[Cabs-talk] Hating the NFB

[Joe Orozco]

Hello Serena,

I'm almost positive I know who the girl is, though another friend of mine
disagrees she is the same girl we knew growing up.

Regardless, I think there are two lessons to be learned from her message: 1)
No matter how nice we are about our organizational philosophy and the
positions we take, some people will always find a reason not to like the
NFB; and 2) we should not feel as though every critic out there needs to be
converted.  I felt for the longest time that every last blind person out
there should be encouraged to join, to take up our call and fight our fight.
Yet, without critics, even severe ones like the girl on YouTube, we would
not have anything internal to overcome, no one to keep us in line.

Anyway, I don't own a web cam, but I believe someone with the means to do so
should post a response so that the interested public can at least see both
sides of the coin.

Just some thoughts,

Joe Orozco

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M.
Barrie
-----Original Message-----
From: cabs-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:cabs-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Serena Olsen
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 12:54 AM
To: Cabs-talk; Nfbc-info
Subject: [Cabs-talk] Hating the NFB

California Federationists and students,

I came across the following videos on You Tube and at the risk of bringing
up something I missed the first time, I thought it important enough to
forward to TABS and the Texas affiliate president, but I post it here too,
as there are undoubtedly many lessons for us to consider in how we interact
with people and how it affects their perceptions about blindness, blind
people, and the NFB.  It is the rant of an angry young college girl
somewhere in Texas, and I hope there is a Federationist nearby that can
connect with her personally and clear up some of her gross misperceptions!

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2KbTBRC3UY
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFEYGASy-Xg

I sent the following email to Jose, Jesse, and Tommy Craig. I hope someone
is able to connect with this girl and that this discussion thread can serve
as a sounding board to throw around ideas about how to approach people like
these, change their misconceptions, and bring them into the organization.

Thanks,
Serena

Hi all,

At the risk of bringing up something that I missed the first time, I
happened on these You Tube videos and am disturbed to say the least.
The video is in 2 parts and I've posted the links below. It is nearly a year
old and hundreds of people have watched it. This girl is a college student
somewhere in Texas, so I wanted to bring this to your attention--I think she
could use a little outreach. To start, she's pretty angry, which makes it
hard to take seriously, but she also has many facts about the NFB and people
in general dead wrong and it would be a mistake to dismiss her. She accuses
the NFB of "spewing shit,"
though I doubt she'd admit she was a pot calling a kettle black (It's ok for
her, but not us, right?). Sounds like if she cleared up her misconceptions
and saw the NFB for what it really is, she'd fit right in with the
Federation...she's got some training, uses AT and mobility aids, and reads
some Braille (we all know the cane and Braille can be huge stumbling blocks
for partials...I didn't think I needed them at her age, so she's got a leg
up on where I was at her age). Yes, the public is very ignorant about
blindness and blind people, she simply hasn't embraced the idea that she can
do anything about it, but she has a great "can-do" attitude in terms of her
own needs...if you can't do it the sighted way, find another way. She may
have a fierce hatred for the NFB, but imagine how horrified she'd be to
discover that her beliefs actually fit with the NFB!

But I digress, are any of you familiar with this video or this girl, and if
someone hasn't already, can we find out where she is and where her nearest
Federationist is?!

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2KbTBRC3UY

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFEYGASy-Xg

Thanks!

--
Serena Olsen, MAIPS
NFBC Monterey, president

Find me on Facebook!
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it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy
crumbles. --Abbie Hoffman

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