            NO GOOD FOR THE BLIND IN "GOOD AND EVIL"
                        by Barbara Pierce

     It was a battle about "Good and Evil," and between good and
evil--and the good prevailed. But the battle would not have been
won--and, for that matter, would not ever have commenced--had it
not been for the coordinated, nationwide effort of the National
Federation of the Blind. In the end the victory was complete, and
the show of strength was such that neither friend nor foe will
forget it.  In fact, the threatened disaster was converted into a
vehicle for unprecedented opportunity. 
     On September 25, 1991, people in an estimated nine point
three million homes sat in their living rooms watching a blind
character on an eagerly-awaited new prime-time situation comedy
called "Good and Evil." The writer was Susan Harris, creator of
the hugely successful programs "Soap," "Golden Girls," and "Empty
Nest." The blind character George was played by Mark Blankfield,
and the portrayal made fun of blind people and our alternative
techniques. He shared billing on the program with the stars Teri
Garr and Margaret Whitton. George made his entrance the first
week halfway through the show by sweeping laboratory glassware
off every surface he could reach with his wildly flailing cane.
In the following four and a half minutes he staggered up a
staircase and around the lab looking for his lady love (mostly in
the wrong direction), made a pass at a hanging coat and struck
himself with the coat rack, groped across the body of another
male character until even he was irrefutably persuaded of his
masculinity, and choked himself on his cane as he stumbled out
the door. In subsequent weekly appearances George continued to
break any glass in his vicinity and fall up or down every
available set of stairs. In addition he created a number of
embarrassing situations by failing to recognize that silent
people were present or notice when other characters left the
room. 
     In short, every tired old saw about the oblivious, socially
inept, clumsy blind person was hauled out and played for all it
was worth. From the first preview of the "Good and Evil" pilot,
which Federationists saw last summer, we protested in the
strongest terms to ABC's Entertainment and Broadcast Standards
departments. Our complaints were met with the statement that all
the characters on "Good and Evil" were drawn broadly and intended
to be parodies of real people. In effect we were asked where our
sense of humor was. In letters to those who complained about
George to ABC and in press releases and interviews, network
officials repeatedly said that, if George had been meant to be a
true-to-life character, such a portrayal would have been in poor
taste. But no one could possibly miss the parody element, so
there was no reason to modify the character or remove him from
the script. Here are the exact words of the argument as they
appeared in letters written by Chris Hikawa, Vice President for
Broadcast Standards, and received by thousands of Federationists:

     "George is (and was, prior to his blindness) a klutz,
despite his numerous and significant academic and professional
achievements. If this series were in any way realistic, we would
agree with you that a comedic portrayal of a clumsy blind person
might be in questionable taste. However, the series, `Good and
Evil' is an exaggerated parody of life with the most outrageous
caricatures imaginable. Not one character in this program is
realistic or believable. Each is a parody of the most extreme
qualities of the values represented by the title `Good and
Evil.'"

     That was the position ABC maintained from the beginning, and
one is struck by its shallowness and naivety. Although the
National Federation of the Blind has succeeded in educating  many
members of the public enough for them to admit that  blind people
(in theory at least) can be capable citizens if given the chance,
there is still a large residue of unconscious prejudice in most
people that would cause them to identify a character like George
as a more or less accurate extension of a normal blind person
trying to cope ineffectually with the sighted world. ABC's
concept of George as parody would never even enter the equation.
The presence of an incompetent blind person slashing and smashing
his way through the program would necessarily give people
emotional permission to abandon their newly-learned and
difficult-to-accept notion of the blind as equal partners.
Moreover, the most devastatingly cruel form of humor at someone
else's expense is surely that in which the object of the joke is
also its unwitting perpetrator. In every episode George invited
laughter at himself by his antics, his stupidity, and his
comments. Absurd as every blind person knows his behavior to have
been, his actions assumed a semblance of reality just because
they were being performed by the blind character. There is a
degree less cruelty in wisecracks made by other characters about
or to the one being laughed at. Archie Bunker made fun of all
kinds of people in the program "All in the Family." Even those
who shared Archie's world view understood that part of the joke
was his lack of tact and taste, and Archie was usually shown to
be wrong in his opinions. The result was that, although everyone
was invited to laugh at the jokes, no one was being asked to
accept Archie's point of view. 
     When "Good and Evil" burst on the fall schedule, the
National Federation of the Blind mobilized an astonishing range
of blind people and their friends and family members. They
immediately understood the depth of the insult and the
seriousness of the danger to blind people if George were allowed
to grope and stumble his way through a weekly sitcom.
Federationists wrote thousands of letters to various ABC and
Touchstone Productions executives and to the program sponsors.
Many people turned to the telephone to lodge their protests. In
fact, on Monday, September 23, for about a half hour we flooded
ABC Television's New York switchboard with calls to urge the
network to withdraw the season premiere of the program. 
     Participants in the U.S./Canada Conference on Technology,
which took place at the National Center for the Blind September
19 to 21, sent a telegram to ABC registering their
disapprobation. Here is the text of the message and the
signatures of those who sent it: 

                              Baltimore, Maryland
                              September 20, 1991

Mr. Robert Iger, President
ABC Entertainment
Los Angeles, California

     The undersigned leaders of organizations of the blind,
service providers for the blind, and manufacturers of technology
for the blind in the U.S. and Canada today viewed a scene
involving the blind character George from the new ABC program
"Good and Evil." By this telegram we strongly request ABC not to
broadcast this program either as a pilot or as a series. It
reinforces negative attitudes about blindness and holds blind
persons up to ridicule. It demeans, humiliates, and does great
damage to much of the positive work done during the last half
century. To air this program violates the good taste and fairness
which ABC usually promotes.

Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director
National Federation of the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland

Euclid Herie, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Toronto, Ontario

Susan Spungin, Associate Executive Director for Program Services
American Foundation for the Blind
New York, New York

William Weiner, President
Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind
     and Visually Impaired
Kalamazoo, Michigan

David Andrews, Director
International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland

Deane Blazie, President
Blazie Engineering
Street, Maryland

James C. Bliss, President
TeleSensory
Mountain View, California

Barbara Bowman, Vice President
Association of Instructional Resource Centers for the Visually
     Impaired
Richmond, Virginia

Nell Carney, Commissioner
Rehabilitation Services Administration
Washington, D.C.

Curtis Chong, Chairman
Minnesota Council for the Blind
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Tim Cranmer, Director of Public Relations
National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB)
Louisville, Kentucky

Frank Kurt Cylke
Great Falls, Virginia

Judy Dixon
Arlington, Virginia

Paul Edwards
North Miami, Florida

Jim Fruchterman, President
Arkenstone, Inc.
Sunnyvale, California

Don Garner, Director
Blind Rehabilitation Services
Veterans Administration
Washington, D.C.

James C. Halliday, President
HumanWare, Inc.
Loomis, California

Ted Henter, President
Henter-Joyce
St. Petersburg, Florida

David Holladay, President
Raised Dot Computing
Madison, Wisconsin

Raymond Kurzweil, Chairman
Kurzweil Reading Machine Division
Xerox Corporation
Waltham, Massachusetts

Chris Lowrie
Nepean, Ontario

William E. McLaughlin, Deputy Director
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Washington, D.C.

Charlene Muller
Toronto, Ontario

Lloyd Rasmussen
Washington, D.C.

Rachel Rosenbaum, Vice President
National Council of Private Agencies for the Blind
Newton, Massachusetts

Mohymen Saddeek, President
Technology for Independence, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts

Elliot Schreier, Director
National Technology Center
American Foundation for the Blind
New York, New York

R. Creig Slayton, President
National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, Inc.
Des Moines, Iowa

Graham Stoodley, Chairman
Technology Subcommittee
National Client Service Committee
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Toronto, Ontario

Suzanne Swaffield, President
Association of State Educational Consultants for the Visually
     Impaired
Columbia, South Carolina

Tuck Tinsley, President
American Printing House for the Blind
Louisville, Kentucky

Patrick Walsh
Toronto, Ontario

     The greatest fear that blind people and their friends had
was that because of the public's inability to recognize the
absurdity of George's behavior, the stereotypical clumsiness and
obliviousness to actual events around him which George exhibited
would compound the problems blind people already have in
employment and social interactions. As more than one indignant
correspondent inquired of ABC executives, "What do you suppose
the chances would have been for a blind job applicant wanting
work in a research facility the morning after George smashed his
way around the lab in the first episode of `Good and Evil?' If
the employer had seen the show, none at all." 
     Almost equally disturbing to thoughtful blind viewers was
the response to George of the other characters on the program. No
one ever got mad at him for smashing everything in sight. Genn,
the good sister and the woman with whom George was enamored,
never once told him to go jump in the lake despite his
inappropriate behavior. On a show memorable for the rudeness,
cruelty, and selfishness of most of the characters, everyone was
the soul of tact and patience with George. They were united in
nothing but their belief that George was not a responsible adult,
capable of hearing hard truths. 
     It is just barely possible that a little of the rough and
tumble of real life on a sitcom for George might actually have
carried a whiff of humor. But the most demeaning part of this
hands-off behavior was the unstated, but graphically portrayed
conviction that George was absolutely not an acceptable candidate
as a romantic partner. At one point George was wandering around
the lab, trying to find Genn as he poured out his love to her.
She remained silent, almost cringing from the very thought of
physical contact with him. Then Eric, the man whom she loved and
her sister was blackmailing into marriage, walked in, and she
sheltered in his arms. The message was clear: Genn would not say
an unkind word to or about George, but, guilty though she felt
over it, she wanted nothing to do with this repellent and
pathetic creature. 
     As the outcry against George began to gather, ABC sent out
the program's co-stars, Teri Garr and Margaret Whitton, to make
the talk-show circuit, defending "Good and Evil" in general and
George in particular. If ABC executives believed that these two
women could strengthen their hand, they were gravely mistaken.
From the beginning they had recognized that their only possible
defense of George was that, like all the other characters on the
program, George was a parody and that no one could take him
seriously. In fact, if George were meant to be true-to-life, the
character would be in very bad taste. With this in mind, here is
the transcript of the relevant portion of an interview with Teri
Garr and Margaret Whitton on the CNN program, "Sonya Live" for
October 2. The interview was rebroadcast later the same day on
the CNN program "Showbiz Today." Here are Garr and Whitton's
remarks:

     GARR: He is handicapped and yet functioning like a
completely normal...
     WHITTON: Yeah.
     GARR: ...guy.
     WHITTON: Yeah. He's a psychiatrist.
     GARR: He's a brilliant psychiatrist. He has this great sex
life. He does all these things. He, he breaks things a couple of
times so that's the reality of someone who's blind...
     WHITTON: I break things.
     GARR: ...and he's completely...
     WHITTON: ...independent...
     GARR: ...compassionate...
     WHITTON: ...very independent...
     GARR: And I think that maybe showing somebody that is
handicapped but functions very well and goes on with their life
is a good thing.

     There you have the Garr-Whitton interview, and setting aside
the vapid silliness of the responses, one is struck by the
inconsistency of their defense of George. He is a brilliant
psychiatrist (in some interviews he is a psychologist). But the
only evidence we have of George's technique is his jumping out at
passers-by in an effort to frighten Genn's mute teenage daughter
into speaking. If George was ever a talented counselor or
physician, becoming blind has stripped him of all semblance of
good sense and professional technique. 
     George has a normal sex life, according to Teri Garr. The
programmatic evidence we have about this statement is that Genn
is repelled by the idea of physical contact with him. His wife
and her lover, apparently convinced that George won't be any the
wiser, are content to occupy his bed while he is there. Most
disturbing of all, George is incapable of recognizing that the
hand fumbling around in his front trousers pocket belongs to the
laboratory chimpanzee and not to Genn, who is talking to him
simultaneously from across the room. 
     Garr and Whitton completed their defense of George by
declaring that the reality of blindness is that people break
things and that George exhibits independence. They would have
done better to characterize George as an animated glass-
shattering machine, bearing no similarity to real blind people
and demonstrating an absurd degree of dependence. That, after
all, was the ABC line, but instead the stars' actual views about
blindness and blind people popped out of their mouths--George's
behavior is all you can expect of a blind person; and all things
considered, he does pretty well, for a blind man. That assessment
is what the National Federation of the Blind has fought for fifty
years to eradicate. It is no wonder, therefore, that the
organized blind movement rose up in dismayed fury to protest
George and all he stood for. 
     Beginning in August, thousands of letters poured into the
offices of everyone who might carry enough influence to remove
George from the program or the program from the air. The tidal
wave was not an attempt at censorship as some have claimed; we
had no power to impose our views except the strength of our
outrage at this attempt to undo the progress we have made in
educating the public about the abilities of blind people. It was
rather a sustained, coordinated effort to mobilize public opinion
in opposition to what we perceived as a dangerous attack on blind
people. Here are three of the thousands of letters we sent: 

                              Baltimore, Maryland
                              August 12, 1991

Robert Iger, President
ABC Entertainment
Los Angeles, California 

Dear Mr. Iger:
     I have just seen a clip from a show which you have in the
works called "Good and Evil." Its portrayal of a blind scientist,
in addition to being humorless, does more damage than its
creators comprehend.
     Do you know that the unemployment rate for the blind is more
than seventy percent? Are you aware that blind men and women have
had their children taken from them for no other reason than that
they are blind parents? How would you feel if, while ordering in
a restaurant with your 8-year-old daughter, the waitress asked
her, "What will he have?"
     I doubt that you find these things funny. If you are like
most people, you have no true idea of what it is like to be a
blind person in today's world. You close your eyes and imagine
what it would be like to be blind, and you are completely wrong
about it. It is both better and worse than you can imagine.
     How can it be better than you imagine? In spite of the
astronomical unemployment rate, there are competent blind men and
women in almost any field you can name. They live independently
and travel to and from work without assistance. They go out to
dinner and entertain guests in their homes. In short, the blind
are capable of doing almost anything that the sighted can do. The
character in this show is an affront to those successful blind
men and women. And he is a weight around the necks of blind men
and women who aspire to more than disability insurance and days
without purpose.
     How can it be worse than you imagine? If you want to be a
literate blind person in today's world, you will have to fight
for your literacy. Schools do not want to teach Braille because
their instructors often are not competent themselves. And you
will have to fight for training and employment because employers
cannot imagine how you could even get to work, much less do a job
for them. Most of all, you will have to fight to keep yourself
from believing that you are subhuman and incompetent because that
is the image that society paints of the blind. This is the image
of the blind presented in "Good and Evil."
     Through the National Federation of the Blind, I have met
thousands of blind people. I have never met one who goes about
feeling people's faces or mistaking a coat-rack for a woman. I
have, however, met many sighted people who believe that the blind
do exactly that. And where do these mistaken people get their
notions? Why, from those well-meaning folks who make television
shows and movies. It has to stop, and you are in a position to
stop it. Beyond that, I believe you may be in a position to do
something positive for blind people in America.
     Dana Elcar, Pete Thornton on the "MacGyver" series, has
become blind due to glaucoma. He is learning to deal with his
blindness in the real world. He was afraid, as anyone would be,
that an important part of his life was over. But he is learning
that with proper training his life can go on as it did before.
His character could be doing the same. A television show that
follows Mr. Elcar, as Pete Thornton, through the training
necessary to function in a sighted world would make for riveting
television. Personally, I'd like to see a story in which Pete
Thornton, using the techniques of blindness, gets out of a jam
that has MacGyver baffled. It would also go a long way toward
changing the prevalent hopeless image of the blind in society.
     So it seems that the title of your show, "Good and Evil," is
also the theme of this letter. Please let me know which side
wins.

                              Sincerely yours,
                              Joseph J. Miller, Jr.

cc: Garth Ancier, President
Touchstone Television

Ed Cintron, Manager
Audience Information
American Broadcasting Company

Marcellus Alexander, General Manager
WJZ Television, Channel 13

     One of the first people to learn about "Good and Evil" was
Bonnie Peterson, President of the NFB of Wisconsin. She saw a
videotape of the show in July and raised the alarm immediately.
She also wrote forthrightly to ABC executives. Here is what she
said:
     
                              Milwaukee, Wisconsin
                              July 28, 1991

Mr. Ed Cintron, Manager
American Broadcasting Corp.
New York, New York

Dear Mr. Cintron:
     I have received a copy of the program entitled "Good &
Evil," that ABC is planning to air Wednesday evenings this fall.
I have viewed the pilot in its entirety and would like to offer
my comments and suggestions regarding the demeaning way blind
people are portrayed in it.
     "Good & Evil" has a character named George who happens to be
blind. George walks into a laboratory smashing glass bottles and
equipment. He tries unsuccessfully to find Genn, saying, "I had
to see you," which makes voices on a laugh track laugh. George
speaks to a coat rack, mistaking it for Genn and saying, "We
blind develop such keenness with our other senses to compensate."
Eric enters. George places his hands on Eric, who stands
submissively. George exclaims that his senses tell him Eric is a
"woman with classic features" and a flat chest. Then he
apparently touches Eric's genitals (the camera does not follow
his hands), at which point he discovers Eric is a man. George
departs, again smashing glass and equipment with his cane.
     This is a synopsis of the four-minute segment depicting
blindness through the character of George. I am a blind woman and
member of the National Federation of the Blind. The National
Federation of the Blind is the largest organization of the blind
in the nation, with a membership of over 50,000. I find the
exhibition of blindness on "Good & Evil" insulting and demeaning
and a complete misrepresentation of the blind and blindness.
     Blind people do use the words "I had to see you," "See you
later," or other phrases utilizing words of a visual nature
without being met with gales of laughter. We "watch" TV, and now
I will "see" if I can explain to you my distress with ABC's
depiction of blind people as ignorant, inept buffoons.
     I do not walk into rooms smashing and breaking things with
my cane. I do not caress, kiss, or talk to coat racks thinking
they are people. I do not violate the personal space of others or
touch people in the manner demonstrated on "Good & Evil" to find
out who or what they are. None of it is accurate. None of it is
funny. None of it is fair to the blind of this country.
     The real problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight.
The real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of information
which exist. Your program, "Good & Evil," displays a great deal
of misunderstanding about the blind and demonstrates that ABC has
an immense lack of information about blindness.
     I am enclosing information about the National Federation of
the Blind. I recommend that you contact the President of the
National Federation of the Blind, Mr. Marc Maurer, 1800 Johnson
St., Baltimore, Maryland, 21230, (301) 659-9314, to learn more
about blindness and the blind. Until that time, I will work to
have our local ABC affiliate and the sponsors of "Good & Evil"
cancel their support of this program.
     I'm certain that this situation can be easily resolved. I do
thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter.

                              Sincerely,
                              Bonnie Peterson
                              President, NFB of Wisconsin

cc: Marc Maurer


     That is what Bonnie Peterson had to say, and it was probably
the first letter that ABC executives received, but not the last. 
     Duane Gerstenberger is the Associate Executive Director of
the Federation. During the last several months he has written
many letters on the subject of "Good and Evil." Here is one of
the most penetrating: 

                              Baltimore, Maryland
                              September 6, 1991

Ms. Christine Hikawa
Vice President
Broadcast Standards & Practices
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.
New York, New York 

Dear Ms. Hikawa:
     I have your letter of August 22, 1991, received in response
to my letter of August 14, 1991, to Mr. Robert Iger, President,
ABC Entertainment, regarding the pilot program for the new ABC
series "Good and Evil" (which apparently will be shown at 10:30
P.M. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 25). I understand from
your letter that ABC Entertainment intends to broadcast this
entire program as it now exists despite my suggestion to withhold
distribution or at least remove one scene involving a blind
character. I write to encourage you to reconsider your decision.
     In your letter you tell me that it is the responsibility of
the Department of Broadcast Standards to review "all program and
commercial material prior to broadcast to ensure that ABC
standards and policies are satisfied. In addition to the
elimination of gratuitous violence and explicit sexuality, our
concerns extend to issues of balance and accuracy, moral tone,
and the elimination of negative stereotypes." In the succeeding
paragraph you defend and condone the portrayal of blindness in
"Good and Evil" by telling me to understand the blind character
(George) in the context of the form, theme, tone, and action of
the entire program. You say: "However, the series, `Good and
Evil' is an exaggerated parody of life with the most outrageous
caricatures imaginable. Not one character in this program is
realistic or believable. Each is a parody of the most extreme
qualities of the values represented by the title `Good and
Evil.'" Yet you precede this admonition to consider and
understand George in context with this utterly preposterous out-
of-context description: "George is (and was, prior to his
blindness) a klutz, despite his numerous and significant academic
achievements."  There is absolutely nothing in this program that
suggests, let alone confirms, your description of George. (This
is television--not live theater where the audience has a playbill
introducing the characters and providing background and context
for the action.) Nothing in the opening or closing credits,
nothing in any scene prior to or following the scene involving
George, nothing in the objectionable scene itself, explicitly or
even remotely implicitly, conveys such an understanding of
George. How can the viewer possibly know that he was "prior to
his blindness" a klutz? The exceedingly brief shot of the actor
who plays George in the opening credits perhaps suggests that
George is a bit immature or goofy or silly but does not provide
the knowledge you apparently have about George. Where, Ms.
Hikawa, can the viewer learn of George's "numerous and
significant academic achievements"? Are we to tell by his dress?
Are we to tell by his speech? Are we to tell by his conduct? Are
we to tell by his friends and acquaintances? When he enters,
George is unknown to the viewer. No other character refers to him
or speaks of him prior to his entrance or after his exit; he
plays absolutely no part in the narrative of the program beyond
the one scene in which he appears. What the viewer knows about
George is available only from the very limited context of the
opening credits and what we learn about him during his scene.
     One fact we do have seems to me inconsistent with your
description of George. In your letter you note that George "has
recently been blinded." Ms. Hikawa, George himself tells us he's
been blind for over a year: "Oh Genn, I've loved you for over a
year now. Ever since you saved my life. I remember it was the day
of the accident. I lay there blind, but I was happy because I
knew that you existed in the world." Granted, there is no
universal, definite, or specific meaning for the word recently.
However, in the context of an individual's life--especially a
relatively young person--I believe most of us do not regard
something that happened more than a year before as recent. So in
George we are not watching a character who is struggling with the
initial fears and problems that confront a newly blinded person,
but rather watching a man who has had some opportunities to
adjust to his situation. Yet we see nothing more than a bungling
idiot.
     However, whether George's blindness will be understood in
the context as you describe it or the context as I interpret it
is not the critical issue. The real problem about George is the
assumption about blindness that you very clearly state in your
letter: "Rather, this clown-like performance is that of a klutz
whose antics are exacerbated by his unfortunate handicap."
     Ms. Hikawa, I wish that at least part of what you presume
about viewers' reactions to George could be counted on as true;
that is "that the broad caricature depicted in this program will
[not] be perceived by others as representative of any actual
blind persons." If this presumption can be counted on, then one
wonders why George was conceived of as blind. Do you believe the
creator/writer just happened to pick a blind person to exhibit
such behavior?  No, I believe that millions of viewers will--as
do you and the creators of George and "Good and Evil"--perceive
that this performance is that of a person "whose antics are
exacerbated by his unfortunate handicap." (Emphasis added) And it
is that which troubles me. Blindness itself does not exacerbate
klutziness, femininity, deceptiveness, honesty, sexuality, or any
of hundreds of other characteristics and personality traits. My
experience--my recent experience--my experience of today--refutes
your perception. And the daily experience of thousands of blind
persons refutes it; but the public perception (misperception) of
blindness as an exacerbating handicap will be confirmed by this
portrayal. 
     Allow me to share with you one recent personal experience
which illustrates my point. On Thursday evening, August 1, 1991,
I accompanied Mr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind, to Baltimore-Washington International
(BWI) Airport to meet someone on an arriving flight. Mr. Maurer
and I are both white males in our early forties. We are of
similar size and stature. We were both dressed in dark suits and
ties. He is blind, and I am sighted. As we approached airport
security on our way to the gate, we stopped before entering the
walk-through metal detector to unload our pockets of various
metal objects. While we were doing so, a female security guard
noticed Mr. Maurer's long white cane and said to me: "Is his cane
metal?" Why do you suppose she addressed the question to me
rather than to Mr. Maurer? It was his cane; he carries it several
hours every day. I expect she asked me for two reasons. First,
because she couldn't achieve eye contact with Mr. Maurer, she
felt more comfortable speaking to me. But additionally, I think
there was an underlying assumption on her part that I, sighted,
would be more apt to know than Mr. Maurer, blind, what his cane
is made of. If this woman watches the pilot of "Good and Evil,"
do you think she will reach the conclusions about George and his
blindness that you suggest? 
     Ms. Hikawa, blind persons encounter the kind of
misunderstanding shown by this BWI security guard day in and day
out. In the experience I observed with Mr. Maurer, of course, no
real damage was done. He did not take offense at being ignored.
He did not demand that she address him; he simply responded to
the question saying that there is some metal on it and that he
would walk through without it. Likewise, a visitor to Mr.
Maurer's office who--without the slightest hint that he needs
assistance--takes Mr. Maurer's arm to guide him around his own
office does so not to offend or patronize. The proffered
assistance is well-intended and rooted in lack of personal
experience and lack of understanding. However, if this person
watches "Good and Evil," do you think he or she will reach the
conclusions about George and his blindness that you suggest? 
     When a blind person goes to apply for a job and is asked
during the interview how he or she will find the bathroom (which
does happen), more than a simple, harmless misunderstanding
occurs. If the interviewer regards locating the bathroom by a
blind person as either a) difficult or b) critical or c) any of
his or her business, this is a perception which makes it
exceedingly difficult for the blind job applicant to get that
job. It is no exaggeration and no misstatement of fact to tell
you that the portrayal of blindness in "Good and Evil" will make
it more difficult for individual blind people to get jobs, to
travel freely on public transportation, and to enjoy many of the
other vocational, educational, recreational, and incidental
opportunities so many of us who are sighted take for granted. 
     Let me point out again (as I did in my first letter) the
subtle and more vicious commentary about blind persons made by
the portrayal of George and ask you to consider the inconsistency
of your statement "Each [character] is a parody of the most
extreme qualities of the values represented by the title `Good
and Evil'" with the words and actions of the characters taken as
a whole from start to finish. Each of the ten characters in the
ensemble cast, except George, does act from unmistakably clear
motives of good or evil. George, however, just reacts. Which of
the "extreme qualities of the values" good or evil does George
represent? 
     The teaser for the second program in this series, which
follows the credits for this first program, reflects an unstated
but unmistakable amorality on the part of George as does the
whole program itself. Through him the viewer learns or has
confirmed the belief that blind persons are incapable of behaving
with either good or evil intent; their actions are inept and
clumsy but are not derived from either high-minded altruism or
venomous villainy. No, blind persons are so removed from the
mainstream of life--they are so emasculated by their blindness--
their "unfortunate handicap"--that they can only stand by and
react emotionally to the actions of those around them. This
teaser includes seven exceedingly brief clips with an announcer's
interrogatory comments about each major character shown in the
clip. Six of the seven deal with characters' actions or motives;
the announcer labels these actions or motives good or evil by his
comments. However, the clip focusing on George deals, not with
his actions or motives, but with his feelings in response to
someone else's actions: "And how good will George feel if she
[Genn] can't?" Poor, pathetic George. Not good. Not evil. Just
responding to life as others live it. Again, Ms. Hikawa, do you
believe the passivity is coincidentally assigned to George by the
creator/writer? Or is the viewer expected to know that George is
(and was, prior to his blindness) a passive, co-dependent
personality?  
     You say ABC Television Network "has always been, and remains
sensitive to, the concerns of and issues facing ethnic and
religious minorities as well as other special interest groups,
including the physically challenged." It is one thing to remain
sensitive to concerns and issues but another to take actions in
response to sensitivities and concerns expressed by
representatives of a minority group. And that is precisely what
ABC has done in this instance--remained sensitive but done
nothing. Sensitivity without action is essentially meaningless to
the individual or individuals who are the recipients--no,
victims--of such sensitivity. Sensitivity without constructive
action is really indifference. Ms. Hikawa, do you and your
colleagues actually believe that you eliminate negative
stereotypes from your programming by sanctioning an "exaggerated
parody of life with the most outrageous caricatures imaginable"?
     Since 1940 the National Federation of the Blind has been
dealing with the real problems and issues confronting blind
persons. The hundreds of thousands of men and women--the vast
majority of them blind persons--who have been a part of our
organization throughout these fifty years know what blindness is
and what it isn't; we talk about it, we write about it, we think
about it seriously. We know both the real problems of blindness
and the imagined problems the public mistakenly associates with
blindness. The portrayal of blindness rendered in "Good and Evil"
is insensitive to the blind; it reinforces negative stereotypes
about the blind. 
     We have no interest in a public confrontation with ABC about
"Good and Evil." We have no interest in causing ABC public
embarrassment about this matter. As soon as we became aware of
this program and had the opportunity to view and evaluate it
thoroughly and carefully, we immediately (by my letter of August
14 to Mr. Iger sent by Federal Express) informed ABC television
and your Baltimore affiliate of our concerns and suggested what
we believed would be appropriate action on your part. We do not
regard your letter of August 22 as appropriate action.
     I repeat what I said in my earlier letter to Mr. Iger:
broadcasting this program would be a malicious, informed act.
Removing this program from your schedule (or at least deleting
the scene involving George) would be in the best interest of
blind persons. It would also be fair and right. This letter
should be regarded as a formal, official request by the National
Federation of the Blind to take one of these two actions.

                              Very truly yours,
                              Duane Gerstenberger
                              Associate Executive Director
                              National Federation of the Blind

P.S. You may be interested to know that a reporter from a major
weekly news magazine called Mr. Maurer on Monday, August 16,
inquiring about our reaction to the blind character in "Good and
Evil." I believe no one within our organization initiated contact
with this magazine. Do you believe this reporter called from idle
curiosity, or because he thought we might have a reason to react
to the portrayal of blindness in this program? If the latter is
the case, does it not suggest that at least one other person
questioned the appropriateness of this characterization of       
blindness?

cc: John Sias, President
ABC Television Network

Mr. Robert Iger, President
ABC Entertainment

Mr. Ed Cintron, Manager
Audience Information
American Broadcasting Company

Mr. Garth Ancier, President
Touchstone Television

Mr. Marcellus Alexander, General Manager
WJZ Television/Channel 13

Ms. Phyllis Shelton-Reese
WJZ TV/Channel 13

Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director
National Federation of the Blind

Mr. Marc Maurer, President
National Federation of the Blind

     There you have a sample of the letters that poured into ABC
from every corner of the country, and in case network executives
failed to get the message, Federationists deluged the New York
switchboard for about a half hour on September 23 with calls
urging and demanding that "Good and Evil" not air on the twenty-
fifth. It was clear to everyone, however, that the show would go
on, so NFB members began gearing up for the next level of
protest. 
     The NFB of Minnesota mobilized itself in time to conduct a
demonstration outside the local ABC affiliate in St. Paul on
Wednesday afternoon, September 25, the day of the show's
premiere. Harold Crump, the station's General Manager and
President, came out to the picket line with coffee and doughnuts
in an effort to defuse the demonstration, but Federationists told
him politely that they had work to do and kept on marching. This
is the story that appeared in the St.Paul Dispatch & Pioneer
Press on Thursday, September 26: 

          Blind Group Complains About TV Show Character
                     by Lydia Villalva Lijo

     George is meant to be a funny character on the new
television show "Good & Evil." But some blind people, including a
group in the Twin Cities, believe the clumsy blind character is
getting all the wrong kinds of laughs.
     "No, we don't have a sense of humor when it comes to putting
us down," said Joyce Scanlan, president of the National
Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. Scanlan and about 25 others
demonstrated Wednesday evening in front of KSTP-TV on University
Avenue in St. Paul.
     Scanlan said blind people and those sympathetic to them
don't like George because he reinforces old notions about the
blind--that they cannot tell when someone else is in a room and
that they are bumbling and incompetent.
     Those stereotypes lead sighted people to make fun of the
blind, to discriminate against them in the work place and to
ignore their need for training in reading, employment and
everyday life skills, said Scanlan, of Minneapolis.
     The Minnesota chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind has about 500 members statewide.
     "Good and Evil," a comedy, had its debut Wednesday night on
the ABC network. KSTP-TV is the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities.
     The demonstrators, and the president of the National
Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, want ABC to get rid of the
character of George. If ABC doesn't heed their demand, the show's
sponsors will be pressured to drop their support for the program,
said Marc Maurer of the 50,000-member national organization.
     Protests against the series are being planned in New York
and New Jersey, Maurer said.
     Maurer said ABC received thousands of telephone calls
earlier this week complaining about the show. 
     Harold Crump, KSTP president and general manager, said
Wednesday he had not watched the show. If he found it offensive,
Crump said he would "be on the phone (with network officials)
first thing in the morning with a very strong complaint."
     Crump said the station wants "no part in causing problems
for the blind in this area, or causing embarrassment to the
blind."
     Crump said he telephoned the network on Tuesday to let them
know that the show had drawn complaints. He noted that the
behavior blind people find offensive in George may not be part of
the series' future episodes.
     The demonstrators in front of the KSTP on Wednesday carried
signs with slogans such as "Good and Evil Lies About the Blind,"
and "Don't Bring Back Mr. McGoo," a reference to an old cartoon
character.
                      ____________________
     That was what the Dispatch and Pioneer Press had to say, and
the story was picked up by a number of other papers across the
country. By October 2 the battle was well and truly joined.
Federationists everywhere had circulated the names and addresses
of program advertisers to add to their lists of ABC executives,
and the mail was pouring into corporate headquarters around the
nation. We announced that we would begin picketing the New York
offices of ABC Television every Wednesday afternoon until "Good
and Evil" vanished from the ABC prime-time line-up. In addition,
Federationists in other cities began taking to the streets to go
on record personally in opposition to George and all he stood
for. Demonstrations were organized outside ABC affiliates in
Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Denver; Colorado Springs; and Los
Angeles in addition to the one in New York. One-time-only pickets
took place in other cities as Federationists urged station
managers to press harder on network executives to remove George
and his friends from the air. Brochures were prepared and picket
signs constructed. Federationists cancelled personal plans and
took to the streets. Newspapers across the country made note of
the events. The following is a sample drawn from the hundreds of
articles that were printed throughout October. It is an
Associated Press story that appeared in The Seattle Times,
Friday, October 4, 1991:

          Blind Group Intensifies Protest of ABC Sitcom
                          by John Roll 

     A group opposed to the portrayal of a blind man on the ABC
sitcom "Good & Evil" is stepping up its campaign to have the
character rewritten or the show canceled.
     "The writers of this show simply don't understand what life
is like for blind people. The lives and futures of the blind are
on the line here," said James Gashel, Director of Governmental
Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind.
     Gashel complained that in a recent episode, the character
George entered a laboratory wildly wielding a cane. He virtually
demolished the lab, fondled a man he thought was a woman, and
made a sexual pass at a coat rack.
     "We don't see George as a joke," Gashel said yesterday. "The
program showed an image of blindness that is admittedly extreme
but is very much in tune with what a lot of people think we
really are. And it's not funny."
     The Baltimore-based advocacy group started writing and
phoning ABC, its affiliates, and the program's sponsors this
summer; but George's character wasn't changed, said Marc Maurer,
its president.
     "There is nothing left but to take to the streets," he said.
     The group began picketing Wednesday in front of ABC's New
York City headquarters and affiliates in Chicago, Denver, and Los
Angeles. Gashel said about 75 people participated in the New York
protest.
     "Good & Evil" is an exaggerated parody of life with the most
outrageous caricatures imaginable," ABC said in a statement. "Not
one character in this series is intended to be realistic or
believable....
     "If this series were in any way realistic, we would agree
that a comedic portrayal of a clumsy blind person would be in
questionable taste," the statement said.
     But Gashel said the portrayal of a blind person as a
physically unattractive, incompetent person only adds to
misconceptions that blind people are unable to participate in
society on an equal basis.
     The series stars Teri Garr and Margaret Whitton.
                      ____________________
     That's what the newspapers were saying. Sometimes it was
clear that reporters did not understand our point, but most of
those who covered the story grasped the issue and made it clear
that they were sympathetic to our efforts. 
     Los Angeles, home of ABC Entertainment, was a particularly
important place in which to argue our case clearly before the
public. We were helped considerably by Chuck Ashman, the host of
a weekday afternoon radio program called California Drive. Ashman
boradcasts over Station KBLA, the ABC radio network affiliate in
Los Angeles. He read one of our early press releases and arranged
interviews with President Maurer and Sharon Gold, President of
the NFB of California, on his 4-to-7-p.m. program Tuesday,
October 1. He later suggested to his listeners that they call ABC
Entertainment President Robert Iger to tell him that they didn't
appreciate having blind people ridiculed on prime-time
television. Ashman told Sharon Gold what he had done later in the
week and commented that lots of people must have taken his
suggestion since Iger's office called to tell him he had gone too
far. 
     Despite the fact that NBC and CBS television network
affiliates consistently refused to cover this story (they
maintained that they didn't want to give free publicity to a
rival, but the blind remain convinced that out of self-interest
they preferred to protect their colleagues), our protest against
"Good and Evil" and the demonstrations across the country
garnered a good bit of media attention. Newspapers and the wire
services carried stories every time we circulated a press
release. The Fox and CNN television networks filmed our
demonstrations and aired interviews with Federation spokesmen.
Even "Entertainment Tonight," a syndicated program produced by
ABC Television, covered the story twice. The first time Dr.
Jernigan was interviewed for a show aired September 20. Footage
from the first episode of "Good and Evil" showing George crashing
around the laboratory illustrated our objections, and a statement
from ABC executives was read saying that George wasn't meant to
be an insult, so he wasn't, and, therefore, that the show would
go on. The second clip appeared on "Entertainment Tonight" on
Thursday, October 17, and included film of the New York and
Washington, D.C. demonstrations of October 16. The voiceover for
this footage consisted of interviews with Peggy Pinder, Second
Vice President of the NFB, and James Gashel, its Director of
Governmental Affairs. The ABC position was set forth in Teri Garr
and Margaret Whitton's statement about how normal and competent
George is. The consensus among most people who saw the segment
seemed to be that, all in all, the Federation appeared
determined, disciplined, and articulate while ABC looked absurd. 
     With media pressure on network officials building in Los
Angeles on October 2, about fifty Federationists gathered outside
of ABC Entertainment at 3 p.m. for two hours of picketing and
leafleting passers-by. When four representatives from the
Federation, including the Presidents of the California and New
Mexico affiliates, walked into the corporate offices to ask in
person for the meeting with ABC officials that they had been
requesting for days by phone and letter, the heat was on. It took
almost an hour of negotiation, but the upshot was agreement by
ABC to meet with Federation representatives at 11:00 Thursday
morning. 
     President Maurer asked Sharon Gold to represent the NFB at
that meeting, which she understood was to take place with Bret
White, Vice President of Broadcast Standards. She returned to
Sacramento with some of the picketers Wednesday evening and was
back in Los Angeles the next morning for her appointment. 
     She and Sheryl Pickering, her Administrative Assistant, 
were ushered into the meeting only to discover that, in addition
to Bret White and Roland McFarland, Manager of Program Standards
in Los Angeles, Chris Hikawa, Senior Vice President of Broadcast
Standards for ABC and White's boss, had flown from New York to
take part in the discussion. During the meeting Miss Gold was
forced to explain repeatedly with various examples why George was
unacceptable to blind people, even in the name of humor. She
described how completely Americans misunderstand the capacities
of blind people and what the impact of George would necessarily
be on the lives and jobs of the blind. The executives asked if
there was any way that George could be made acceptable, and they
were told no. The country is not ready to understand the limits
of satire and parody when the object is a blind person. The
meeting concluded with the announcement that the ABC executives
would meet with the program's producers to see what could be
done. 
     In the meantime the Federation was increasing its pressure
on advertisers. Blind people all over the country were inviting
friends and family members to join them in writing letters.
Several companies told us that they would not purchase further
advertising on the show. On Thursday, October 17, The Wall Street
Journal printed a story that demonstrated just how hot things
were becoming for sponsors and ABC executives alike. Here it is: 

                      ABC Series Loses Ads

     At least one advertiser has pulled its spots from the new
ABC series "Good & Evil," the new situation comedy that has been
the subject of a threatened boycott from the National Federation
of the Blind because of its depiction of a blind character.
     Unilever United States, Inc., which produces Lipton Tea and
Soups, Wisk and Mrs. Butterworth syrup, said it "determined that
purchasing time on this series was not within established
guidelines." The company had purchased advertising on each
episode of the show on ABC, a unit of Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
     And Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the
Blind, the Baltimore organization with 50,000 members nationwide,
said Playtex Family Products Corporation also pulled its spots.
Joel E. Smilow, chairman of Playtex Apparel Inc. and Playtex
Family Productions, said in an interview he couldn't "confirm nor
deny" the assertion. "I do know that I had received some mail in
conjunction with that program," he said.
     ABC declined to comment. The character who offended the
National Federation of the Blind is often seen crashing into
objects with his cane. In September, ABC said the show is an
"exaggerated parody" and "if this series were in any way
realistic, we would agree that a comedic portrayal of a clumsy
blind person would be in questionable taste."
                      ____________________
     That is what the Wall Street Journal had to say the day
after the fourth broadcast of "Good and Evil," and it focused
public attention on the pressure the NFB was bringing to bear on
advertisers. Following the third episode, only one sponsor had
actually purchased advertising on all three. This was Unilever
United States, Inc., and the Federation decided, in the absence
of any indication that company officials were contemplating
removal of their support from the show, to organize a boycott of
three Unilever product lines: Lipton soup and tea products, Mrs.
Butterworth's Syrup, and Wisk detergent. We then discovered that
Unilever headquarters were not far from those of ABC in New York,
so we announced that on Wednesday, October 23, we would
demonstrate outside Unilever instead of ABC and conduct an up-
dated version of the historic Boston Tea Party using Lipton Tea
and dumping it into the New York Harbor. That was the last straw
for Unilever. After negotiations with the National Federation of
the Blind corporate officials faxed a press release around the
country Tuesday afternoon, October 22, announcing that they were
pulling out of sponsorship of "Good and Evil." 
     Federationists were delighted to revert to the original
plans for the Wednesday afternoon picket of ABC. This time we
passed out red balloons saying in white print, "National
Federation of the Blind says: ABC must STOP `Good and Evil!'" The
word "STOP" was pictured as a stop sign. By this time, the fourth
week of demonstrations, the people in the vicinity of ABC
headquarters began to recognize Federationists and welcome us
back. Cab drivers waved leafleteers over in order to get flyers
for themselves and their passengers. Even ABC employees took
balloons and brochures. A number commented that the network did
not show much respect for other minority group members either. 
     By now ABC officials were talking about conducting a meeting
between senior network executives and President Maurer. They were
evidently feeling the pressure. The Nielsen ratings, which
reflect the number of households watching prime-time television
programs and the audience share that each show has achieved,
indicated that "Good and Evil" was doing badly. Advertisers were
leaving at an increasing rate, and the publicly visible pressure
that blind people were exerting on the network was not going
away. If anything, it was growing. 
     Then, on Thursday, October 24, 1991, ABC announced that it
had ordered production of "Good and Evil" stopped. With eleven
episodes already completed, it was not immediately clear just how
many more would actually air. In unofficial discussions,
Federation leaders told ABC executives that we understood the
time it takes to make arrangements to replace a canceled program,
but we would be mightily displeased if more than one more episode
were to appear. In the end, only one more, that of October 30,
was broadcast. With that, the curtain came down on one of the
sorriest experiments in television humor ever conducted. 
     The time may come--one hopes that it will--when the American
people are ready and able to laugh together about the funny
things that happen to blind people. Nothing would be a healthier
indication of our final emergence into first-class status and
full equality. But that time is not in the foreseeable future. As
long as the general public presumes our incompetence, our
clumsiness, and our inability to understand or appreciate what is
going on around us, blind characters on television who exhibit
these traits cannot be funny. Until every blind person has an
opportunity to receive effective training and a chance to compete
for good jobs, we will all suffer from caricatures like George. 
     Unfortunately, we cannot go back to business as usual now
that George and company are off the airways. George has done
damage to us all. We must be particularly vigilant because the
danger we face is subtle. George and his behavior were a real and
obvious threat. His memory will subside into a vague impression,
the confirmation of a general belief. Such impressions are
insidious enemies because they are only half-formed and
semiconscious. But the impact they have is profound. 
     Let us close this recital of the stunning victory we have
won, this call-to-arms against an ongoing menace, by printing a
letter that President Maurer received from a blind chemist, who
has until now had very little contact with the organized blind
movement. His life has been affected by George and his antics,
and all of us must fight to undo the damage. Here is the letter: 


                              November 1, 1991

Mr. Marc Maurer
National Federation of the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland

Dear Mr. Maurer:
     I wish to thank you for providing the videotapes of the TV
program "Good and Evil." I am disappointed that the American
Chemical Society Committee on the Handicapped did not believe it
proper to view the tape at their meeting or prepare a letter
expressing their objections. As a past member of that committee I
believed such action would be appropriate since it has always
been a concern of the committee that disabled persons are
discouraged from pursuing careers in science or technology
because of false stereotypical images maintained by the public.
The committee has attempted to present positive images of
disabled scientists in publications and meetings. It was my
opinion that the ludicrous image portrayed on the TV program
could only damage public perception of blind persons in the
laboratory, even though the character was not portrayed as
working in that environment.
     I am particularly sensitive to this issue since I am a
chemist currently working in the Chemistry Department at a
technical university and carried out an experimental rather than
theoretical project for my doctoral research at another
distinguished university. Though I utilized student assistants
and technicians in the lab work, I performed a considerable
amount of the laboratory work myself and was always working
alongside the assistants. Additionally, I have been working at my
institution in the Mechanical Engineering Department to develop
devices and strategies to allow blind persons to work more
independently in a laboratory and gain more benefit from this
work.
     I usually present a lecture each semester here, including
the summer, to an introductory psychology class concerning the
barriers faced by disabled persons and the strategies used to
solve some of the problems encountered. A major part of my
presentation is concerned with the attitude problem and the false
images that we have to face. I plan to use the tape you sent me
at the start of the lecture to demonstrate graphically the
problem.
     I am also attempting to have the university's Committee on
Disabled Persons consider sending a letter, which I prepared, to
ABC. Again, I wish to thank you for the tape and would like to
express my thanks to my NFB state president for bringing this to
my attention.

                                                       Sincerely,

     There you have a summary of the thoughts and actions of one
blind chemist in the wake of the "Good and Evil" program. None of
us can afford to sit back and assume that the battle is won.
Never before has the organized blind movement achieved such a
clear-cut and decisive victory, and in very real ways things will
never be the same again. But George and all he stands for still
lurk around every corner. Until blind people, all blind people,
have won the right to dignity and independence, the National
Federation of the Blind must stand ready to defend our good name
and counteract the evil efforts of those who would push us down
and out of our rightful place.
     Yes, it was a battle about "Good and Evil," and between good
and evil--and the good prevailed.
