Last week U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the government must change the nation’s currency in order to give the blind and visually impaired a way to distinguish among the bills. According to Robinson, the currency violates the Rehabiliation Act which prevents discrimination on basis of disability in government programs. Noting that the US is the only country that prints all paper currency in uniform size and color, some suggestions made by Robinson included making bills of larger denomination larger in size, color distinguishing features, or raised numbers. The govenment was given ten days to appeal the ruling or thirty to start working on the problem. While I do believe that we could all benefit from this program, as there have certainly been times for one reason or another I could no longer see well enough to distinguish the numbers, is our money really discriminatory or is it just another example of how life is sometimes unfair? Is there even a difference?
While I would certainly not fault the blind for trying to make their daily lives easier, Americans seem to have begun to throw the word discrimination around at every sign of inconvenience. According to dictionary.com, discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. I highly doubt that at the time our currency was designed there were people in the room that said, “Blind people are worthless individuals that do not deserve the right to be able to tell the difference between a $5 bill and a $100 bill.” It seems that for something to be labeled discrimination, the act should involve a certain level of malice and aforethought and I am extremely hard pressed to see how that could have happened here.
Clearly the airlines were discriminatory when they designed the size of the seats in favor of those that are not fat.
The attorney for the blind hit the nail on the head when he said “It’s just frankly unfair that blind people should have to rely on the good faith of people they have never met in knowing whether they’ve been given the correct change.” The word unfair is obviously much more appropriate here. We all learn from a very early age, however, that life is simply unfair. Not only is it unfair that the visually impaired cannot see as well as everyone else can, it is just as unfair that they are unable to drive. Are we going to come up with a novel form of sonar for all American cars to correct this act of discrimination? After all, I think that the interstates are a government program. While I generally believe that slippery slope arguments are specious ones, it does seem appopriate here to ask if we can call the simple act of the treasury printing money discrimination, where is the line? Is it discrimination against thin males that Gap, no longer carries extra small shirts or pants with 28-inch waists in their stores? After all, the svelte among us are now forced to spend more money on clothing that is closer to European tailoring if we do not want to wear muumuus all the time. This combined with the fact that Gap carries XXL clearly shows that they are favoring the overweight. How about the fact that some obese Americans have to buy two seats when they fly in coach? Certainly the airlines were discriminatory when they designed the size of the seats in favor of those that are not fat. In my eyes neither of these situations is discriminatory, but rather unfair and inconvenient. This is not to make light of the day to day hardship endured by the blind and visually impaired, but to say that perhaps their tribulations are not really the result of discrimination.
It seems that this case is another episode of the hit new series Sue Happy Americans Gone Wild.
This case also brings up another interesting issue. If one does truly believe that the government is being willfully discriminatory, why is the easiest way to rectify the problem a federal court? It seems that this case is another episode of the hit new series Sue Happy Americans Gone Wild. From what I have read, it does not seem that anyone ever bothered adressing this issue with Congress. Why did the blind advocacy groups not start lobbying Congress to change the law or to place pressure on the treasury to fix the problems. Is it symptomatic of a problematic legislative process that a four-year legal battle paid for by taxpayers was the best way for the blind to achieve what they perceive to be equality? Is it really fair that one judge rather than a body of elected officials has the ability to make a decision that will affect each and every American?
I don’t have the answers, so we’d like to hear from you.
12 responses so far ↓
samuel cappiello // Dec 5, 2006 at 4:09 pm
I would say that the use of the word discrimination carries with it a degree of intentionality. To argue that the US Federal Reserve is disciminating against the visually impaired, they would have to have intentionally chosen not to ameliorate the problem once it has been brought to their attention. Of course, if it were impossible to incorporate distinguishing tactile features into the currency, then yes, this would be a case the routine “unfairness” of life. The fact is, it is NOT impossible to make denominational increments haptically distinct. Other nations have had such features for decades. It’s ironic that the United States has set globally emulated standards with legislation like the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) yet turns a “blind eye” at an opportunity to directly affect the daily independence of blind persons. Braille or other tactile markers on currency would be far more practical than the famed braille drive-through ATM keys.
Amber // Dec 6, 2006 at 5:43 pm
In my opinion it is true that the disabled are far less noticed in this world than others. If you think about it they are basically pushed off to the side, as if they were not even there. This is very much similar to discrimination, no matter if intentional or not. History seems to replay itself as the years go by, but just in a different manner. For example when the English discovered African Americans they immediately thought of them as slaves or something they could use to work for them. When people acatually began to stand up and fight for the problem ofcourse their became a problem but disabled people can not let this stop them.
Theo // Dec 7, 2006 at 1:07 am
Having been a former national representative of the National Federation of the Blind (from Kingstree, SC), I got an experience on dealing through a week in the life of the average blind person.
My grandfather, the gentleman that I was accompanying told me how they would fold money certain ways to keep track of the demonination. Unfortunately, I would have to tell him what it was in order to fold it a certain way.
I agree with earlier thoughts that this is merely unfair. Discrimination does imply a certain amount of intent in design. The mint can simply change it and make it more workable for everyone.
kat // Dec 8, 2006 at 5:56 am
i thought i would briefly applaud you for spelling muumuu properly… though in “proper” hawaiian you have to include the okina to make it mu`umu`u. you get a cookie.
CC // Jan 6, 2007 at 11:10 pm
On second thought I won’t give my comment someone might think it’s unfair or discriminitory.
Bob // Jan 11, 2007 at 12:39 am
This decision by the court discriminates against poor people. I already bought my wallet, and now I’m going to have to buy another one. I can’t afford another. Discrimination, I tell you!
Seriously, though, different sized bills will be a pain to get straight in my wallet, and I don’t see how different colors will help the blind.
Amber: “In my opinion it is true that the disabled are far less noticed in this world than others. If you think about it they are basically pushed off to the side, as if they were not even there.”
What!? The pushed off to the side effect that you notice happens to everybody. It is a sign that we just don’t care about you or anyone else. Not because a person is disabled, but because we don’t care.
As for not noticing disabled people, I disagree. I notice them more. Especially blind people, because they bump into me more. Schizophrenics are pretty noticeable too, at least the loud ones.
Ashley // Jan 16, 2007 at 8:26 pm
I would like to agree that discrimination is not the correct word in this case and it isn’t right to involve the justice system to solve this problem. I don’t disagree that the currency should be different sizes and\or colors to help make distinguishing them easier but it was not necessary to go to the courts. I would like to think that here in America our citizens and upstanding enough to at least be honest with out blind citizens who may never know that they have been shorted until they go to pay their bills or buy groceries. But the long and the short of my rant here, there is a difference between the actual meanings of unfairness and discrimination. However our society today is quick to find labels of why their life is hard and who’s fault it is because it can’t be their own or because life is just unfair.
kro // Jan 27, 2007 at 2:33 am
Yea, no matter what is decided, the man who said color wouldn’t help the blind see their money has a fairly good point. As a matter of fact, discrimination or not, if any bill that changes the color of our money to help the blind should be introduced, it should promptly be dismissed, rejected, and the writer and any backer should immediately be removed from any place of public influence.
policy selling // Jan 27, 2007 at 9:28 pm
This is great, look forward to looking into every area. Thanks for being there.
Phil2611 // Apr 29, 2007 at 11:30 pm
I’m 13, and a peer mediator, and know a whole lot about our Government.
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This isn’t a question of discrminiation, this is a question of nonesense…
Sure it was not very smart of the government to make all the bills the same size…but it’s really hard to change currency. I mean when do bills actually end up in the garbage? not for a long time!
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Theres a huge difference between obese people having to buy 2 seats, and blind people not knowing what they are paying.
These are just simple things that are inconveniances. It’s not like we’re going to die from not getting the same color baloon as our friend.
Endora Aphrattos // May 7, 2007 at 12:23 am
The matter BECOMES discrimination if, now once aware and alert to the problem, the government did nothing about it. Especially in the next invent of our currency.
Bob of Tool // May 24, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I knew a girl that went to the Michigan School for the Blind. She never looked at a bill; but felt the corners; she was always right on the money. She ran the cash register in her father’s store on Sunday. T also watched them [the blind] cross a busy street without any white canes. I watched their Football team play my high school team.
The only rule changes wer that they were allowed to pick up a ball that had hit the ground and run. The other rule chang was NO Cheering during play! They lost; but not by that much.
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