Weighing Things Up, Book Two

By Robert T. Branco

Weighing Things Up, Book Two is Robert T. Branco’s fifth published book.

Weighing Things Up, Book One (2014) consisted of 103 short essays on issues pertaining to blindness and the blind, bureaucracy, holidays and our changing attitudes toward them, some absurd pieces of legislation, politics, scams, sports, modern technology, and a wide variety of social issues. Numerous comments and links to articles offering more information were added by the editor, Leonore H. Dvorkin.

Weighing Things Up, Book Two consists of more than 100 new essays on many of the same subjects. The majority of these essays were previously published in Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind; on Ernest Dempsey’s blog, Word Matters; or in the author’s own online newsletter, The Consumer Vision Magazine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert T. Branco
• Release date: Sep 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370337217

Book preview

EDITOR’S NOTES

As with Bob Branco’s previous book of short essays that I edited, Weighing Things Up (C 2014), I have received permission from him to include a few comments and links to articles that provide more information about the subject being discussed. Sometimes the article that I link to provides an opposing viewpoint. I much appreciate Bob’s willingness to allow these editorial additions.

Throughout this text, the word braille is capitalized only when it refers to Louis Braille, is the first word in a sentence, is part of a title, or refers to the name of a product. This is in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Braille Authority of North America in November 2006. For more details, see

http://www.brailleauthority.org/capitalization/capitalization.pdf

Leonore Dvorkin

Editor, DLD Books

http://www.dldbooks.com/

PART ONE

GENERAL SOCIAL ISSUES

Abortion, Right or Wrong?

October 20, 2016

As I write about this topic, keep in mind that I am speaking as a Christian. There has been much debate about abortion, and I certainly will try not to add to it. As far as I’m concerned, a fetus has life. Unless the mother is in a life or death situation where the fetus needs to be removed, no one should have the right to kill that fetus.

It didn’t ask for these problems when it was conceived. Speaking of conception, I’m sure that many mothers decide to have abortions because they weren’t planning to conceive. Yet, as you know, stuff happens, and women conceive children anyway.

Now here’s the big question. What should these women do when they become pregnant unexpectedly?

Many people are pro–choice, and they feel that there are times when women have the right to abort the fetus. At the same time, I believe there should be more education in schools about sex and how selective we should be about it. If you don’t have the parenting skills, yet, you shouldn’t think about having a baby. If you can’t afford to bring another person into this world, then don’t do it. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are ready to adopt unwanted children, but can we guarantee a perfect success rate? Unwanted children may find themselves with no positive direction, which means that they could add to all the problems we are facing in the world right now. Does this mean we have to abort them before they are born?

To me, it’s all about education, avoidance, and quality parent planning. I took two courses in sex education in middle school, and I learned a lot from that experience. I know when it’s right and when it’s not right. I know that if my partner and I aren’t financially and emotionally prepared to have children, we absolutely wouldn’t. If more people felt that way, this country would be better off.

Judge Judy, one of my favorite courtroom judges on television, gets angry when her unemployed litigants come to her with many children from many fathers. Quite often, these fathers are in jail, and the mothers have to struggle. Like me, Judge Judy doesn’t understand it, and quite often she gets extremely passionate on the air about it, so that millions of viewers can hear the message. I will close by repeating a quote I often express when talking about this subject. If you can’t handle a baby, don’t make one.

(Originally published in Word Matters,

www.ernestdempsey.com)

The Abuse of Social Media

May 18, 2016

Social media is an amazing invention. I take my hat off to those who created it, because it took an enormous amount of intelligence to set it all up. However, I am quite sure that the creators of social media did not intend for all the abuse that goes with it. How often do we hear about people who were bullied on social media to the point where they either thought about or successfully committed suicide?

Despite my blindness, I am one of the most active Facebook consumers around. For me to be as active on Facebook as I am, I needed to understand the proper uses of this form of social media. My posts are proper, productive, and beneficial to other people. While I try very hard to use Facebook in this fashion, I read lots of very offensive posts and comments. I often wonder if those who post these hateful remarks on Facebook are doing it for pleasure or because they are too cowardly to confront people face to face. After all, it’s very easy to hide behind a keyboard without worrying about what other people might say or do.

In fact, I think that the abuse of social media is so out of control that new laws have to be created in order to regulate behavior. Slander, bullying, and other forms of abuse mean the same if you use social media as if you were making a personal public display or writing something inappropriate to a newspaper.

As a result of what’s going on, Facebook gets a rather unfair reputation at times. I know people who are afraid to use it even if they have the best of intentions. They are afraid that Facebook bullies will use personal information to hurt them. One way to avoid harassment on social media is to limit as much personal information as you possibly can. Try to be professional and objective. The less that anyone else knows about you personally, the better off you will be. In the meantime, there are ways to report abuse on social media. Just follow the guidelines that are offered to you on each site. After all, you are still in charge.

(Originally published in Word Matters)

The American Economy

Every time our economy suffers, we always hear the same thing. We need to create new jobs. The thing that people do not realize is that for every new job we create, we lose others, and not only because of a bad economy, but because of the times we live in. Think of the number of telephone operators and receptionists that will be out of work because of automated answering services. With the tremendous increase in email, the postal profession might be in jeopardy. What about gas station attendants who used to help us pump gas? Today, most of us do it ourselves. Why do we need so many workers in a bank when we can all work an ATM machine? What’s going to happen when more of us shop online? You won’t see very many sales representatives in retail stores, and more stores will have to close. If we create more and more robots to clean our homes, the housecleaning profession will suffer. Even though I’m against it, stores now allow us to scan our own cards and use the cashier’s computer without the cashier doing it. So, why would we need cashiers? We might as well ring up our own purchases while we’re at it. So, how do we replace the jobs for all these people who are victims of technology as well as an economic collapse? Has anyone thought this through?

Another thing that bothers me is the deceptive unemployment rate. It’s been said time and time again that those of us who are out of work but no longer receive unemployment benefits are not part of the statistic. How is this fair? If I go out to dinner with nine people, and six of us are working, while the unemployment benefits for the other four people ran out, the surveyor who questions us will report that the unemployment rate is zero percent, because six out of six people are working. The other four do not count because their unemployment benefits expired. Sorry, pal. If I’m not working, I’m not working. It should be reported whether I get unemployment benefits or not. If I’m not working, it’s more than likely because there’s no job for me, which is something an economist needs to count.

(Originally published in my monthly newsletter, The Consumer Vision)

Are Paper Bank Statements

a Thing of the Past?

Being that I can’t criticize technological trends without someone telling me to accept the times we live in, I can’t help but be compelled to say once again that I accept modern times. It’s not the technology that bothers me. What bothers me is that technology seems to be taken for granted, with many people feeling that everyone in the world should have it no matter what. This is not reality. Many elderly people, the developmentally disabled, and others who simply choose not to deal with technology have the right not to have it, and these people should be served according to their wishes. Establishments such as postal services, medical facilities, and banks should be made aware of this.

My latest concern arose when someone informed me that a local bank will no longer be sending paper bank statements to its customers. Apparently, this bank’s customers will have to go online to find out about their transactions. For those with computers and smart phones, this is wonderful. It’s easy to do. You can check anytime you want. You have all the luxury you need whenever you need it. You should continue to enjoy your online banking. However, here’s the reality. I have a close relative who shall go nameless. She is a very bright woman who spent her entire life balancing a checkbook and understanding the concept of a paper bank statement. She is approximately 65 years old and does not own a computer, a smart phone, or any other modern technological device. She doesn’t want these devices, and that’s her right. She, like many other people, has lived her life just fine without smart devices. Yet this bank is no longer considering customers like her.

Here are my issues. First, why should my relative have to get a smart device that she either doesn’t want or can’t afford just because a bank decided not to mail paperwork to its customers anymore? Furthermore, I don’t go along with the excuse that the continued use of paper for a limited population is a financial burden on the bank or any other service organization that uses paper. It was never a financial burden in the past, so why is it suddenly a financial burden now?

When I was told about this brave decision to stop issuing paper bank statements, I thought about the fact that my bank still sends paper statements, including the braille statements that I depend on. What’s going to happen if my bank stops issuing paper? Will I still get my braille that I depend on because I’m blind? I know what some of you might be thinking as you read this. Well, Bob, you’re a smart guy. Go online. There are reasons why I won’t bank online, and other reasons why it may be difficult for me to do so. However, I won’t go into them right now.

I keep hearing rumors that eventually there will be no more U.S. Postal Service because of all the emailing we do. Again, where is the regard for the segment of our population that simply chooses to remain in a routine that they are accustomed to? Do you think that a 90–year–old man who has cognitive problems wants to go online for his prescriptions, his financial information, or anything else? Should he have to go to a library in order to keep up with the times? Maybe he can’t get to a library.

Once again, let me reassure my readers that it isn’t the technology itself that I don’t accept; it’s the way that society seems to be turning its back on people who don’t have or want the technology. I don’t think technology is as required as it’s perceived to be. It’s nice to have it if you want to have it.

Beware of Telephone Scams

January 7, 2016

I’m sure that many of you have received phone calls from people who either request information from you or want to assist you with a problem, such as a personal debt or a computer issue. After years of dealing with callers like these, I must tell you that I ignore them if I am not familiar with who they are. In the first place, there are too many scam artists who can’t wait to victimize us. Allow me to give you some helpful hints which indicate that you are about to be scammed.

First, if someone contacts you offering advice on how to reverse your debt, and if he says he has looked through your personal file, please do not pay attention. The only way that a debt reversal organization looks through someone’s personal files is if they get permission to do so. And as far as I know, no one has offered personal files to such organizations.

Another type of phone call for you to avoid is the one from a person claiming to know all about your computer. He will even tell you that you have a serious technical problem with it. First of all, if you never reported any computer problems, how would these people know what they are? So again, this is likely to be another scammer, and you should hang up on him.

There are also people who claim to represent energy companies and want to offer you a deal. Although the deal sounds tempting, ask yourself if you have ever heard of these particular energy companies before. If you haven’t heard of them, it’s possible that the caller is trying to get information to use against you.

What I am basically saying is that we should all be extremely vigilant when strangers call us. As I said, you can hang up on them, but I also think it’s important to contact your local police department and let them know about the type of calls you are getting. The police have been known to track down telephone scammers in the past, and they will do their best to turn them in.

We live in an extremely greedy society, so I just want people to be aware and to do their best not to be victimized any longer.

(Originally published in Word Matters)

The Connection Between Technology and Violence

May 4, 2016

I suppose I should have put this as a question. Is there a connection between today’s technology and violence? Are children learning too much about violence at a young age as a result of video games? As far as I’m concerned, this is a subject for debate.

It is easy for us to assume that when a teenager or young adult goes on a shooting rampage in a school, a mall, a movie theater, or any other public place, it’s because he played too many video games as a child. After all,