[Colorado-Talk] my thoughts on living the life you want

[Maurice mines]

I’ve read a lot of this. And so I going to add my several cents worth 
here. As a former resident of Colorado.

I’m a nickel what a lot of people have said that the points that have 
been raised here are outstanding because it shows who we in NFB are 
individually and collectively. Like Scott and Dula, I too am.blind. But 
I want to take a moment to encourage people to if they see something 
that needs some help offered of volunteer get on a committee served 
serve your fellow blind person and/or blind person that has additional 
disability. Because it makes the organization stronger. The perception 
even within the blindness community that we in NFB are somehow the super 
blinding is just as God said is just plain false.

A small story here. At the 2017 convention because of my deaf blindness 
I came out of an elevator one morning and got extremely lost. So my 
first thought is okay I can’t hear anything to save my life and 
there’s no landmarks around soul the next best thing to try is to ask 
someone to point out the way what the first person I asked for help went 
above and beyond just mentioning the direction to go. This person calmly 
excused herself from what she was doing for the moment, walked me over 
to the hotel desk and explain to them that I’m deaf blind and it might 
be a good idea to help me get to where I’m needing to go. It dawned on 
me while this person was talking who in fact was lending a hand. And 
just to show you how equal we all are in the NFB there is no person even 
in leadership that doesn’t step up to the plate and help where he/she 
can help. The person who helped me out was none other then the first 
lady of the Federation Mrs. Riccobono. I pray realized she was I a 
course thanked her profusely because I probably would’ve taken a lot 
more time getting to where I needed to go in and do a lot more stress 
simply because of the deaf blindness.

The other point I want to make is that the organizations that aren’t 
part of us meeting the national Federation of the blind, don’t have 
the belief in the blind or in this case the death line so when they 
write assessments of what they think we can do and what they think we 
can’t do, in terms of life and/or vocational skills quite often it’s 
telling one far short of their real capabilities. I had this situation 
recently. I mentioned it to friends who are strong Federation  members, 
their advice holds true for many situations. Sure read what that other 
agency says but don’t take it to heart because what has been noted 
here we determine how we will live our lives not the agencies. That’s 
what makes NFB so different we care about each other we support each 
other and we encourage each other. And then at the end of the day is 
what being a member of the national Federation of the blind is all about 
I think anyway.

Just to emphasize a point I made earlier at this past national 
convention I walked into a meeting for many substantive issues were 
being discussed and I began to ask questions about how a particular 
situation was being handled. Before I was finished making my 
suggestions, I found myself being elected to the national board at the 
duck blind division because of asking those questions. Of course I was 
asked what I’d be willing to serve, and of course I have responded 
affirmatively to the question. But I always remind people I am not any 
different than any other member. I just call it doing my part to help 
out in do it I can to advance our overall goal. In that goal really is 
living the life I want not the life that some agency has decided must be 
what my life should be about. Hopefully these comments will be 
encouraging and finds you all well.

Sincerely Maurice Mines.
Board member national Federation of the blind deaf blind  Division.

PS not only my deaf blind, I do have a condition called dysrhythmia, 
dyslexia of writing. Certainly not of reading. So because I’m using 
dictation software some of this might not have come out quite the way it 
should. So please forgive any spelling, and or other errors that may be 
related to the ability to read and understand this message. If there’s 
something that you don’t understand that I Britain, please ask me and 
I will do my best to help clarify the original intent of what I written. 
Thank you’ll for reading this.

On 8 Jan 2020, at 15:40, Scott Davert via Colorado-Talk wrote:

> Hi Melissa.
> First, thank you for sharing your NFB story, and a bit about your life
> moving to Colorado from New Jersey!
> My comments weren’t directly about CCB and the other training 
> centers,
> but more general in nature. As an option, I think the centers are
> fantastic for many individuals, and agree the expectations are laid
> out in such a way that the person looking to attend should be able to
> understand what they will be doing. My comments were more on the motto
> itself, and my thought behind what it meant to me. Living the life I
> want to live. I suppose I’ve just assumed, maybe a bit wrongly, that
> my definition of independence is quite different from what the NFB may
> have in mind. Taking the street crossing card solution as an example,
> it’s true that I’m dependent on assistance to cross streets. 
> However,
> it’s also true that I’m the one making the decision about what 
> street
> to cross, where I want to go, and that my actions are still my own.
> Another example relates to utilizing what are currently called support
> service providers. While I’m getting information from a provider in
> this case, I’m still the one deciding how to utilize that 
> information
> I can’t get from my eyes or ears… It’s a bit like using Aira I
> suppose, only done with different forms of communication, as speech is
> not always an option. I have received a lot of criticism over the
> years for both my use of street crossing cards and also my use of SSP
> services. To me, independence isn’t always defined by whether you do
> something alone or not, rather, should be defined by your actions.
> All that said, I’m also not accusing anyone on this list of such
> behavior, I understand, though, that these types of different
> methodologies of accessing ones environment are often frowned upon.
>
> Wishing you a wonderful evening,
> Scott
>
>
> On 1/8/20, Amy Sabo via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> 
> wrote:
>> hello scott,
>> thanks for putting down your thoughts and feelings on this topic. it
>> was written very well and, eloquently! yes, this is sooo true on all
>> you had said in your message. we aren't cookie cutter people. we all
>> have our strengths and weaknesses in our lives. we are all different
>> besides being blind. as for me the reason that I am a active member 
>> in
>> the nfb is that I felt that I was somewhat not a part of the 
>> blindness
>> world. I knew blind people but, they weren't capable or compentant
>> people who lived normal lives in society. I only knew my sister who
>> was also blind like myself. I had hid my blindness for many years 
>> and,
>> when I found the nfb I found sooo more in my life. I found 
>> confidence,
>> love, hope, freedom, independence, and friendship. my life has 
>> changed
>> sooo much in my life since I joinded the nfb in 1995 but, I have to
>> also have doubts in my life as a blind person. but, we in the nfb we
>> are all here as a family. we have issues like all families do and, we
>> always will but, we believe in this slogan that you can live the life
>> you want to live. it's your choice and, how you want to create and,
>> live in that moment.
>>
>> so, that's my thoughts on this topic take care all and, I look 
>> forward
>> to others here on this list to also chime on this topic!
>>
>>
>> hugs,
>> amy
>>
>> On 1/7/20, Scott C. LaBarre via Colorado-Talk 
>> <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>> First of all, I want to wish everyone here a very happy new year!  
>>> My
>>> hope
>>> is that 2020 will be outstanding for all of us.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Next, I want to thank Jenny for raising the topic of what our 
>>> tagline
>>> "live
>>> the life you want!" really means.  I appreciate everyone's 
>>> thoughtful
>>> comments about how it should be interpreted and implemented.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Before I delve into the substance of my comments, I want to give you 
>>> a
>>> little  background which helps to form my perspective.  I first 
>>> joined
>>> the
>>> NFB in 1986, and I have had the honor and privilege of being a very
>>> active
>>> member and leader on many different levels.  As part of that 
>>> experience,
>>> I
>>> served on a committee which was formed in 2013, maybe even late 
>>> 2012,
>>> whose
>>> purpose was to develop our plan for celebrating the 75th Anniversary 
>>> of
>>> the
>>> Federation.  After some discussion, we decided that it was time to
>>> rebrand
>>> our messaging so that we could more effectively communicate who we 
>>> are.
>>> One
>>> part of that rebranding was changing our tagline from  "we are 
>>> changing
>>> what
>>> it means to be blind" to the current "live the life you want!"  
>>> Beyond
>>> just
>>> the tagline, we developed a comprehensive brand architecture which 
>>> has
>>> many
>>> elements that would serve as an excellent focal point for future
>>> discussions.  In any event, I mention all this because I think I 
>>> have
>>> some
>>> idea of what we intended regarding the message we were attempting to
>>> communicate.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ever since I have been involved in the NFB, there has been this
>>> conception
>>> that the NFB only supports and celebrates the "super blind" and that 
>>> if
>>> you
>>> don't go about blindness in a very specific manner, you are not 
>>> really
>>> living the life the NFB endorses.  I emphatically and whole 
>>> heartedly
>>> believe that this misconception is not true!  There is no such thing 
>>> as a
>>> model Federationist, and there certainly is not one, singular script 
>>> from
>>> which we must all lead our lives.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The idea of "live the life you want!" is that your blindness should 
>>> not
>>> hold
>>> you back from pursuing your dreams and ambitions.  Undeniably all of 
>>> our
>>> dreams and ambitions  are limited and somewhat governed by the 
>>> realities
>>> we
>>> face, whether those are financial, educational, , health based, or
>>> otherwise.  There is no one way to live the life you want.  It 
>>> doesn't
>>> matter if you are pursuing a high stakes profession, working from 
>>> home,
>>> volunteering in the community, or not working at all.  Our main 
>>> message
>>> is
>>> that whatever you are doing with       your life, your blindness 
>>> should
>>> not
>>> be the chief reason holding you back from whatever brings you 
>>> fulfillment
>>> and purpose in life.  Our one minute message, another creation of 
>>> our
>>> rebranding, brings this point out.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "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."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A key part of this message is that we are raising expectations.  
>>> That has
>>> both an external and internal aspects to it.  On the external side, 
>>> we
>>> are
>>> working to convince the general population that they can and should
>>> expect
>>> more from us.  All of us often run into very low expectations held 
>>> by the
>>> public.  Pretty much every time I travel to and through an airport
>>> somebody
>>> tells me how amazing I am for simply putting one foot in front of
>>> another.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On the internal side, we should encourage one another to become the 
>>> best
>>> versions of ourselves that we can.  Doing so must always be done 
>>> with
>>> love
>>> and understanding.  Every year that I am in the Federation, I learn 
>>> so
>>> much
>>> from our members on how I can lead my life in a better way, a new
>>> technology
>>> trick or something that enhances my independent travel or whatever 
>>> it
>>> might
>>> be.  I certainly haven't figured it all out, and I know that some 
>>> times I
>>> do
>>> in fact let my blindness limit me in a way that isn't truly 
>>> necessary.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Regardless, we must accept people where they are in their lives and 
>>> be
>>> ready
>>> to encourage them to achieve more when that is appropriate.  This is 
>>> what
>>> we
>>> aim to do at our centers.  We work with people from all walks of 
>>> life and
>>> who have a wide variety of challenges.  No student's program is or 
>>> should
>>> be
>>> the same.  We have some general policies and expectations, but same 
>>> are
>>> always adjusted to the individual student.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Living the life you want is all about independence and freedom.  As 
>>> our
>>> founder Dr. tenBroek so eloquently  put it, we have a right to live 
>>> in
>>> the
>>> world.  That means we have the right to be free and independent and 
>>> to
>>> determine our own destiny.  The exact mechanism we use to achieve 
>>> that
>>> freedom and independence is not the key issue, but rather that we  
>>> know
>>> and
>>> believe that we have the right to achieve it.  I think the 
>>> Federation's
>>> best
>>> speech regarding independence is the Nature of Independence by Dr.
>>> Jernigan
>>> from the 1993 Convention.  If you haven't read it, I encourage that 
>>> you
>>> do
>>> so.    It is available through our national website.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Before closing this out, I want to address another point Jenny 
>>> raised in
>>> her
>>> original message, the idea that perhaps we some times focus and 
>>> emphasize
>>> success stories based on traditional notions of success and that we 
>>> don't
>>> celebrate other forms of achievement.  I think this is a great 
>>> point, and
>>> we
>>> should endeavor to paint a more comprehensive picture.  Convincing 
>>> an
>>> animal
>>> shelter to let you volunteer despite your blindness is just as 
>>> important
>>> as
>>> someone winning a national scholarship based on academic achievement 
>>> at
>>> the
>>> highest level.  Both are part of living the life we want.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In closing, I want to share two other element from our brand
>>> architecture,
>>> the Brand Promise and Value Proposition.  I do this because, for me, 
>>> it
>>> so
>>> eloquently sums up why I am involved in our Federation.  "Together 
>>> with
>>> love, hope, and determination, we transform dreams into reality.  I 
>>> am
>>> filled with hope, energy, and love by participating in the National
>>> Federation of the Blind because my expectations are raised, my
>>> contributions
>>> make a difference to me and to others, and I can celebrate the
>>> realization
>>> of my dreams with my Federation family."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Warmly,
>>>
>>> Scott
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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