[Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization oftheblind?
Chris Nusbaum
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Wed Jan 18 16:43:52 UTC 2012
I agree! I think this is perfect for the Monitor!
Chris
"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
exists. If a blind person has the proper training and
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan
----- Original Message -----
From: Ray Foret Jr <rforetjr at att.net
To: gwunder at earthlink.net, Blind Talk Mailing List
<blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:18:30 -0600
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join an
organization oftheblind?
With respect, Garry, I must say that I find nothing at all
preachy about your reasons why you are a federationist. this,
mind you, is coming from a fellow who is proud of his lack of
diplomacy. Preachy? I think not sir, not a bit at all.
Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
Skype name:
barefootedray
Facebook:
facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
On Jan 17, 2012, at 2:48 PM, Gary Wunder wrote:
I didn't write it for that purpose, but we might consider it if
it is
helpful. If it is only preachy, if it is only a put down, then
it has no
business there. If it really helps people see why they should
consider
joining or strengthens their commitment, then I'll think about
putting it
with other thoughts and seeing if we can cobble together an
article.
Warmly,
Gary
-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ray Foret Jr
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 2:15 PM
To: gwunder at earthlink.net; Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join an
organization of
theblind?
Gary, I tell you truthfully, I sense the germination of a
Monitor artocle in
this.
Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
Skype name:
barefootedray
Facebook:
facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
On Jan 17, 2012, at 11:34 AM, Gary Wunder wrote:
Dear Chris:
Please understand that what I am about to write is my opinion
and not some
official position of the Federation. I will try to avoid
offering other
disclaimers such as "In my opinion," or "It is my belief." I
want to be
firm
in stating what I believe but humble enough to acknowledge that
does not
represent any particular wisdom or any claim to be the one true
way.
I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind because I
believe
that
collective action is required if blind people are to continue to
enjoy the
programs and services we now have and to further the goal of
integration
we
all seek where we gain jobs, play active parts in our community,
and are
no
longer limited by artificial barriers that are not imposed by
blindness
but
by the reaction to it by blind and sighted people alike. As an
individual
I
have a responsibility to think about my options and
opportunities and to
decide whether or not to pursue or shy away from them; In other
words, I
have choices to make. But individually I do not always have the
creativity,
the expertise, and the power to make those choices real and
achievable.
Right now blind people are engaged in the battle to determine
whether we
have a right to demand that computerized technology, with all
its power
and
promise, be harnessed to help us as it helps others, or whether,
because
we
are a small population, this same computer technology will be
used to
exclude us. The outcome of this struggle is as important as my
ability to
compete at a job, my ability to enjoy entertainment at home, my
ability to
check in at airports and check out at supermarkets, and even my
ability to
live at home independently. Take away my independent access to
home
appliances--my ability to set the temperature on my oven,
regulate the
temperature in my house, and operate the controls on my washer
and dryer,
and soon I will require the services of a personal care
attendant or be in
a
nursing home because I will be unable to take care of my most
basic needs.
Even the option of a home care attendant or a nursing home may
depend on
whether or not I can afford them.
My job as one human being is to educate myself; my more
difficult job is
to
embrace the education of society to the potential technology
brings and to
the problems it can create if not properly managed.
Individually I must be
an informed voice, but only collectively do I have a voice
capable of
reaching the nation and the world. Individually I do not know
how to bring
about the changes in design and engineering that make things
talk, produce
braille, or provide a way for me to navigate using touch or
voice;
collectively I can be a part of giving scholarships to young
people, some
of
whom will dedicate their professional careers to learning about
such
things
and being a part of developing technology that includes me and
others who
are blind. Individually I do not know how to craft laws to help
us, but
collectively I can help to grow and employ the expertise of
those who do.
Individually I do not know how to execute a successful lawsuit
on behalf
of
myself and others who suffer from technological discrimination;
collectively
I can be a part of hiring that help and articulating to the
legal system
the
goals and aspirations of blind people who are committed to the
forward
progress we have enjoyed and to categorically reject the idea of
once
again
being consigned to idleness and inactivity.
It is argued that sighted people do not unite as a group, and
that, if
blind
people truly want equality, we must turn away from the reliance
on a group
and the expectation other blind people will join with us.
Because of their
numbers and a society which will quite reasonably be oriented to
them,
sighted people have no need to unite on the basis of sight.
They do,
however, unite for other reasons. Wealthy people unite with
others to see
that policies do not encourage and support the taking of their
wealth.
Those
less wealthy unite for a whole host of reasons when individually
their
voices are not sufficient to start a national discussion about
the things
they need. Doctors, as educated and prestigious as they are,
unite when it
comes to representing their interests and, for that matter, the
health
interests of the American people. Farmers form organizations to
try to
increase their prices and protect against what they see as
overly
burdensome
regulation. Many from all walks of life unite to protect the
environment
by
reminding us that some of the things we want for enhancing our
creature
comforts come at a cost that may jeopardize the well-being of
the earth
for
our children and our children's children. The concept of
organizing for
collective action, to amplify the voice, to share the load, and
to bring
very disparate groups with talent and expertise to serve a cause
is not
unique to the blind, nor is it unique to America. It is the
longing of
people everywhere to better themselves and the realization that
not every
good that needs doing can be accomplished by one human being, no
matter
her
determination or skill or drive. It is the understanding that
true
independence often involves the more complicated concept of
interdependence
and that learning to work together does not detract one little
bit from
our
individuality, our ability to make choices, and our ability to
influence
the
world.
I want a piece of the American dream. That means more than
Supplemental
Security Income because I am deemed too disabled to work. That
means more
than food stamps and subsidized housing because I am considered
so
impoverished that only through a government program can I eat
and have
shelter from the elements. I want the right to information and
that means
more than a book of fiction in which I live my life through the
words and
stories of others. I have benefited from and support each of
these
programs
and I do not write to throw stones. There are forces in the
world that
conspire to keep me in this place, a place of continual
dependence. It is
not a harsh place with physical bars, but a place built by a
compassionate
America trying to do good for people they perceive as having a
significant
need. It is not a jail neither is it a zoo; but it is a cage,
albeit one
with radios and televisions and devices to produce music on
demand. It is
a
place where we may play but not a place for we may grow.
Programs intended
to provide us with a staircase to upward mobility have too often
become
the
means for lifelong support. The tragedy is that life is so much
less than
it
could be for we who are blind and our country gets so much less
from good
minds and overflowing hearts who long to find a way to
meaningfully
contribute.
The alternative path requires more training, perseverance, and
perhaps
even
more good luck. The process is rehabilitation, and by
rehabilitation I
mean
much more than accepting the help to go from high school to
training
school
or college. For me rehabilitation means entering into a
contract, a sacred
pledge to make good on the goodwill and the investment of
taxpaying
Americans by turning education and equipment into productive
work. It is
more than accepting, as a matter of course, this government
program for
the
blind that can sometimes be little more than a transition from
education
to
more education to lifelong dependence. At its best,
rehabilitation is the
power of people to help people, the way a society helps some of
its
members
move from needing a meal to earning a meal. It can, at its
best, be an
example of government truly serving and at its worst an example
of raising
expectations only to crush them. We, the blind people who
organize and
work
in the Federation, determine which it will be.
Several months ago I watched a Republican primary where a
candidate was
asked what should be done about an uninsured 29-year-old man
lying in a
hospital following a motorcycle crash. Should he be allowed to
die was the
timidly advanced question, and before the candidate could
answer, a
disturbingly loud minority in that audience began to clap. The
America I
see
is no longer in a place where she believes she can extend
benefits to
those
who do not pay for them. If this is true for something as basic
as medical
care, how long is it before we see America questioning whether
there is
money to support her disabled citizens who have been offered
rehabilitation
services but who continue to remain on the public dole? How many
people
must
succeed in the rehabilitation process to convince an ever
skeptical and
belt-tightening America that this magical contract between blind
people
and
the rest of America's citizens should continue? Partly that
answer depends
on us and how well we make the case for what we need and the
wonderful
things that happen when rehabilitation works. Partly it depends
on how
well
we make the case to other blind people for moving beyond our
comfort zone
and actively addressing those areas in which we are weak or
scared or
paralyzed by our inexperience with the world.
I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind because I
realize it
has been an important part in helping me live a bit of the
American dream.
I
am a part because I want to pay it forward and to share the
blessings I've
been given with others. I know that as important as a positive
mental
attitude and philosophy are, they are little more than words if
there
isn't
some kind of active effort to transform them into actions.
Wanting to feed
the starving is more than wanting--it is doing something to
advance that
cause--donating money, growing food, building roads, and buying
vehicles.
None of this is accomplished by remaining on the sidelines and
being an
observer, even if an informed one; it is accomplished by a
resolution to
do
something and then by following through on that resolution.
The Federation, for all the pride I take in her, is not a luxury
liner
capable of being guided and run by a few and on which many may
ride in
comfort. Instead my Federation is a canoe, a ship that can
carry a few,
but
needs every person who can to be at the ores pushing us along,
steering us
in the direction we want to go, and helping us avoid the
obstacles that
would break our frail craft if not maneuvered with skill,
intelligence,
and
the support of a God and a public who wants the best for us.
Blind
Americans, just like sighted Americans, can make the choice as
to whether
or
not to be involved, but the choice they make has consequences
for all of
us.
The more people we have who are active rowers of our canoe, the
more each
of
us who row have time to do other things and the more likely we
are to
succeed. Our mission is a noble one that argues for our own
independence
and
for the continued prosperity of our nation. I believe it is so
important
that we dare not sit on the sidelines. I have spent enough of
my life
being
told to observe and weight. When I have a choice, I will choose
participation, service, and the knowledge that, come what may, I
have
tried.
This is why I am a part of the Federation. This is why I ask
others to be
a
part. I don't want to whine and I don't want to preach. I want
to be
grateful for what I have, to repay those who have helped to make
it come
true, and to pay it forward for those who want the same kind of
future I
want. I ask for the energy that others can bring in charting
that course
and
then helping us travel it.
Gary
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