WHEREAS, a positive image of blindness in newspapers, on radio, in magazines, on television, and in all other media is critical in our efforts to educate the public and improve the status of the blind; and
WHEREAS, inaccurate and demeaning portrayals of the blind,
whether done from malice or from ignorance, slow our progress toward equal treatment; and
WHEREAS, the Business Section of the Tuesday, September 6, 1988 issue of THE BALTIMORE SUN prominently featured an article entitled "Maryland Construction Firms Learning to Build in Safety-Education Plans," which began by quoting a safety director from a large construction company waving a Braille PLAYBOY magazine, saying, "This is what you have to look forward to if you don't wear your safety goggles," and goes on to sum up his false beliefs about blindness by saying, "There's no fun in reading PLAYBOY in Braille," thereby implying that the blind are denied the fullness of life's experiences; and
WHEREAS, such shoddy behavior reinforces fear of blindness at a time when the blind are striving for full participation in the life of the community on an equal basis; and
WHEREAS, the offhanded and unconscious manner in which THE BALTIMORE SUN printed these insulting remarks, increases the harm they do to the blind since the attitude they contain is accepted at face value without being recognized, let alone questioned; Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland in Convention assembled this 11th day of September, 1988, in the City of Towson, Maryland, that this organization calls upon THE BALTIMORE SUN to work with us to eliminate false stereotypes about blindness and to educate the public affirmatively and help bring about the end of discrimination against the blind based on fear and ignorance.