<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Lucida Console";
panose-1:2 11 6 9 4 5 4 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle21
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:621574111;
mso-list-template-ids:-2086501388;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Justin,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Thank you for starting what could be an important and interesting discussion. And thankyou for doing it in such a way that brings all of our members together, those from all backgrounds and world views in a way that discusses, analyzes, but does not judge. I’ll add, though I know I’m late in replying about them, that your articles in the Federationist in Connecticut were well thought out and taught me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>I believe this sort of reasoning should be condemned in the strongest terms. Though I myself haven’t heard it in any number of types of Federation settings and locations, I know that as a white man and professed Christian that I may very well have privilege protecting me from having heard it. Members and leaders from all racial and ethnic backgrounds are needed and an integral part of our Federation. We should never express our philosophical value and call for blind people being self-sufficient to ignore other characteristics of our members that may very well make that call harder or impossible to answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>The work we do for blind people, be it on accessibility, civil rights, and economics (let’s be honest: the Accessible Technology Affordability Act, especially in that it’s a refundable credit, is as close to a direct benefit to blind people as the multiple COVID stimulus checks are—and rightly means tested to the point that I as a professional working for the government would not myself qualify) are a benefit to blind people of all colors and ethnic backgrounds and, often, immigration status (hmmmmm…do you consider me a descendant of immigrants? I remember after September 11 having heard of an indigenous T-shirt reading “Homeland Security: Fighting Illegal Immigration Since 1492). We know blindness and consider carefully what we as the organized blind ask for, and we expect to be respected for that. Likewise, as an overall organization we should not, I think, claim to know racial or ethnic injustice and its solutions, but we should respect those who do, including our members and many leaders at the intersection of both blindness and race and ethnicity. And respect those who do by learning from them. We have a special opportunity in the Federation to meet people from backgrounds we well may not have met had we not been blind and had the good sense to join the Federation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Nathanael<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> CT-NFB [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>hamitcampos--- via CT-NFB<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, March 28, 2021 2:01 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'NFB of Connecticut Mailing List'<br><b>Cc:</b> hamitcampos@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [CT-NFB] Let's Talk Philosophy: Self-Sufficiency and BIPOC<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ah that’s interesting. Yeah to the blindness point no one is truly as independent as a sighted person can be. But also like you said Justin even if boath people in a marage are blind usually 1 does the cooking VS the other. I won’t comment on the black people thing as this is news to me that this is a line of thinking even with the blind. I know those are Rush Limbaugh talking points though. So that’s where I leave that. But back to blindness I do know there are blind people that would prefer not to have to ask people for help if they could have it that way. I just say meh what’s it hurt? I’d rather get what ever the task at hand is over with then stressing my self with showing people what blind people can do. I remember 1 dude didn’t even want to grab a soda only cause the machine wasn’t accessible. Bruh I would just want my blasted soda. Be dammed if a sighted person has to work the machine. Now yes I understand there are times you don’t have that sighted wife neighbor or friend around and you may not want to wait. I’ve understood this when I got my Zoom H6 recorder and realized there are things as a total blind you can’t change on the fly or well let me back up. At the time you couldn’t have changed on the fly without sighted help cause the dam thing unlike Olympus recorders doesn’t even beep. Let alone speak the menus. Now here is where we can take this debate to the fact that everyone’s motivation level is different. Some could say well Neal Ewers remembers the menus why can’t you? To which I would answer yeah I guess you could write them down or something. But that would take mad long. Then 2 I’m no Neal Ewers. Then again 3 and this is just me Hamiht personally I’d rather just get the phantom power turned on or off and get that over with. Rather then being oh super independent. So that’s that with what I have to add to this for now. Like I said I’ll leave the race thing alone for now but I do know that that whole thing about blacks not being self seficient thing sighted or blind is a Rush Limbaugh Fox News and other right wing oligarch media talking points. But that’s for off list if anyone wants to go there or a political list. Though I’ll just say political my foot. These people just say this stuff meaning the right wing media cause they don’t want their bilionair friends to share. But again that’s for some place else as we are now dealing with selfishness not blind issues. Well unless we want to go and argu the point of there being selfish blind people. Lol.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> CT-NFB <<a href="mailto:ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org">ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Justin Salisbury via CT-NFB<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, March 28, 2021 11:27 AM<br><b>To:</b> NFB of Connecticut Mailing List <<a href="mailto:ct-nfb@nfbnet.org">ct-nfb@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> Justin Salisbury <<a href="mailto:PRESIDENT@alumni.ecu.edu">PRESIDENT@alumni.ecu.edu</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> [CT-NFB] Let's Talk Philosophy: Self-Sufficiency and BIPOC<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Hi everyone,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have been thinking about bringing up a philosophical discussion point in a group setting, and I’ve decided that my home affiliate in Connecticut is the right group. I’m going to bring up a point of confusion in the Federation philosophy that I would enjoy discussing with others in our movement. It is not something I can remember encountering in Connecticut, but this does not mean that I am asserting any kind of assumption that it does not exist in the minds and hearts of anyone in Connecticut. (In my opinion, whenever a group of people declares that some form of prejudice does not exist within its boundaries, that is dangerous because the group lets its guard down.) I’ve been away for a few years, but growing up in a 5,000-person town in northeastern Connecticut and attending high school on the UConn campus has surely shaped my worldview. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>To be extra clear, this is not a passive-aggressive attack on anyone. I’m not hoping that this leads to the crucifixion of any particular person. There are problems in American society that can corrupt how people understand Federation philosophy. I believe talking about them can help us reflect on them. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have heard a line of logic that has been repeated many times, in various forms, which goes something like this:<o:p></o:p></p><ol style='margin-top:0in' start=1 type=1><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>The NFB says that blind people need to be self-sufficient.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>[Black and Indigenous People of Color] are not self-sufficient.* <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Because [Black and Indigenous People of Color] are not self-sufficient, we need to get them to (and this part is always said the same way) “find somewhere else to go.” <o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>*I put the BIPOC label in brackets because, as you can imagine, various words are used for that label.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I know there are some people who still live on farms, grow their own food, make their own clothes, etc., but how many people do their own dental work? How many people are really and truly self-sufficient? I think any married person can tell you that they have needs that their spouse fulfills for them, like a wife who prefers that her husband cook the clam chowder with his special recipe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If we want to talk about economic self-sufficiency, I think that might be closer to the ideas in NFB philosophy, but I don’t think that our philosophy does shame or cast out anyone who is not living without some kind of financial assistance from the government. In some ways, we all benefit from that, too, because the government pays for the national defense that protects us all, the roads on which we all travel at some point, and many other things that benefit us all. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If we want to talk about independence, I don’t think that’s the same as never getting anyone to help you with anything. In my thoughts, independence is about having the freedom to make choices for yourself, which gives you greater flexibility and control in your life. If someone doesn’t have much independence, then they very much need the Federation, and we should be actively trying to help them, not trying to drive them away. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I think it may be possible to quantify economic self-sufficiency and come out with a ranking that does in fact show that Black and Indigenous People of Color are less economically self-sufficient, but I do not think this is the fault of the BIPOC community. I am mixed, but I group myself in BIPOC. The oppression that Black and Indigenous People of Color have faced and still face has made and continues to make it harder for us to achieve the level of economic self-sufficiency that is enjoyed by White and Asian American communities. If we want blind Black and Indigenous People of Color to become more economically self-sufficient, I support that desire, but I don’t think the path to get to it can include casting people aside for the fact that they’re already oppressed. We have to help our blind brothers and sisters of all colors to get over the hurdles and continue on our march to freedom for the blind. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In summary, I think the Federation philosophy, when properly applied, actually says that blind people are not free until blind Black and Indigenous People of Color are free. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>What do you all think? Whether or not you agree, can you add anything to this discussion? <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Aloha,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Justin<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>he/him/his<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Phone: 808.797.8606<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Email: <a href="mailto:President@Alumni.ECU.edu">President@Alumni.ECU.edu</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury"><span lang=EN style='color:blue'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury</span></a> <span lang=EN><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>ResearchGate: <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury"><span style='color:blue'>https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury</span></a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Lucida Console"'>“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Lucida Console"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Lucida Console"'>Cesar Chavez<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>