[Colorado-talk] Fwd: [Chapter-presidents] Taking Action Regarding the How Eye See It Campaign

[Dan Burke]

Greetings -

Passing this info along to everyone.  This is a particularly nasty
campaign.  The Colorado Center for the Blind stuents and stff will be
contributing to the effort to counteract the effects.  Please consider
your own video. Contact me if you have questions or need assistance!

Best,
Dan


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Trevino, Danielle via Chapter-presidents" <chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org>
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2016 13:42:14 +0000
Subject: [Chapter-presidents] Taking Action Regarding the How Eye See
It Campaign
To: NFB Chapter Presidents discussion list <chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Trevino, Danielle" <DTrevino at nfb.org>

Good morning:

Please see the below message that President Riccobono sent out to
affiliate leaders this weekend. It is important that we take action to
push back on the harmful message that this campaign is spreading.
Please note that thehashtag is spelled using the word "eye," not the
letter I. Thank you.

Dear Federation Affiliate Leaders:

Some of you have brought to my attention the social media campaign
using the hashtag #HowEyeSeeIt. The people using this hashtag are
making videos of themselves attempting to do everyday tasks under
blindfold with the misguided view that this experience will help them
know what it is like to be blind. The motivation for the campaign is
to raise funding to eliminate blindness. We in the National Federation
of the Blind know that blindness doesn't hold us back. We also know
that living with blindness requires learning the techniques blind
people use to do everyday tasks without vision. We are not opposed to
medical research, but the way to generate interest in medical research
is not by further spreading the fear of blindness and strengthening
misconceptions about the lived experience of blind people.

The current videos being circulated with the #HowEyeSeeIt campaign are
perpetuating the idea that blindness is something to be feared and
that blind people adhere to low expectations. Some of the tasks people
are encouraged to do in this campaign are having a friend give them an
unidentified amount of cash and then, under blindfold, attempting to
pay for a meal with this money. Another particularly outrageous
example is people are asked to attempt to take care of your child for
one minute while blindfolded. At a time when we have launched new
efforts for blind parents who have their children take away because of
misconceptions about blindness, this is dangerous and offensive. These
examples and the dozens of others used in the campaign rely on the
notion that vision is a requirement for success, but we know the
truth-blindness does not define us or our future.

It is critical that we now join together to combat this harmful
campaign. I urge all Federation leaders to lead by example and to
encourage the members of the Federation in your state to join with me
in changing the perception that blindness is something to be feared
and that significantly limits our lives. Now is the time to turn our
fear into power and that power into action. We have the opportunity to
demonstrate how we live the lives we want as blind people in a
commanding way. All you have to do is:

1.    Make a video of yourself accomplishing an everyday task as a
blind person. For example, show how you dance, sing, exercise, care
for your children, go to school or work, play sports, manage your
finances, travel, participate in social events, enjoy your hobbies-in
short, take a video of yourself living the life you want.

2.    At the end of your video, say that you're a proud member of the
National Federation of the Blind, and tag three friends or family
members to keep the trend going. You can also urge your audience to
make a donation to the NFB.

3.    Upload your video to social media using the hashtag
#HowEyeSeeIt. Make sure to link to our website,
www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org>, and tag the NFB in your Tweet,
Facebook, or Instagram post. If the people you mentioned in your video
are on social media, be sure to tag them too.



Together, we can show the world that blindness is not what holds us
back by demonstrating how we live the lives we want. We've published a
blog, "Challenging the Fear of
Blindness<https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/challenging-fear-blindness>,"
that I encourage you to share. Please be sure to share with me other
ideas you have about how we take this opportunity to demonstrate the
truth about blindness. Send me an email with your ideas to
officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>.
Please provide me with updates on how the effort is moving forward in
your affiliate and how I can help.


Let us work together with love, hope, and determination to erase the
fear of blindness and raise expectations.





Danielle Trevino
Coordinator for Social Media and Member Engagement
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
  Baltimore, MD 21230
P: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2358
E: dtrevino at nfb.org<mailto:dtrevino at nfb.org>
W: www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org/>
FB: National Federation of the Blind
TW: @NFB_voice
YT: Nation's Blind
Live the life you want. Join the NFB today!<http://www.nfb.org/how-join>



The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

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-- 
Dan Burke
My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal