By Julie Feldman

Last year, I was waiting to cross a very busy intersection in Penn Quarter. I looked to my left and there was a blind man with his telltale white cane also waiting to cross the street. Instinctively, I reached out my arm; I thought that, obviously, he needed help crossing the street. Then I stopped myself. If he was already standing on the corner, waiting with the rest of us, then he likely already knew what he was doing. And so I marveled at his agile maneuvering through the crowds as we walked across the huge street. Quite a mediocre task for this man, I was sure, but it nonetheless was a personal epiphany.

I was briefly reminded of this incident last week while passing a movie theater in downtown Silver Spring: blind people were protesting stereotypes perpetuated by Jose Santiago’s Blindness, which had found its way to the big theater. This didn’t surprise me, for there are several quite dramatic scenes and assumptions easily imaginable for any reader yearning to trade in common sense for imagination. Like how people who suddenly lose their sight will lose all their might and will to function as sane members of society. The blind protesters and I share some similar battles.

Although I don’t really spend much time thinking about it, I also have to deal with many assumptions and misperceptions. Perhaps even on a daily basis. Like the time the relay operator typed: “Oh my god. I didn’t know she was deaf.” Which, of course, preceded a not-so-polite hang-up on the grounds that they “no longer needed somebody” for the open job which they had just e-mailed me about. The other day a lady’s “common sense” led to her belief that it was okay to  make my three-year-old interpret for us. Despite all the snafus thrown my way, I continue to hold an optimistic view toward people’s inherent goodness. But sometimes it does take the law to reach that.

For many years, I had been a fan of Marc Fisher’s column in The Washington Post. Until he published “Common Sense Missing in Redskins Ruling“. Like so many others before him, he chose sensationalize a single point in the entire 22-page ruling issued by Judge Williams: the deaf community is irrationally suing just so that the Redskins will caption their music lyrics! Gee whiz, what is this world coming to?

The essential part of the case, which won’t spark the sizzle Fisher seeks, lies in the following statements from Judge Williams:

While Defendants have gone a long way to provide captioning and some access to deaf and hard of hearing fans, Defendants, in effect, do not want to be told they are required to do so by Title III.

The Court believes and declares that the ADA requires Defendants to provide deaf and hard of hearing fans equal access to the aural information broadcast over the stadium bowl public address system at FedEx Field.

But that’s not important to Fisher. He is irked by the request to simply add music and lyrics to the captioning (following that logic, none of the theme music from Cheers or other TV shows would be captioned). Who is he to decide what deaf and hard of hearing people should hear? Some of us envy Fisher for being able to hear the annoying music at FedEx Field and would gladly trade places with him. If that happened, chances are Fisher wouldn’t be working as a columnist at The Washington Post.

Very few people take the time to try and thoroughly understand the reasons behind the decision to file a suit against the Redskins. I understand how much easier it would be to go through life without thinking too much about others’ needs and lifestyles. Still, common sense does not equate some stranger suddenly grabbing your arm and telling you exactly where and how you are supposed to go about your life – just like Fisher did in this case.

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It startles Julie Feldman to describe herself as a “thirty-something parent of two, eight-year resident of Montgomery County”. Between classes, work, and chasing two little urchins, she still finds plenty of time to dream.