and because I was not taught to be racist or have any prejudices as a child, that maybe somehow I had "escaped" having thoughts and feelings of racial superiority and privilege ingrained in me.

But now I’m not so sure, when I really look back on things and take a look at myself. Though for the most part, I was open-minded, and my first reaction was to read and explore, rather than to condemn, I can’t say that I was like that with everything. For a lot of my life, I definitely had a superiority complex when it came to me as an American.

As an example of this, a case in point would be how I viewed Islam, as a teenager. I remember thinking once that I did not want to be part of something that was oppressive to women, and that was so violent. May Allah forgive me for thinking this way, because I simply did not know any better. Tying into this was the reaction I had, when my father was considering working in Saudi Arabia, and I was told how once in Saudi, I’d have to cover up everything, from head to toe, and that I couldn’t take my Braille Bible with me, because Saudi Arabia didn’t allow anything of a Christian nature into the country. If any of this is wrong / incorrect, I make my apologies now, because this is simply what I was told.

But anyway, my reaction to this was "What? No one is going to tell me, the independent, free-thinking, American woman what to wear or what to read or what to worship!" Oh, no, not me! I’d rather have stayed in this country, then go "over there" and be subjected to such treatment!

That was what I thought then. I took the covering up and the rejection of Christian symbols as an insult / assault to me as an American. And now I’m a Muslim! Allah definitely works in mysterious ways, doesn’t He!?

But anyway, I consider myself an open-minded person. I do my best to nip any prejudices I might feel in the bud, before they get entrenched in my thought processes. But I’m still afraid. I’m afraid that the "white racist" is lurking somewhere in me, lying dormant, just waiting to jump out, just when I least expect it.

To be honest, I have many conflicting feelings about race. What I mean is, I’m afraid to say that I’m open-minded, because then someone is going to come along and say, "Yeah right, you’re open-minded. You might think you are but you’re white, and all white people are racist, or they have racist or prejudiced feelings, but they just don’t want to admit it". Am I like that? Is there a dormant Klan member, just waiting to come out?

And let’s just say, is it possible that no matter how I strive to rid myself of any prejudices, I will always have the stamp of "racism" marked on me forever, just simply because I am white?

And that is what makes me uncomfortable. I definitely accept and feel that there is a such thing as "white privilege". But I don’t have to, and definitely don’t, like it. And as a white person and a Muslim, I strive daily to better my character, and that can and does include everything from striving to pray on time, to watching my tongue and actions, to ridding myself of racism and prejudice.

But I do have to say that for me, my blindness has sort of shielded me from having racist / prejudicial ideas becoming a part of my thinking, because I simply did not know that there were different races / colors, and I guess the stereotypical images of "the other", whoever that might have been, just never got stamped on my brain, simply because I just didn’t see them. But is that a credible defense? Is that just an "excuse", just to make myself feel better?

I just think that while admittedly, there is still racism / prejudice in the world, and while there is a such thing as "white privilege" in the world, I think also those of us who are white, and who recognize that there is racism and prejudice in the world, and who also recognize that there is a certain privilege in being white, though we may not be comfortable with that, I don’t know how to say it, because I don’t want to seem like we should get a pat on the back for recognizing and trying to do away with such things, but…

I don’t know, I just don’t think "we", the white people who are trying to make a difference in stamping out prejudice both within and without ourselves, we just shouldn’t be lumped in with other white people who are walking around thinking that racism and prejudice are a thing of the past.

There are so many other things that I’d wanted to touch on. But I just don’t have the energy, and I just can’t put into words right now what I’d wanted to. And compared to what others have said on the subject, my words just don’t seem to do the topic any justice.

Thoughts on “White Privilege”

Assalamu alaikum, I’ve been wanting to blog on this for a while, I’ve just not had the time or the energy to do it.

Firstly, I do believe, though it’s uncomfortable for me to say so, that there is a such thing as "white privilege". And my "uncomfortableness" stems for the fact that I don’t like the "privilege" that I have, just because of the color of my skin, which is something that Allah has endowed me with, and which is something that I have no control over.

And I’m not sure if my blindness makes me immune to white racism or racist / prejudiced ideology and sentiments or not. I used to think that because I couldn’t see color, and because I was not taught to be racist or have any prejudices as a child, that maybe somehow I had "escaped" having thoughts and feelings of racial superiority and privilege ingrained in me.

But now I’m not so sure, when I really look back on things and take a look at myself. Though for the most part, I was open-minded, and my first reaction was to read and explore, rather than to condemn, I can’t say that I was like that with everything. For a lot of my life, I definitely had a superiority complex when it came to me as an American.

As an example of this, a case in point would be how I viewed Islam, as a teenager. I remember thinking once that I did not want to be part of something that was oppressive to women, and that was so violent. May Allah forgive me for thinking this way, because I simply did not know any better. Tying into this was the reaction I had, when my father was considering working in Saudi Arabia, and I was told how once in Saudi, I’d have to cover up everything, from head to toe, and that I couldn’t take my Braille Bible with me, because Saudi Arabia didn’t allow anything of a Christian nature into the country. If any of this is wrong / incorrect, I make my apologies now, because this is simply what I was told.

But anyway, my reaction to this was "What? No one is going to tell me, the independent, free-thinking, American woman what to wear or what to read or what to worship!" Oh, no, not me! I’d rather have stayed in this country, then go "over there" and be subjected to such treatment!

That was what I thought then. I took the covering up and the rejection of Christian symbols as an insult / assault to me as an American. And now I’m a Muslim! Allah definitely works in mysterious ways, doesn’t He!?

But anyway, I consider myself an open-minded person. I do my best to nip any prejudices I might feel in the bud, before they get entrenched in my thought processes. But I’m still afraid. I’m afraid that the "white racist" is lurking somewhere in me, lying dormant, just waiting to jump out, just when I least expect it.

To be honest, I have many conflicting feelings about race. What I mean is, I’m afraid to say that I’m open-minded, because then someone is going to come along and say, "Yeah right, you’re open-minded. You might think you are but you’re white, and all white people are racist, or they have racist or prejudiced feelings, but they just don’t want to admit it". Am I like that? Is there a dormant Klan member, just waiting to come out?

And let’s just say, is it possible that no matter how I strive to rid myself of any prejudices, I will always have the stamp of "racism" marked on me forever, just simply because I am white?

And that is what makes me uncomfortable. I definitely accept and feel that there is a such thing as "white privilege". But I don’t have to, and definitely don’t, like it. And as a white person and a Muslim, I strive daily to better my character, and that can and does include everything from striving to pray on time, to watching my tongue and actions, to ridding myself of racism and prejudice.

But I do have to say that for me, my blindness has sort of shielded me from having racist / prejudicial ideas becoming a part of my thinking, because I simply did not know that there were different races / colors, and I guess the stereotypical images of "the other", whoever that might have been, just never got stamped on my brain, simply because I just didn’t see them. But is that a credible defense? Is that just an "excuse", just to make myself feel better?

I just think that while admittedly, there is still racism / prejudice in the world, and while there is a such thing as "white privilege" in the world, I think also those of us who are white, and who recognize that there is racism and prejudice in the world, and who also recognize that there is a certain privilege in being white, though we may not be comfortable with that, I don’t know how to say it, because I don’t want to seem like we should get a pat on the back for recognizing and trying to do away with such things, but…

I don’t know, I just don’t think "we", the white people who are trying to make a difference in stamping out prejudice both within and without ourselves, we just shouldn’t be lumped in with other white people who are walking around thinking that racism and prejudice are a thing of the past.

There are so many other things that I’d wanted to touch on. But I just don’t have the energy, and I just can’t put into words right now what I’d wanted to. And compared to what others have said on the subject, my words just don’t seem to do the topic any justice.

Venting…

Assalamu alaikum / greetings,

OK, I decided to try out the free adhan software offered by Islamic Finder. And all I’ve got to say is that I’m not extremely happy with it. Firstly, the most trouble I had with it was adding my new city. So I guess if you live in Clarksville or Nashville, then this wouldn’t be so much of a problem. But God forbid, that you live in a place like Erin! Well, I tried to add Erin, this little dialogue came up and told me that “this feature needs your Internet connection” etc. And the page popped up with all the countries, so I selected the USA, found Erin, clicked on “Add New City”, and then got a bunch of junk with the message at the top saying “Please open this within the Adhan times window” or something like that. But a lot of the time, when fighting with this thing to even try to add the city, I don’t even get that far! Most of the time I get the “you need to download the new Adhan Times 3.0″ or something like that, even though I already have that version on my computer, and even after I’ve even checked for the latest upgrade.

I’m just glad I didn’t pay for the $29.90 Adhan Pro. I have used the Almuhaddith Prayer Times Program which I’ve not had any problems with, and I think I’m going to go back to using. But ya know, I like trying new things.

It’s just that I didn’t want to spend my Friday off fighting with this program trying to get it to work the way I wanted it to. OK, I’m going off to fix a burito I guess.

Venting…

Assalamu alaikum / greetings,

OK, I decided to try out the free adhan software offered by Islamic Finder. And all I’ve got to say is that I’m not extremely happy with it. Firstly, the most trouble I had with it was adding my new city. So I guess if you live in Clarksville or Nashville, then this wouldn’t be so much of a problem. But God forbid, that you live in a place like Erin! Well, I tried to add Erin, this little dialogue came up and told me that “this feature needs your Internet connection” etc. And the page popped up with all the countries, so I selected the USA, found Erin, clicked on “Add New City”, and then got a bunch of junk with the message at the top saying “Please open this within the Adhan times window” or something like that. But a lot of the time, when fighting with this thing to even try to add the city, I don’t even get that far! Most of the time I get the “you need to download the new Adhan Times 3.0″ or something like that, even though I already have that version on my computer, and even after I’ve even checked for the latest upgrade.

I’m just glad I didn’t pay for the $29.90 Adhan Pro. I have used the Almuhaddith Prayer Times Program which I’ve not had any problems with, and I think I’m going to go back to using. But ya know, I like trying new things.

It’s just that I didn’t want to spend my Friday off fighting with this program trying to get it to work the way I wanted it to. OK, I’m going off to fix a burito I guess.

Formatting Posts and Categorizing

Assalamu alaikum, Umm Zaid made the suggestion about categorizing posts. Typepad does allow us to do this, and I’ve got a four-day weekend coming up, Inshallah, so maybe I’ll spend some of that time putting my posts into categories.

Regarding formatting, I didn’t realize my posts were formatted so weirdly. I thought I was indenting and all of that good stuff. The thing is, when I type out my posts, I have to use the “edit html” link, because the “compose post” link isn’t very speech friendly. Does anyone think that maybe emailing in my posts would work?

I think setting up my posts into categories would be a nice compromise becuase it would alleviate the need for me to set up multiple blogs, but then it would also make it so people could read aobut the things they wanted to read about.

Formatting Posts and Categorizing

Assalamu alaikum, Umm Zaid made the suggestion about categorizing posts. Typepad does allow us to do this, and I’ve got a four-day weekend coming up, Inshallah, so maybe I’ll spend some of that time putting my posts into categories.

Regarding formatting, I didn’t realize my posts were formatted so weirdly. I thought I was indenting and all of that good stuff. The thing is, when I type out my posts, I have to use the “edit html” link, because the “compose post” link isn’t very speech friendly. Does anyone think that maybe emailing in my posts would work?

I think setting up my posts into categories would be a nice compromise becuase it would alleviate the need for me to set up multiple blogs, but then it would also make it so people could read aobut the things they wanted to read about.

Air Marshals lied about slain Latino passenger saying “I have a bomb”

Link: Air Marshals lied about slain Latino passenger saying "I have a bomb".

Air Marshals lied about slain Latino passenger saying “I have a bomb”

Link: Air Marshals lied about slain Latino passenger saying "I have a bomb".

I’m on TV!

Assalamu alaikum, one of the local Nashville TV stations did a short story on me this morning. Or at least, they came and interviewed me. You can go here or if that doesn’t work, you can go to www.wkrn.com and click on "blind woman helps others with technology" or something like that. I can’t remember the exact title right off the top of my head.

My new nephew

This is the picture of my new nephew. His name is gage Alexander Quick. Audra, who is my sister-in-law, took the picture via the camera on my phone.

Blind woman settles suit against telemarketing firm

Link: Chicago Tribune | Blind woman settles suit against telemarketing firm.

Having Separate Blogs?

Assalamu alaikum, it has been suggested to me that maybe I should keep multiple blogs: one for African issues, one for Islamic issues, etc. Though I’ve thought about it, I’m not sure I want to do that. I mean, the blog is called “Ginny’s Thoughts and Things” for a reason, primarily because it’s well, my thoughts and things. And those “thoughts and things” cover a wide variety of issues, from Islam to politics to Africa to The Gambia, to posts I see on others’ blogs that I like.

The reasons advanced for me setting up another blog is so that people who aren’t interested in reading about The Gambia, for example, wouldn’t have to read about it, they could just click on the blog dealing with the subject that they wanted to read about. The thing is, I have such a wide variety of interests, that if I had a blog covering each of them, well, at least on TypePad, I wouldn’t have enough blogs to go around.

And sometimes, certain issues I’m interested in over lap. So what do I do then?

The thing is, I’m not sure I want to set up other blogs, just to appease some people who don’t feel like skipping past content they’re not interested in. I really don’t mean to be harsh about this, but my blog is my space. I don’t force people to read, and I don’t make a habit of going around telling others how to do their bloggs, or that maybe they should set up “other blogs” just because some of the content on their blog might be something that I’m not interested in. If I’m not interested in a certain post, I can just skip past it.

I’ve thought about setting up another blog, but I wanted that blog to just be strictly on Islamic reflections, like maybe reflecting on a certain verse or portion of the Quran, or a certain haddith I came across. But that is just a thought.

No matter what I decide, I don’t want to feel “pushed into it”, because of the fear that some people don’t like the content of my blog.

Also, another reason why it’s been suggested to me that I should have multiple blogs is the fact that since I don’t get much comments on certain posts, that no one’s reading, and thus no one’s interested. When I brought up the fact that my stats were averaging something like 47 page views a day, so someone must be reading, it was suggested to me that “oh it’s only feeds coming and getting updates from the site” or something like that.

So if no one’s reading now, then why should I even go to the trouble of creating another blog, and administering and posting to that one, ontop of this one, just so no one can read that one too? What’s the point. If I’m somehow being told that “you gotta set up multiple blogs because no one cares about Yahya Jammeh or The Gambia ’cause no one’s commenting on it, so you should set up the other blog so those who actually care about The Gambia can go and read about it”, And then be told that no one’s reading what you’re saying anyway, what is the point?

The thing is, I don’t think the number of comments are always a good indicator of how many people are reading a particular blog anyway, because I read many blogs, but hardly ever comment on any of them.

The thing is, I took the suggestions to be that I should set up a blog, because there are certain things that I post about that some people don’t care about, and to make it easier for said people, I should put those topics on another blog so * they * don’t have to read them.

And I don’t like that. As I said, I don’t go around telling others how to run their blogs. My blog is called Ginny’s Thoughts and Things. The description of the blog says “thinking out loud”. This blog was started, first on Blogger and now on TypePad, as a means of expressing my many varied interests. These interests run the gammet from Islam to basketball to Senegal and The Gambia, to anything I hope to come across that I think is interesting. And that might include linking to other people’s blogs. So anyway, not sure what else to say. I guess I could say that I’d like people to comment and let me know their thoughts, what they would like to see.

One reaction I’ve had is to say that if no one cares about what I have to say, I won’t say anything at all, but what good would that do? That is childish and immature. Obviously, someone is reading, even if it’s just a stupid rss feed catcher or whatever it’s called.

I’m An Aunt!

Assalamu alaikum, earlier this evening, my brother’s wife Audra gave birth to a baby boy, via C-section. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, and he was 20 inches long. His name is Gage Alexander Quick. I’m supposed to go see her tomorrow. She went into the hospital yesterday, I think when she went in for her doctor’s appointment, she had high blood pressure or something, so they admitted her. But I’ll have to ask. But the long and short of it is, the baby is here, and he is healthy, Alhamdulillah!

Give Me That Old Time Diyn

Assalamu alaikum, Umm Zaid does it again! Mashallah! I have always loved how she puts things!

All I can say is “Wow!”

Link: Sunni Sister: Blahg Blahg Blahg ? Blog Archive ? Give Me That Old Time Diyn.