[Ct-nfb] FW: ACB Resolution on H.R. 3086

Suzanne Westhaver swesthaver at comcast.net
Fri Nov 9 22:31:28 UTC 2012


lol Chris.  Thanks for making me smile and I take it back- I just heard a 
Federationist say nice stuff about the members of ACB.  Always proving me 
wrong, Dr. Kuell.

Happy weekend to you.
Long one for me.  Woot woot!

-----Original Message----- 
From: Chris Kuell
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2012 8:33 AM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] FW: ACB Resolution on H.R. 3086

I know many ACB members who are capable, competent blind people. They
believe in independence, Braille, and the right of all blind people to
become active members in the workplace and society. Marcia dresser, who used
to live in Connecticut and was the first VP of the ACB here, worked with us
to help pass a Braille bill back in 1999. I was on several BESB committees
with her, and I admire Marcia and her husband Steve, also blind and an
active ACB member, very much. I've met people at national convention who are
members of both NFB and ACB--although Dr. Maurer would certainly
excommunicate them if he found out. Again, these are capable, competent,
admirable blind people, who are networking and not judging people by
affiliation, but rather by character.

I see the ACB and NFB as completely analogous to republicans and democrats.
Both groups have a vision for our country, but they have different ideas on
how to get there. Neither side is evil, although I have my doubts about the
folks at Fox news, but for some reason, people get fired up when they feel
they have an enemy, which is how far too many NFBers and ACBers react. I've
studied both organizations, and choose to be an NFB member because I think
our philosophy best matches my own personality. But I don't think the ACB is
wrong, just different. I would summarize this way: The NFB wants training
and opportunities for blind people, while the ACB wants understanding and
accommodations.

I listened to the ACB audio clip, twice, and I find it fascinating how
different people react to the same stimuli. I didn't hear any slamming of
the NFB, I just heard a single sentence saying 'it's an NFB bill'. The
sentence wasn't said with love or enthusiasm, and in fact probably held a
little disdain, but I certainly wouldn't call it slamming.

ACB's decision not to support HR 3086 is hardly comparable to Hitler gassing
the Jews or the English exterminating Native Americans. It's a decision
based on facts, math, and mission. NIB doesn't pay blind workers below
minimum wage. Good will does, but by my calculation,it's very few blind
people. The large majority of the few hundred disabled workers who receive
below minimum wage are multi-disabled, almost all with severe cognitive
disabilities. And the small percentage of blind people who are included in
this class are also multi-disabled, with blindness the least of their
troubles. Traditionally, the NFB has not fought on behalf of other
disabilities, and DR. Maurer himself told me personally that 'it dilutes our
message'. The NFB has decided to fight on behalf of people with other
disabilities in taking on HR 3086, while the ACB has decided that they
won't. It's not evil, it's simply a different viewpoint.

Deb, are you sorry you asked? Smile.

chris


_______________________________________________
Ct-nfb mailing list
Ct-nfb at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
Ct-nfb:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/swesthaver%40comcast.net 






More information about the CT-NFB mailing list