No Water Skies for Rixon

No Water Skies for Rixon

Future Reflections Spring/ Summer 1986, Vol. 5 No. 2
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NO WATER SKIES FOR RIXON
by Glenda Smith
Editor's Note: Glenda Smith, mother
of six children, wrote this article over
a year ago. Since then her husband
(Rixon's father), Frank Smith, has passed
away due to cancer. Glenda and her
family are still very much involved in
the National Federation of the Blind.
Glenda tells me that Federationists in
her state are helping Rixon get a part
time job as well as some volunteer work experience this summer.
Introduction: The blind, like other
minority groups, face discrimination in
all aspects of life. Unlike most minorities,
however, the blind have to contend
with the "safety" issue. If a man
refuses to rent his second story apartment
to a blind woman, it isn't discrimination,
it's just a matter of safety;
she might fall down the stairs. If an
employer won't hire a blind machinist it
isn't discrimination, after all he could
get hurt trying to run those machines.
Again, safety. Since there are thousands
of blind people who safely
navigate stairs every day of their lives
and hundreds of blind people who competently
and safely operate all kinds of
"dangerous" industrial equipment, it is
obvious that the facts simply don't
support the "safety" argument.
The question for us as parents of
blind children is, How can we know when
a certain action really is discrimination
and not a matter of safety?
Glenda Smith and Frank Smith of Idaho
had to face that very question. Here's
how they used logic, good sense, and the
understanding they gained from the
National Federation of the Blind to
answer the question, "Discrimination or
safety?"
Recently my son had an experience with
discrimination because he is blind that
I would like to relate to you. My son
Rixon is 15 years old. He has almost
finished his required work for an Eagle Scout Award. One of the merit badges he
decided he wanted to accomplish is
called Water Skiing.
Last year after Scout Camp one of the
men in our community took the scouts to
the lake to ski with his boat. Rixon
heard about the outing and was very
envious and began talking about wanting
to learn to water ski. He knows he'll
like it. He enjoys the water sports of
swimming and diving almost daily at the
community pool.
He approached one scout leader who was
taking a group of boys out to pass the
merit badge last summer and was told he
could not go. He told Rixon it was "too
unsafe" for him to try. Rixon felt a
bit frustrated but was told that these
boys already knew how to ski and there
would be no teaching as such done there.
Rixon's father is also blind and has
been the chief of the Orientation Center
at Boise, Idaho. Rixon had a long
heart-to-heart talk with his father.
His dad asked him what he thought makes
people act like they think Rixon can't
do things like water skiing. They decided
that irrational fear is the underlying
cause. Fear that crowds out one's
ability to use common sense.
Dad explained that the philosophy of
the National Federation of the Blind, to
which we belong, has been and is that
the average blind perosn can do the
average activity as well as the average
sighted person if properly trained and
if given the opportunity.
Since we don't own a boat, talking a
friend into taking Rixon out on the
water to learn to ski seemed the most
reasonable approach to his learning to
water ski. He decided to try to find
someone who would help him. He had
determined that somehow he could accomplish
the goal.
After asking around in our church we
found a couple of people with boats that
are used regularly for water skiing. A
couple of them turned us down kindly. Then an Eagle Advisor was assigned to Ric and he explained his desire to her. She said her family had a boat and she would be happy to take him up on the
lake.
A few days later I was riding with the
Eagle Advisor lady and I could tell she
was a bit uncomfortable. She started
the conversation with, "I don't know why
things have to be so complicated, but my
husband says that since Rixon is blind
there is greater risk and if we take him
up we will have to have you and your
husband sign a liability waiver so we
wouldn't be responsible for any accidents." She went on to say that last
year a fellow had somehow caught a finger
in a tow-line and it had been pulled
off. She also had checked with a scout
committee advisor who said he thought it
would be O.K., but he thought there
would be some safer activities for
Rixon.
I sat in the car knowing something was
wrong with her logic but unable to pull
it together to really defend Rixon's
position. I felt guilty and angry when
I called Rixon and his father together
to tell them about the encounter.
Dad was able to explain to us that
irrational fear again was at the root of
the problem. Fear of the unknown--what
if he lost a finger? What if another
boat should come? What if he should
loose his balance in the wake? She had
asked me each of these questions.
Orientation students at the Commission
for the Blind go water skiing every
summer as part of the regular activities of the training center. Dozens of other
blind people ski on the lakes and reservoirs
of Idaho, as well as in other
states.
Irrational fear crowds out common
sense. Does this gentleman require
everyone who goes water skiing in his
boat to have a liability waiver? If so
then it would be fine for our son too,
we concluded, but only if others do
also. To answer the other questions
raised there are common sense answers
also. If another boat comes it is to
stay well away from our boat as there is
to be a red flag up to alert other boats
to stay away any time there is a skiier
in the water--sighted or blind. There
have been accidents caused by this situation
in the past so laws have been
enacted to make water skiing more safe
for everyone--blind or sighted! About
loosing one's balance, who doesn't when
learning to water ski? One must be
wearing a floatation device according to
Idaho law when water skiing. By obeying
the law, the law for everyone, sighted
or blind, one is protected.
About the possibility of loosing a
finger, I have to smile. When Rixon was
small we took him to a very "safe" place
we thought--the zoo. A snapping turtle
took quite a chunk out of Rixon's finger
as he was feeling its shell.
You can "What if" yourself into nonsense. There will always be scrapes and
bruises and an occasional line of
stitches or a broken bone in learning
sports, but I will gladly risk them to
have Rixon grow and learn to enjoy life
around him.
The water is too cold this season to
make water skiing enjoyable, but next
year we'll be sure to do it. We've
learned a lot about ourselves and understanding
others irrational fears.
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