I became suspicious when I noticed that the only blindness organization consulted by Apple in press reports was the American Council of the Blind. A sighted friend examined the emojis and found the canes appear to only extend to the elbows of the blind people, who appear to be age 12. This cane length is below the sternum, which is the minimum cane length advocated by the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. ACB regularly affiliates with AER. The National Federation of the Blind recommends that white canes extend past the chin. It is sad Apple has brazenly picked a political side in the white canes and travel debate rather than develop an image representative of independent blind travel. The blind people in the emoji’s are holding really short white canes with red tips and a black golf grip with the nylon cord around their wrists, which can often be a safety hazard. If blind people have their canes caught in the doors of rapid transit or light rail trains, they could be dragged to their deaths when the train rapidly accelerates rather than having the cane just knocked out of their hand if a strap is not wrapped around their wrist. It sets a poor example of cane use to the public and blind people everywhere. I will ask Apple to withdraw its submission and create new emoji that actually demonstrates safe independent travel.
Kelly On 3/23/18, M. Taylor <[email protected]> wrote: > Apple proposes new emojis for people with disabilities > The iPhone maker offered up 13 new designs for review. > By Jessica Dolcourt, March 23, 2018 11:54 AM PDT > > A wheelchair, a service dog and prosthetic limbs could join your emojis of > men and women jogging and playing sports. > > Three of the 13 new emojis Apple has submitted to Unicode for evaluation. > Apple/CNET > Apple has proposed 13 new emojis to include more experiences for people > with > disabilities. The iPhone-maker submitted its formal request to Unicode, the > consortium that governs the standard that includes emojis. > The new symbols feature men and women walking with a cane and touching > their > ear, as well as standalone icons of a hearing aid and prosthetic arm. > Apple has been making a big push to ensure that its devices are accessible > for all users. The company's iPhones, Macs and other devices include plenty > of features that let people with vision, hearing and other impairments more > easily use those devices. > In Apple's own words: > "Apple is requesting the addition of emoji to better represent individuals > with disabilities. Currently, emoji provide a wide range of options, but > may > not represent the experiences of those with disabilities. Diversifying the > options available helps fill a significant gap and provides a more > inclusive > experience for all." > > You can read the full PDF proposal here. > > Original Article at: > https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-proposes-new-emoji-for-people-with-disabilit > ies/#ftag=CAD-09-10aai5b > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
