[nabs-l] negative traffic

[T. Joseph Carter]

Sarah,

Read the messages yourself.  Several on the list describe me as 
insightful, positive, and interested in positive debate.

All I ever did on that list was correct the more blatant 
misrepresentations of the Federation, politely.

Things such as "The NFB hates DVS!"  The Federation opposed 
implementation of regulations mandating DVS without consideration of 
what the needs are and the standards should be.  We generally support 
described audio because it is useful, and we would encourage 
voluntary adoption.  But we also don't want mandatory rules that say 
this thing must be required with haphazard standards and little 
consideration of how to make the content useful.

"The NFB wants us all to be unsafe crossing streets!"  The Federation 
opposed universal implementation of "Accessible" Pedestrian Signals 
that involve a loud bird sound emitted at one corner that drowns out 
the sounds of traffic.  We go further by saying that such "old style" 
signals are simply dangerous to the blind traveler because they make 
it nearly impossible to hear the traffic patterns upon which a blind 
person makes a safe street crossing.

We have no inherent disagreement with the more modern APS which emits 
sound at each corner when it is being used, at a lower volume matched 
to that of traffic, and provides audible and tactile signaling.  We 
recognize that there are intersections at which they are valuable.  
We continue to oppose universal installation on fiscal grounds, but 
have not offered significant objection to installation of these 
signals when intersections are being serviced.  That would eventually 
make them universal, but at a greatly reduced cost.

That kind of thing.  The blanket, global, and incendiary statement 
got a clear response and interest in discussing the merits of the 
issue with the stated goal of improving our argument's quality, even 
when positions do not change.  This is what was met with such hatred.

And it was not only me who was treated this way.  You say they treat 
you well.  Go over there and let it be known you are affiliated with 
the Federation, and you intend to continue to be.  See what happens 
for yourself.

Joseph


On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 03:50:08PM -0400, Sarah J. Blake wrote:
> Joseph,
>
> Hate mail directed toward you is a different animal from what you 
> originally characteracterized the ACB as being: generally negative. For 
> all I know, your interactions may have prompted negativity toward you. I 
> don't wish to analyze that. My interactions with both organizations 
> include both positive and negative elements, sometimes quite a bit more 
> than others. It is also unfair to judge an organization by behavior on 
> its email lists. Email list membership represents a very small proportion 
> of the organiztion's members.
>
> Sarah J. Blake
> Personal email: sjblake at growingstrong.org
> http://www.growingstrong.org 
>
>
> I'm protected by SpamBrave
> http://www.spambrave.com/