[Blindtlk] A Must-read for All Federationists!

Tue Sep 22 20:00:40 UTC 2009

Ray,
    And when we contradict such irrational statements, they claim we are 
radicals! (smile)

Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ray Foret jr" <rforetjr at comcast.net>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] A Must-read for All Federationists!


> No wonder they are still what they are.  My goodness.  but, then again, I
> ask sincerely, what can you expect of an outfit where they believe there 
> is
> no day or night for the blind?  And yes, before anyone jumps up and wants 
> to
> through something at me, I can sight my sources.
>
> Sincerely,
> The Constantly BAREFOOTED Ray
>
> "Old friend, what are you looking for?  After those many years abroad you
> come With images you tended Under foreign skies Far away from your own 
> land"
> George Seferis
>
> Phone or Fax::
> +1 (985) 360-3614
> Cell:
> +1 (985) 791-2938
> e-mail:
> rforetjratcomcastdotnet
> Skype Name:
> barefootedray
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>; "Blind Talk Mailing 
> List"
> <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 11:09 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] A Must-read for All Federationists!
>
>
> Good morning Marion and listers,
>
>    I'm not sure if this happened when the document was copied in to an
> email message or converted to text, but there are lots of broken 
> sentences,
> paragraphs divided in the wrong places and many other problems. Ouch!
>
> Peter Donahue
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
> To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>;
> "NFBF List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 8:17 AM
> Subject: [Blindtlk] A Must-read for All Federationists!
>
>
> Dear All,
>    While attending a recent Leadership Seminar, Dr. Maurer read an article
> from the Braille Forum, the publication of the ACB, written by their 
> former
> President, Paul Edwards. This article appeared in the january 1998 edition
> of the magazine. I was very tempted to edit the piece slightly to remove 
> any
> reference to Mr. Edwards just to see what sort of response I would get 
> from
> Council sympathizers on our lists who thought it was an anti Council
> propoganda piece! We really don't need to look far to find the differences
> between the NFB and the ACB. All we need to do is read the words of their
> leaders!I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! You really need to read to 
> the
> end because the last sentence is the best!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
> The following article can be found at
>
> http://acb.org/magazine/1998/bf0198.html#bf01
>
>
>
> THE QUESTION
>
> by Paul Edwards
>
>
>
> At the beginning of a new year, it's perhaps appropriate to pause for a
> little reflection. It's customary to do what I have done before with this
> column
>
> and look back at the preceding year and ahead to the next one. I am not
> going to do that! Instead, I want to offer some of my answers to the
> question I
>
> get asked more often than any other as president of the American Council 
> of
> the Blind. Can you guess what the question is? What does the ACB stand 
> for?
>
> What is ACB's philosophy? What makes the ACB different from the NFB? 
> Though
> this question has been posed in three different ways, it's really the same
>
> question.
>
>
>
> I have often thought of dealing with this issue here and have avoided it
> because many will disagree with whatever I say. Disagreement is good! One 
> of
> ACB's
>
> hallmarks is its tolerance for people with divergent notions of who they 
> are
> and what ACB is! That, in fact, is one of the organization's
> characteristics!
>
> It is a fluid set of beliefs and assumptions that changes from state to
> state and from time to time. But, for me anyway, there are some core 
> values
> that
>
> are at the heart of what the ACB is! Here are some of them!
>
>
>
> It is OK to be blind! That's a big one! It carries with it a whole set of
> other ancillary values. First and foremost, people who have meaningful
> vision
>
> loss are blind. Blindness is much more than just a nuisance. Blind people
> can and should expect society to make changes that facilitate the 
> inclusion
> of
>
> people who are blind. These last two values may be areas where members of
> the National Federation of the Blind would not agree with us!
>
>
>
> Another core value of the ACB relates to expectations! We are absolutely
> convinced that there is not a one-size-fits-all "blind person" or that 
> there
> should
>
> be! I believe that ACB values diversity and is tolerant of people who are 
> at
> various levels of independence. Does that mean that we don't champion good
>
> training or expect a lot of our members? I don't think so! It does mean 
> that
> we embrace people at various levels of competence and try very hard not to
>
> be judgmental about where people are! In a very real sense, I think that 
> ACB
> has almost instinctively adopted the "People First" model by placing
> individuality
>
> far above other values in seeing each other.
>
>
>
> And then there is democracy! ACB, as most of you well know, was formed, in
> part, because those who created our organization believed that states and
> individual
>
> members alike had to have substantial autonomy to express divergent 
> opinions
> without being penalized. So, another core value of ACB is the notion that
>
> there must be room for a broad range of beliefs within our organization. 
> If
> this is a core value, and I think it is, it goes a long way toward
> explaining
>
> why we have never been able to produce the kind of coherent, easily 
> portable
> creed that all of our members must accept.
>
>
>
> All of the divergence I have talked about so far has some real drawbacks. 
> It
> truly has impeded coherent, centralized decision-taking and probably 
> always
>
> will. That divergence has also made it difficult for us to arrive at
> positions sometimes. Where there is disagreement, we debate. This debate 
> can
> often
>
> take many years and can cause us to take positions that may seem somewhat
> ambivalent to those who do not know us well. I choose to use a different
> word!
>
> Our positions validate divergence by creating a place where the majority 
> of
> our members are comfortable.
>
>
>
> What I have written about here does not constitute a complete list of our
> core values. It may well not be your core list of our fundamental beliefs.
> But
>
> there is one more core value I think we can agree upon! That is that the 
> ACB
> is much more than just a group of blind people meeting and working 
> together
>
> for common goals! It's much larger than the sum of its members! It's a hug
> when you're feeling sad! It's a belly-laugh at those in society who just
> don't
>
> understand! It's arms around each other when we lose someone! It's a place
> where you can feel safe! It's anger distilled into action as people die
> falling
>
> off subway platforms! It's people arguing and hugging afterwards! It's 
> 1,500
> people singing the national anthem! It's help and hope and hands and 
> holding
>
> and happiness and hilarity. It's us, alone and together, divided and 
> united,
> men and women, young and old! And it's the American Council of the Blind!
>
>
>
> So when someone asks you what the American Council of the Blind is or any 
> of
> those other questions, you can show him or her this column! Will it tell 
> him
>
> or her who we are and what we believe? Not really. It might help, but ACB 
> is
> not a philosophy. It's a dynamic never-ending experience, and the only way
>
> you can truly understand us is to plunge right in among us and become us!
> And then, if you fully understand who we are, tell me because I would like
> to
>
> know too!
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