[Alpine-info] Seeking someone who..?

[Karen Lewellen]

chime,
again speaking personally, the laws themselves tend to be just fine.
Where the challenge comes in is  that, in many ways those impacted are 
individuals.  instead of focusing on the laws,  test for function and 
interaction, very well meaning people try to focus on the people instead.
Our "we have blind googlers!"
Imagine if he crowed "we higher Asians! how well that statement would go 
over laughs.
allot of well meaning people, met a single example of  a category and 
decided they spoke for everyone..turning that token encounter into 
software development etc.
And, again speaking personally, many in said population were thankful to 
be at the table.  That person must be like me, so I can belong.
One of the most important  rules Canadian reporters got about Indigenous 
coverage is that  you should not assume that one  person speaks for all 
indigenous people.
absolutely hands down to assume that one person experiencing dyslexia or 
hearing loss or a brain injury or blindness speaks for the entire 
population.  That there is a blindness community or paraplegic community 
with every single member sharing the same needs is wrong too. Do those 
behind such  choices mean well?  sometimes, likely most often.
Does it lead to progress?  that is debatable.  After all, as I understand 
it, much Linux innovation came from folks not finding what they needed in 
windows.  same for Apple.
The laws though?  the ones that specifically say, build with a certain 
basic floor, html, css, then add the fancy stuff on top?  those are fine. 
After all the law says current, not modern.
What is current in India  is equally as important as what is current in 
Wales.
With the web more like concrete, a super highway, built from solid 
stuff..do that and high heels or a scooter can get to the goods.
Final point here.  the co-director of Crip camp, Oscar-nominated film 
about some teens with disabilities starting a movement in the 70's made 
this comment when asking for a ramp at the Academy awards.
Why should anyone have to talk about their body to a stranger to get 
service?
Google staffer crows about  blind googlers while no one from the company 
monitors their accessibility list.
apple produces coda putting an aspect of deaf culture on to the Oscar 
stage.  Microsoft puts a person identifying as blind in a Superbowl 
commercial  about gaming.
How many of those blind googlers show in public facing advertising for the 
company I wonder?
Off her soapbox,
Kare


On Thu, 30 Nov 2023, Chime Hart wrote:


> Well, Karen-and-All, quoting a title of a late Gordon Lightfoot song, "If You 

> Could Read My Mind" in an ideal World, I wish the law could `force all 

> web-sites to work with any-and-all browser, no matter what platform. But 

> unfortunately, for more than 17years I can see we are not going to win that 

> battle. Does that mean I won't bring it to an attention of a web-site? 

> Certainly, but even many of the Linux folks I run in to either work mostly on 

> their phones or only with graphical tools. Many years ago, I practicly said 

> kiddingly, that there might as well be a countdown clock online until only 

> modern graphical access would work.

> Chime

>

>