Cab 452

Cab 452

The Braille Monitor

March,

2004

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Cab 452

by

Scott C. LaBarre

From the Editor: Scott

LaBarre is a longtime member and leader of the National Federation of the Blind.

He currently serves as second vice president of the NFB of Colorado. He, his

wife Anahit, and their young son Alexander live in a home in a Denver suburb.

The following article appeared in the twenty-fourth Kernel Book, The Car,

the Sled, and the Butch Wax. It begins with President Maurer's introduction:

Scott LaBarre is president

of the National Federation of the Blind's special interest division for blind

lawyers. There are elements of humor and irony in his story, which illustrates

the profound disconnect that, all too often, still exists between the reality

of blindness and the perception of it. Here is what Scott has to say about Cab

452:

Scott

LaBarre

I am a blind lawyer who

owns and runs his own firm. Recently I got married, and my wife and I are proudly

expecting our first child. We also look with joy towards living in a home that

we have just purchased. In other words, I normally think of myself as the typical

young professional starting a family and pursuing a career.

From

time to time, however, something occurs that reminds me that my blindness makes

me vastly different from the average young American professional. Even though

I have accomplished much in my life, sometimes people are not able to look past

the fact that a blind man is before them, and when they concentrate so heavily

on my blindness, their natural tendency is to prescribe to me the characteristics

they believe a blind person possesses rather than consider the life I have actually

lived.

About

a year ago I elected to take a cab home from the office for the specific purpose

of swinging by the dry cleaner to collect a bunch of clothes I had dropped off

the previous day. I needed to collect the clothes because the next day I was

flying off on a business trip in connection with one of my cases.

After

waiting outside of my office building for a short while, Metro Taxi's Cab 452

came speeding up. Soon after getting into the cab, I realized that the driver

was in a hurry, because he rapidly flew out of the parking lot. When I told

him that I had to make a stop at the dry cleaner, the driver groaned. Upon later

reflection I am certain that I unconsciously adopted this guy's impatience.

So as we rocketed up to the dry cleaner, my desire was to make the retrieval

of my clothes as expeditious as possible.

When

he said, "We're here," I quickly opened the door and heard a sickening

"thunk." The driver had parked his size-twelve cab in a size-ten parking

space. You guessed it. I had opened my door onto someone else's vehicle.

As

I wriggled myself out of the cab, I heard somebody running up and screaming,

"You (expletive deleted), you scratched my new SUV!" As soon as this

new SUV owner realized that I was blind, he immediately turned his wrath upon

the cab driver. Then began an hour-long ordeal.

My

cab driver's first tongue was not English, and the SUV owner's use of the language

was grotesque, to put it kindly. SUV Man screamed at the driver, "How the

(expletive deleted) can you park so close to my car and let the blind man out

there?" Mr. Cab Driver yelled back, claiming that there was no scratch

and that it was not a big deal. He also said, "Give this poor blind guy

a break. He couldn't see your stupid car."

SUV

Man kept yelling at Mr. Cab Driver that he better damn well pay for the repairs.

Mr. Cab Driver said, "There is no damage. We're leaving!" SUV Man

replied, "There is no (expletive deleted) way you're leaving. I'm calling

the police!"

From

there the conversation between these gentlemen degenerated quickly while they

hurled vicious insults back and forth. They both went into the dry cleaner to

accost potential eyewitnesses about what had happened. I followed the quarrelling

twosome into the store and attempted to gain their attention. No one was paying

me any mind amidst the raging storm of verbal putdowns.

We

in the National Federation of the Blind often say that we seek to achieve first-class

citizenship for the nation's blind. We also say that with such first-class citizenship

comes first-class responsibility. At the time this event occurred, I remember

feeling at fault for what had happened. I told myself, "You should have

been more cautious and opened the door more slowly."

I

also asked myself what would have happened if I had been a sighted man getting

out of the cab? I suspect that the sighted man would bear the responsibility

for what had transpired as a result of his lack of caution.

On

that day I attempted to get the attention of the two men so that I could discuss

with them my role in the whole mess. At first they ignored me altogether. Finally

I stepped in front of SUV Man and handed him my business card.

As

I started to say something to him about the fact that he could call me about

any potential damages, he said, "You don't have to give me your lawyer's

card. You're blind. It's not your fault." Handing the card back to me,

he once again said, "I don't need to talk with your lawyer. This stupid

cab driver will need a lawyer."

Then

the cab driver chimed in, "It isn't this blind man's fault. Give the poor

guy a break. And I am not the stupid one."

I

then tried to tell both gentlemen that I was, in fact, a lawyer and that my

purpose was to help resolve the dispute. Once again they ignored me and took

their battle outside of the store.

Later

the police did, in fact, arrive. The officer examined SUV Man's vehicle and

said that he could see no scratch. The officer spoke with both gentlemen, and

they both described me as "this poor blind guy." The officer agreed

that whatever had happened was "not the blind guy's fault." The officer

never once spoke with me to ask about what had happened.

Finally

the ordeal came to an end with both combatants yelling at each other and getting

in a few last insults. On the way home I attempted to tell the driver of Cab

452 that I felt bad about what had happened. After all, I opened the door onto

SUV Man's prized possession. The cab driver stated over and over that "Life

must be hard, man. It isn't your fault." I tried repeatedly to explain

that my life was fine.

When

we got to my home, I left the cab, telling him that his supervisor could call

me at my law office if there were any lingering questions. Apparently no official

action resulted from the incident because I never heard from anyone regarding

the matter.

Several

weeks after the event, Cab 452 once again answered my call for a taxi and again

picked me up from my office. The guy immediately said that he was the driver

who had taken me to the dry cleaner, and he launched into an account of how

stupid and ugly SUV Man had been. Then he asked me, "Is that building your

doctor's or counselor's office?" I said, "No," and explained

that I was a lawyer and that the building was home to my office.

The

driver of Cab 452 was shocked. He asked me, "You work? Work as a lawyer?"

I again told him what I did for a living, and he repeatedly commented that he

was impressed and couldn't believe it. The incident at the dry cleaner and the

subsequent ride in Cab 452 are not earth-shattering events but are the kinds

of events that remind me that I am not the average young professional chasing

the American dream. Such events force me to reflect upon the status of blind

people in our society.

At

the dry cleaner, initially, SUV Man started yelling at me about the alleged

damage done to his car. Once he saw my white cane and realized that I was blind,

all blame instantaneously shifted to the cab driver. Both at that time and afterwards,

the driver made comments that said, in effect, "Give the poor blind guy

a break."

Does

my blindness absolve me of all responsibility in this kind of affair? Arguably,

the cab driver probably should not have parked so close to another vehicle.

However, maybe I shouldn't have been in such a hurry. Maybe I should have opened

the door more slowly and carefully. Certainly SUV Man should not have overreacted

and screamed so viciously and made a federal case out of such a small matter.

Regardless

of how much blame should be assigned to the different individuals, there is

no question in my mind that at least part of this accident was directly attributable

to me and my actions. Neither the cab driver nor SUV Man nor the police officer

ever wanted to hold me responsible in any way. They all agreed that I was faultless

because of my blindness.

What

struck me even more forcefully is the way these gentlemen reacted to the fact

that I am a lawyer. Their response was disbelief. When I handed SUV Man my card,

he assumed that the card was somebody else's. He did not consider for a moment

that I was the lawyer named on the card. The cab driver did not understand until

much later that I was a lawyer with my own practice, even though I had explained

it several times. When he finally understood that I practiced law, he was shocked,

to say the least.

Blind

people have served as lawyers in our country for decades. In fact, the first

president of the National Federation of the Blind, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, practiced

law and taught at a major university starting in the 1930's. Even though there

have been many blind lawyers, the gentlemen involved in this incident either

could not or would not believe that I, a blind man, was a lawyer.

This

phenomenon occurs with quite some frequency as I travel through life. Not a

month goes by without someone expressing absolute surprise that I am employed

as an attorney.

When

I became blind as a ten-year-old boy, I literally thought that my life was over.

In my wildest dreams I never imagined that I could pursue a challenging career,

marry a beautiful woman, raise a family, and own a home; but I am doing all

those things. The National Federation of the Blind has taught me to believe

in myself as a blind person. The Federation has also made me realize that we

have an obligation to spread a positive philosophy about blindness and to educate

society about the true abilities of the blind.

Incidentally,

I saw Cab 452's driver recently. His name is Mustafa, and he now has a much

broader understanding of how blind people get along in the world. After seeing

and listening to me enough times, he has learned that blind persons function

in all walks of life and do so well. He is no longer shocked that I am a lawyer,

and my blindness does not seem to be something unusual to him or something that

should be pitied.

Our road to first-class

citizenship has been long and hard, but we are getting there. Person by person,

action by action, we change what it means to be blind. Cab 452 has reaffirmed

my conviction that we will realize a day when the blind are full, first-class

citizens in our society. With the work of the National Federation of the Blind

and a society willing to listen, that day may not be all that far away.

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