[Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization of theblind?

[Peter Donahue]

Good evening everyone,
    Very simple! They make their decisions based on incorrect and improper 
information they receive from others about both organizations. They allow 
the dumb, stupid lies about the NFB determine whether they'll join or not.

    More than one blind individual not in this organization has undergone 
the Pete Donahue treatment and discovered that they're not as informed as 
they would lead you to believe they are. This treatment consists of asking 
them about a particular aspect of the federation and its work. If someone 
tells me that we're too militant we might ask "What's militant about 
increasing Braille Literacy, providing scholarships to blind students, 
Mentoring blind youth and adults, you get the idea.

        Alternatively we might ask them about a particular program or 
activity of the federation. If they tell us that they know all about the NFB 
they're really asking for trouble. we might ask them to tell us all about 
the Blind Driver Challenge, NFB Newsline, The NFB Youth SLAM, The National 
Orientation and Mobility Certification, The National Federation of the Blind 
Jernigan Institute, etc.

99 times out of 100 they can't answer and quickly discover that they're not 
such an expert on the NFB as they think they are and that they would do well 
to get the real story.

    As for those who use excuses such as blind organizational politics, etc 
our answer is "Get over it!" If joining the federation will help you improve 
your blindness skills, further your education, and you can contribute to the 
betterment of the blind stop the excuses, get involved, and let's build a 
brighter future for the blind.

    And if anyone thinks that these tactics are rough and insensitive our 
membership has doubled from last year at this time. We'll have at least six 
new members joining us on Saturday at our January chapter meeting. On more 
than one occasion we've been told by our state president that the NFB of 
Texas San Antonio Chapter is one of the most active chapters in the state 
and the only one to sponsor a Braille class for blind youth and adults. To 
get the whole story visit:
http://www.nfbsatx.org

    Hope these ideas and suggestions help.

Peter Donahue