[Community-Service] Hi Darian,RE: The Nature of Independence

Sun May 31 16:09:49 UTC 2020

Jamelle,
 Thank you for sharing your experience.
 Several years ago when I was in training, I experienced the same emphasis on the use of the long white cane and the discouragement of using sighted guide when traveling.
 As I was taught  during my training and came to understand personally after my training, what I was being taught was foundational skills. 
This extended to learning braille  and  to other subject areas in the training center  environment, and the idea  was that a person who has these foundational  skills in blindness has more choices.
 AT the end of the day, as Dr. Jernigan says it is about making choices.
 If, for example, you choose not to read or write in braille, that is your decision.  If you  choose to read or write in braille that is also your  decision.
If you make the decision based upon the concern that people might treat you  differently or you believe that it may be too hard to learn, that   decision is yours as well. However, that type of decision is different than having the skill  and  choosing not to use it because it is faster for you to read with speech or use the remaining vision you have, but you  do use braille for labeling the items in your kitchen or jotting down a quick note. 
In one example you do not possess  the skill so you  don’t have it  to go  to if you need it where  in the other you have the skill but you just don’t use it all the time though you have the option to if you want or need.
 The skills we talk about and believe in in the federation are tools, like the cookware in your kitchen or the clothing in your closet.  they can be useful in  certain situations.
 Take travel, I choose to travel with  a cane. There are times where I decide, when walking with someone to  hold on to their arm, and there are times when I decide to follow them.
 There are times when asking for directions I get verbal directions from a person and if they happen to offer to take me to the destination, I might politely decline the assistance and then head off my way. There are other times when I might ask for directions and if they do not seem clear and the person offers to help me get to where I need to be that I might accept the help.
 Personally   I feel good enough about my skills to be able to make the choice that fits my wants or needs in the given situation in that scenario. The next person might be more comfortable than I or less so.

 As knowledge is  power, as is the  possession of good blindness skills because they give us the power to  exercise our independence. At the end of the day if we can, with the tools we have go where  we want, when we want without troubling ourselves or other people  in the process of the whole thing, then we have reached   independence.
 As it relates to community service, if we can decide to take  on whatever  community service activity speaks to our interests or passions regardless of our level of vision and we have skills we can use and resources in the federation to leverage, we then can get involved in whatever way we find is most  meaningful  and blindness is not the thing that holds us back.
I look forward to your thoughts.  .  . 

> On May 29, 2020, at 6:01 PM, Jamelle Word via Community-Service <community-service at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Darian,
> Thank you for sharing the  link with everyone who’s on the list. I like Dr. Jernigan’s responses from the letters he received. I think the teens who wrote to him brought up to valid points to him. Back in the day   we are often told to use our white canes and guide dogs.
> I can remember that as a childen/teenagers, adults working with blind youth seemed to put a strong emphasis on using canes; no sighted guides. In fact, just a few years ago, I believe that someone was douting my independence. Now, how can I not  be independent if I use electronic means to pay my bills. How can I not be independent if I am using a cane to  get around.
> I thank you for sharing the link with us.
>  
> From: Community-Service <community-service-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:community-service-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Darian Smith via Community-Service
> Sent: Friday, May 29, 2020 3:45 PMe
> To: Community Service Discussion List <community-service at nfbnet.org <mailto:community-service at nfbnet.org>>
> Cc: Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com <mailto:dsmithnfb at gmail.com>>
> Subject: [Community-Service] The Nature of Independencemed to emphasiszed independence. This meant using a cane; no sighted guide.
>  
> Good afternoon,
>   I wanted to share with you all one of my favorite banquet speeches.
>  The title is  “The Nature of Independence”.
>  The reason why I personally enjoy this speech is because it articulates something that I find that we  all struggle with as blind people. 
> It first articulates the questions of just what is   independence? And it, I think successfully answers that question as well.
>   The speech thoughtfully approaches, discusses and answers   a complicated question, something I hope we can do here  within this discussion thread.
>   In my opinion, I think, no matter how long you have been a member of the federation, it is a good idea to read  this speech, then reread it every once in a while. 
>  I look forward to your thoughts and opinions.
>   Best,
>   Darian           
>  
>> https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/convent/addres93.htm <https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/convent/addres93.htm>
>  
>  
>  
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