[Blindtlk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer
Lauren Merryfield
lauren1 at catliness.com
Mon Dec 2 06:05:25 UTC 2013
Hi,
I was on my iPhone for that last post and dictation was incorrect so I typed. But I wanted to add, giving my 2 youngest cats as examples, that we are each different and what works for one might not work for another. My youngest cat, Lelaynya, lets me pick her up and she relaxes and purrs on my chest. She really trusts me and goes along with me. Toby, on the other paw, when I pick him up, he squirms! I think he trusts me just fine but he simply wants his say in what I do with him and picking him up is not his idea. They both love me and I love both of them but I deal with them each way differently. I go along with their PURRsonalities.
If those who are more comfortable being followers want to continue following, I think that is fine. But if some of us are more likely to get off the beaten path now and then, we need to be allowed to do that and not have it be considered as disloyal to the cause.
Many blessings,
Lauren
• To think that I know what’s best for anyone else is to be out of my business. Even in the name of love, it is pure arrogance, and the result is tension, anxiety, and fear. Do I know what’s right for me? That is my only business. Let me work with that before I try to solve problems for you.
~ Byron Katie from Loving What Is
For my new book go to:
www.TheresMoreThanOneWay.com
curious about thirty-one? Go to:
www.LettingTheCatOutOfTheBag.com
-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lauren Merryfield
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 9:05 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr. Maurer
I think the flock and shepherd mode or puppet type mentality are unhealthy for me personally and i am sure that my having my own mind is why i am on the fringes of the organization
Sent from my iPhone
> On 1 Dec 2013, at 8:00 pm, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I don't think it's a problem that Dr. Maurer announced who he was
> supporting. The issue is that in the ensuing election there will
> likely be only one presidential candidate. This is not typical of any
> truly democratic group, at least not any that I am aware of. In the
> United States, even presidents who were widely supported and respected
> still face some competition for re-election, and the candidates they
> endorse to succeed them do not necessarily always win by a landslide.
> The candidate President Obama supports in 2016 won't automatically win
> a unanimous vote from the Democratic party; he or she will still have
> to stand up to scrutiny. Regardless of Dr. Maurer's popularity and
> efficacy as a president, I am concerned that because of the
> organizational culture in the NFB, those who would endorse a
> leadership change feel they must either keep quiet or withdraw from
> the organization, and so their voices are not heard.
> I was recently president of the NFB's student division. When I decided
> to resign I announced publicly who I was supporting to be the next
> president. Someone ran against him who, though not my first pick as
> president, was also a qualified and accomplished potential leader.
> There was an election, and though the candidate I endorsed did win,
> the other candidate received a sizable number of votes. I don't think
> the people who voted for him did so because they distrusted my
> opinion; I think they just thought he was a strong candidate. In fact,
> I was pleased to see such healthy democratic debate among the student
> division. It gave me more confidence that the individual who won the
> presidential election was someone that the majority of the people
> truly wanted to be in charge, not just someone who was elected by
> default because he had no opposition. As president I always felt it
> was better for members to question my judgment rather than blindly
> trusting me. When members questioned my judgment it allowed me to
> improve as a leader and to ensure I was doing things the membership
> wanted to see happen.
>
> I am curious if others share my views; perhaps this is not actually a
> significant problem in the eyes of our membership. But if there are
> others who think the culture could be improved, this discussion could
> be quite productive. Furthermore, even as I question whether the NFB's
> political culture and procedures could be improved, I don't oppose the
> philosophy or the major policy decisions of the organization and I am
> committed to support them.
>
> Best regards,
> Arielle
>
>> On 12/1/13, Ray Foret Jr <rforet7706 at comcast.net> wrote:
>> Steve, I fear that perhaps you missunderstood. Of course, Dr. Maurer
>> has the right to support he or she whom he pleases and to publically
>> ask the membership to support that person. I’m just questionning
>> whether an election that looks too much like a mere hand off is
>> necessarily the best way to go.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Mac, the only computer with full accessibility for the
>> blind built-in!
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray, still a very happy Mac and Iphone 5 user!
>>
>>> On Dec 1, 2013, at 8:36 PM, Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Ray,
>>>
>>> What you are really saying, though, if you think about it, is that
>>> President Maurer should not state who he thinks should follow him.
>>> What purpose does that really serve? The only way this will work
>>> has a "Hand-off" as you put it is if President Maurer has enough
>>> support and trust to have his recommendation followed. Therefore,
>>> the process is important because if he were to not have the support
>>> and trust of the membership, there is a means to elect someone else.
>>> To me, that is far more than a technicality.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Steve Jacobson
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Ray Foret Jr" <rforet7706 at comcast.net>
>>>> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 5:17 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fwd: [Nfbv-announce] Retirement of Dr.
>>>> Maurer
>>>
>>>
>>>> Paul, You seem, with respect, to be implying that one must choose
>>>> between
>>>>
>>>> lack of transparency and a good program for the blind or else full
>>>> transparency and a bad program for the blind. I do not agree.
>>>> Here is what I think will go down. Maurer will support Riccobono
>>>> and then, when it comes convention time, and time to elect the next
>>>> president, Riccobono will be
>>>>
>>>> chosen by acclamation without any competition. Now, if one were to
>>>> take
>>>>
>>>> this process strictly in parliamentary terms, it would be
>>>> impossible to quarrel with its legitimacy. My concern, to speak frankly, is this.
>>>> That
>>>> looks too much like a mere hand off instead of a legitimate election.
>>>> Smooth? Yes. Efficient? You’d better believe it. Morally right?
>>>> Well,
>>>> that’s where I have a slight problem. I’m not saying that this way
>>>> of doing it is completely wrong: however, when you have a process
>>>> that looks too
>>>>
>>>> much like you’re just handing it off, you might as well not even
>>>> bother with the formality of election. Just might as well go ahead
>>>> and crown Riccobono king of the movement. I just do not feel
>>>> terribly comfortable with the way things look like they’re going to
>>>> happen. Call me a traitor to the movement if you will: but,
>>>> ‘Tain’t no skin off my nose. Look, this procedure just don’t set
>>>> to well with me.
>>>
>>>> I ain’t sayin that President Mauer can’t support whom he pleases,
>>>> and I ain’t sayin he can not publically say whom he supports nor
>>>> that he can’t urge the members to back his choice: But, to just do
>>>> a hand off and have the election as a mere formality really bugs
>>>> me.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Sent from my Mac, the only computer with full accessibility for the
>>>> blind
>>>>
>>>> built-in!
>>>
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray, still a very happy Mac and Iphone 5 user!
>>>
>>>> On Dec 1, 2013, at 5:01 PM, Paul Wick <wickps at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Ray that's how things have always been in the Federation In the
>>>>> world of the organized blind there is an organization that while
>>>>> it lacks transparency has a strong program, while another has
>>>>> democratic forms, but is kind of an empty suit when it comes to
>>>>> the programming department; I would rather be part of the former
>>>>> than the latter. I wish President-designate Riccobono well, and
>>>>> may he reach out to all the unaffiliated blind people rather than just preaching to the choir.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>>
>>>>> Paul
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 12/1/13, Ray Foret Jr <rforet7706 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>>>> I should like to pint out that there seems to be an assumption
>>>>>> upon the
>>>>>>
>>>>>> part
>>>>>> of the top NFB leadership that Mark
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Riccobono will sort of just be given the presency of the federation.
>>>>>>> That
>>>>>>> strikes me as not being the proper democratic way to do things.
>>>>>>> To assume that just because Doctor Maurer personally supports
>>>>>>> Mark Riccobono for president he will just sort of be handed the
>>>>>>> presidency by Dr. Maurer and the election of Mark Riccobono a
>>>>>>> mere formality strikes me as being very improper.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sent from my Mac, the only computer with full accessibility for
>>>>>> the blind built-in!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray, still a very happy Mac and Iphone
>>>>>> 5 user!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Dec 1, 2013, at 12:44 PM, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Mark
>>>>>>>> Riccobono
>>>>>>
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