[nabs-l] waver
humberto
humbertoa5369 at netzero.net
Tue Jan 11 03:47:16 UTC 2011
Oh other little thing here: Some people are saying in these
threads things like, "Oh, it sucks being blind," or "Oh being
blind is hard," or "Oh, there are things I don't like about being
blind." Honestly, and essentially, everyone can feel that way.
But that shouldn't be my attitude, nor your attitude, nor our
attitudes, nor everyone who is blind's attitudes.
My attitude is that BLINDNESS is BEAUTIFUL!! I LOVE BEING BLIND!
Being Blind is just being someone ordinary in our world, and we
are normal people who can't see, and life should be worth it!
> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Sean Whalen" <smwhalenpsp at gmail.com
>To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:50:49 -0600
>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] waver
>Good afternoon,
>I don't necessarily think that it is the purpose of NABS or the
NFB to
>prescribe rigid stances on issues like class waivers, paratransit
use,
>reduced price tickets for transport, when to accept or not accept
>assistance, etc. In fact, I think that is not our purpose at all.
People,
>both inside and outside of the organization, seem to get the
impression that
>we are some monolith that holds clear positions on such issues.
If you want
>to know what the NFB thinks, go look at our resolutions and the
programs we
>implement. Those are the policies of the organization. And, while
we all
>work to further them, the policy objectives of the organization
may or may
>not be in line with the thinking of any particular member of the
group. I,
>for instance, certainly have my points of disagreement with the
NFB's
>policies in certain areas, and just because I have chosen to be a
member
>does not mean that I have forfeited the right to my own opinions.
Like
>anything, you take the good with the bad. If I tell you I'm a
Democrat,
>would you automatically assume that I hold a specific set of
views? Would
>your knowing that I am a democrat entail your knowing how I feel
about every
>issue, abortion, economy, education, etc.? Of course it wouldn't.
So, why
>does your knowing that I am an NFB member entail your knowing how
I feel
>about all issues related to blindness? Obviously, it doesn't.
>This said, when it comes to the question of whether one should
take a waiver
>for a class, there isn't even an official NFB stance. Nor should
there be.
>Certainly you are likely to find a prevailing opinion among our
membership,
>but that doesn't make it "what the NFB thinks."
>My personal opinion on the matter is that it is lazy,
counterproductive, and
>absolutely the wrong thing to do. I'm sure somebody can show me a
case where
>a waiver was the right decision, but there are counterexamples to
>everything.
>Ok, so you don't want to take the visual arts class that is
required for a
>BA. It would present certain challenges, and surely is not
essential for
>your history major. It would be way easier to just pick up 3
other credits
>somewhere else. The argument goes:
>Being blind, this class would present me with additional
challenges and
>extra work not required of other students.
>Therefore, I shouldn't have to take it.
>Short argument, I know. Seems there must be a missing premise
there
>somewhere, no? Maybe something like:
>People shouldn't have to do things that aren't fair.
>That's about what you'd have to believe to make the "I'm blind,
please don't
>make me." Argument hold water. Jeez, is it fair that math takes
me so much
>longer than my classmates. I'm an English major, and who really
needs math
>anyway? Wouldn't it be more fair if I could pick up some
additional English
>credits to replace that pesky college algebra? More fair, maybe.
Better, no
>chance in hell.
>Universities have these requirements for a reason. You may agree
or disagree
>with the reason, but there is an objective, namely graduating
reasonably
>well-rounded students, behind them. And please do not come with
the line
>about how blind students simply won't take anything away from
certain
>classes. I, a Political Science and Philosophy major by the way,
took
>calculus, statistics, and economics courses which were heavily
visual in
>many respects. Through work with classmates, instructors and
readers I was
>able to master the concepts at play in each without ever having
any of the
>information represented to me visually. So, can I draw or examine
economic
>or mathematical graphs? Nope, but I can sure understand what
economists are
>talking about when they refer to them, and I can absolutely ask
the right
>questions of a lay person to glean the information I need from
the graph. So
>often people get caught up in and intimidated by graphs, when all
they are
>are tools to represent data and illustrate concepts. Mastery of
the
>underlying concept is what is important.
>So what about a visual arts class. Fortunately, I never was
required to take
>one. I say fortunately, because I have no inclination to take
such a class,
>and don't think I would enjoy it, though one can never know. But
what if I
>had been required to take a class on art history or something of
the sort.
>What if I had to have a reader come in and describe paintings to
me? Would
>that be a pain in the ass? Yes, probably. In an entire semester
of learning
>about different styles of painting would I ever have the pleasure
of
>enjoying the aesthetic beauty of any of these works? No, I would
not, which,
>incidentally is just another one of those things in life that
isn't fair.
>But, at the end of the class, would I know something about the
progression
>of artistic expression that I didn't know at the start? Yes,
hopefully I
>would. That is the point. I likely won't enjoy it, but neither
will any of
>the other students in the class who were forced to take it to
graduate. So I
>had to work a little harder to not enjoy something. Such is life.
If we say
>we want to be treated like anybody else, we have to mean it. The
"when it
>suits me" Caveat undermines the whole stance.
>Imagine you get a waiver and don't have to take that bothersome
art class or
>science lab, but some time later you wish to go on a student trip
abroad,
>and the school doesn't want to allow you to come along. "Why do
you need to
>come with us to Egypt?" they ask, "It isn't required for your
major, and
>besides, it would really present us with some logistical
problems." Wouldn't
>it be easier, and maybe more fair, to just have you skip the
optional trip?"
>I'll leave it to you to draw the parallel.
>If you think you can compete, compete. If you think it's just too
hard, then
>either just cash it in now, or take a real close look at what you
believe
>and ask yourself whether it is consistent with your ending up
where you want
>to be in life.
>Sorry for the length, but this thread has been driving me up the
wall. All
>the bellyaching: "This is hard because I'm blind." "That sucks
because I'm
>blind." A lot of things suck about being blind. A lot of things
also suck
>about being stupid, disorganized, or lazy; having cancer or
having one leg;
>or growing old and dying. That. is. life!
>Fortunately, we in the NFB are working together to make things
less
>difficult, and through our collective work we have built, and
continue to
>build, a brighter future for all blind people. I will, however,
assure you
>that none of our progress was ever attained by requesting a
waiver.
>Sean
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