[Cagdu] FW: [seeing-eye] Terre Haute native overcoming obstacles and facing discrimination

[Tina Thomas]

Subject: [seeing-eye] Terre Haute native overcoming obstacles and facing discrimination

 

Terre Haute native overcoming obstacles and facing discrimination 

By Sue Loughlin | Tribune-Star

Source: http://www.tribstar.com/news/local_news/seeing-no-limits/article_df23e0ab-f7e0-51ce-9233-f9b6002f36d0.html

 

TERRE HAUTE -- As a blind person, Kristin Fleschner knows what it is like to face discrimination.

 

A Terre Haute native who lives in Washington, D.C., and works for the federal government, Fleschner has been ignored when trying to buy coffee at a well-known chain. She’s been refused Uber service by some drivers because of her guide dog, Zoe. She’s been laughed at when trying to buy make-up at a store by those

who question why or how a blind person would wear makeup.

 

Those types of incidents are not unusual for the blind and disabled, she told participants in the Wabash Valley Leadership Institute during a dinner at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Thursday. “We are often completely ignored, as if we aren’t standing there. People don’t speak to us — it’s as if we’re invisible,” she said.

 

But Fleschner has never let personal obstacles stand in her way. She is an attorney who graduated from Harvard Law School in 2014, and since 2008, she has worked on gender, peace and security issues for the federal government. She recently joined the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, as a foreign affairs officer covering human rights issues. 

 

She is an advocate for those with disabilities and also has worked with sexual assault survivors and women’s groups as well as the LGBT community.

 

”I have been blessed with an incredible education and a lot of incredible experiences and mentors,” she said in an interview. “I feel a responsibility to help others who haven’t had those experiences.” She knows others don’t have her legal background and may not have the voice to speak out against discrimination.

 

”I know I have to keep fighting because of that,” she said. 

 

While in law school, Fleschner co-directed and starred in a short documentary, “Blind Ambition,” about her life as a law student with a disability, featuring interviews with fellow students, professors and her family. She uses it as a teaching tool to show people what it is like to be blind and to create greater

awareness and understanding.

 

Fleschner started experiencing vision loss in 2008 after an organ transplant. 

 

Change in people’s attitudes and behavior toward those with disabilities is possible with proper education, she said, and through “Blind Ambition,” she shows others that blind individuals can run the Boston Marathon, which she did, and attend law school. 

 

”The goal of the documentary is to leave audiences feeling that blind people lead the exact same lives as sighted people, they just approach tasks a little differently,” said Fleschner, a graduate of Terre Haute North Vigo High School. She said she’s received an amazing response to the documentary and been

contacted by people around the world.

 

Those attending the dinner Thursday watched the short documentary.

 

Fleschner has another advocacy tool, her guide dog, Zoe, who gets a warm reception from people, she said. While people initially may feel uncomfortable talking about blindness, they are never uncomfortable asking about Zoe.

 

”That is an easy transition for me to educate,” she said. And once she realized what she had, “I had no shame in using Zoe for all she is worth.” Zoe has her own Facebook page [Zoe the Seeing Eye Dog] and Twitter account. Zoe has followers in over 40 countries and receives an average of over 100 questions per week.

 

Last year, Fleschner and Zoe  were kicked out of two stores at a mall, which elicited a strong public response. As a result, employees of a store located across the U.S. were watching Blind Ambition to learn how to interact with guide dogs, Fleschner said.

 

In recent weeks, she has encountered increased incidents of Uber drivers refusing to transport her because she travels with a guide dog, which has been investigated by a television station there. According to the television report, the company acknowledged that refusing to transport a service dog is a

violation of the law and Uber policy. 

 

Fleschner had a special message for the emerging leaders on an important issue the country must respond to.

 

The country is seeing increased acts of hatred, she said. She pointed to an FBI report indicating hate crimes are on the rise, particularly against the Muslim community.

 

As a federal employee, she can’t give a political speech, she said. But the reason for the hate crimes doesn’t matter, she said. “It’s happening.”  

 

On a personal level, she has experienced 11 access denials by taxi drivers in just the past three weeks. “I was called retarded, crazy, and all sorts of slurs ... by multiple drivers,” she said. “I think people feel emboldened by the atmosphere that is happening right now.”  

 

She urged the latest cohort of the Wabash Valley Leadership Institute to step up and fight discrimination. “You are leaders and you have a responsibility,”

Fleschner said. “I implore you to fight discrimination against the disabled, against women, against Muslims, against African Americans, against LGBT persons...  against anyone that faces discrimination in our community.”

 

She concluded her comments by saying that “a disability, when faced with real love, is no barrier at all. ... There are no access rights, violations, or

bigots to contend with when love and support are freely given.” 

-- 
The Seeing Eye
Independence with Dignity since 1929

 
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