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<p>Hi, Shara and all. I just saw this message, having mostly been
away from e-maail over the weekend.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Shara, thank you for the kindness and understanding in your
message. In particular, I appreciate the reminder that we should
be careful about accusing people of irresponsibility or misconduct
without very good evidence: I had not rushed to any judgment in
this instance, but I have in the past and easily could again if
I'm not watchful.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>I want to comment on one other thing. Although "squabbling,"
name-calling, and other forms of personal attack have no proper
place on this list, I think this should be a good place to have
substantive discussion and debate about NFB philosophical and
practical matters. Chapter meetings may not allow time for
debates we need to happen, but discussion on a list like this
sometimes can compensate for that. Long ago, I was on a couple of
old-fashioned NFB bulletin boards. Some discussions were quite
useful, some worthless and obnoxious, and most mixed. However
annoyed I often got, I understood then and understand now that it
is vital for democratic organizations to create wide spaces for
them. So, as long as we treat each other well, we should allow
and maybe encourage debates here. (I know that there's not
perfect agreement by any means on what constitutes treating people
well or badly, but I'd like to think that all of us here can bring
both love and logic to this playing field.)</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>I wish everybody happy holidays.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Best!</p>
<p>Al</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/16/22 21:19, Shara Winton via
Massachusetts-NFB wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Happy Holidays Everyone! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hope everyone is happy and keeping
healthy. We know for sure that we have at least one member who
tested positive for Covid, let’s keep this person in our
prayers. A stomach virus, the influenza and many other bugs
are all around us. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each of us, when entering any public
event are at risk of catching any of these and even more
undesirable things from the people we encounter. Those who are
at high risk, do not usually expose themselves at all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Currently the CDC nor the state of
Massachusetts is requiring that anyone prove their COVID
status, their vaccination status or to wear a mask. We the
NFB, are following these standards of practice. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have many other members with serious
medical issues, dealing with family loss and tragedy, and
going through many very difficult times. I ask that we all
practice compassion, understanding, and patience with each
other. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The most important thing that we can give
each other, is kindness, empathy, love and understanding. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyone who was at the Cambridge Holiday
party was exposed. Thankfully, as soon as this person knew of
their positive status, they reached out, to ask us, to let
everyone know that they were exposed. There is not one of us
in that room that was more exposed than any other. I happen to
know that this person and some others did wear masks during
the gathering. Therefore, it is not likely that any of us got
the virus. Again, if it had been a server, an Uber driver or
someone else, none of us would know that we were absolutely
exposed. Our member was gracious and responsible enough to let
us know. The identity of the person is irrelevant and
revealing their identity is an invasion of privacy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I opened this list so that everyone could
post about NFB matters and other events that might be of
interest to this community. However, if debating, squabbling,
name calling or anything unpleasant occurs, we will be forced
to make it an announcement list only again. I don’t want this
to happen, because I like that we can all post about things
that are important to us. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So if you have an issue, please contact
your chapter president, a member of the board or me privately
to discuss the matter. I believe in all of you and I feel
strongly that we are all capable of being respectful, kind and
mature. This doesn’t mean that our emotions are not important,
because they are, but this list is not the place to display
them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We do not require vaccination or testing
before you come to our events, but both are suggested. Anyone
who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should test themselves,
and if positive cancel their plans to join us. If you begin to
experience symptoms and /or test positive, or if you just
aren’t feeling well, we kindly ask that you do not join us, so
that we all may stay healthy and we can continue to meet in
person. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hope each of you have a fantastic Holiday
Season and we will see you in the New Year!! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Warmly, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shara Winton<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">President, National Federation of the Blind
of Massachusetts<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">617-600-8130<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="nfbma.org" moz-do-not-send="true">Visit
NFB MA Website for more information</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="nfb.org" moz-do-not-send="true">Visit
the NFB website for more info</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a
href="https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-of-the-Blind-of-Massachusetts-1593379944322253"
moz-do-not-send="true">Visit us on Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:7.5pt;background:white"><b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">“</span></b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#01893E">You
can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you
back.</span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">”</span></b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<br>
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