[nabs-l] NFB-Past, Present and Future

Tue May 4 19:30:44 UTC 2010

I agree!
Aziza

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melissa Green" <graduate56 at juno.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 10:56 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NFB-Past, Present and Future

> Wow!
> Very well said Arielle.
>
> Melissa Green
> No person has the right to rain on your dreams.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Arielle Silverman" <nabs.president at gmail.com>
> To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 9:33 PM
> Subject: [nabs-l] NFB-Past, Present and Future
>
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Whenever a question arises regarding NFB philosophy, the person asking
>> the question is often advised to read books or listen to long speeches
>> in order to find the answer. But to me the essence of NFB philosophy
>> is very simple and can be conveyed with the sentence, "It is
>> respectable to be blind." A single sentence, which can be stated in a
>> single breath. The rest, I believe, is our collective opinions about
>> how the respectability of blind people can best be affirmed and
>> upheld. People can and do debate about the details, the policy
>> positions and the program priorities that the organized blind should
>> take toward the end of respectability. But the core of our philosophy,
>> the notion that blindness is respectable and that the blind deserve
>> dignity, is in my opinion a truth that very few people would argue
>> against. And I fully believe that many people who choose to affiliate
>> with the ACB, or not to join a blindness organization at all, are
>> still NFB-ers at heart because they are committed to the
>> respectability of being blind and they demonstrate it through their
>> daily actions and full participation in society. I don't believe the
>> NFB will be gone in fifty years because this basic truth will still
>> exist and will still need our effort to keep respectability a reality
>> for the blind.
>>
>> I will say that I don't agree with all the policy decisions and
>> priorities that the NFB has taken in recent years. If it were up to
>> me, for instance, I would spend much less time and resources on Web
>> accessibility lawsuits and more energy trying to improve the quality
>> of education at state schools for the blind, or the accessibility of
>> entry-level jobs so blind teens can work in the same kinds of
>> part-time jobs as their sighted peers and develop a sense of
>> self-reliance. I don't agree fully with our Social Security Earnings
>> legislation, and I have felt disappointed by the lack of concrete
>> plans to match our rhetoric about fixing the Braille literacy crisis.
>> I also don't agree with some of the political norms that have become
>> widely accepted in the Federation on the national and state levels.
>> However, I recognize that the NFB is run by human beings and that our
>> programs not only depend on funding, but also tend to reflect the
>> particular whims of our leaders and their preferences, talents,
>> strengths and weaknesses. I am aware that while I am president of
>> NABS, our student division will probably be strong in some areas and
>> weak in others corresponding to my particular interests. It's
>> something we can remedy by involving a diverse group of leaders, but
>> it can't be fully avoided.
>>
>> I too sometimes feel burned out, and sometimes perceive our national
>> convention as more like a big sales outfit than like the meeting of a
>> civil rights organization. However, I keep working in the Federation
>> and I plan to do so forever because I recognize that there is still
>> more work to be done to make respectability a reality for all blind
>> people. There are still blind people of all ages and backgrounds who
>> haven't yet realized what their potential is or how to reach it. And
>> daily encounters with the public remind me that the truth about
>> blindness is a surprise rather than a given for many of our sighted
>> brethren. Furthermore, I recognize that our organization cannot
>> possibly get better in my eyes if I don't make myself part of the
>> solution. I believe that it is up to our newer members and
>> particularly our younger members to identify new issues, new points of
>> change, and to bring them to the attention of the current leadership.
>>
>> I often hear from national and state NFB leaders that students are
>> important because we are the future leaders of the organization. This
>> mantra, while well-intentioned, I think is only part of the story. We
>> are the future of the NFB but we are part of the present as well. We
>> have important contributions to make that we can put into practice
>> today, in NABS and also in our affiliates, and we are capable of
>> engaging in full-fledged leadership. For example, I know that the
>> Wisconsin student division just hosted their affiliate's state
>> convention. I also know of at least one state student division that
>> managed the legislative appointments for their affiliate's Washington
>> Seminar delegation. Whether or not we hold elected offices in our
>> chapters or affiliates, we can always involve ourselves by offering to
>> serve on committees, head up projects, or present novel ideas to the
>> leadership. The key is to figure out how to make a solution happen,
>> and to offer to do the necessary work, instead of merely complaining
>> about the problem.
>>
>> Arielle
>>
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>
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