[nabs-l] Future of the NFB

[Kirt Manwaring]

Joe,
  I think I see your point.  Devisions can be distractions, and they
can divide.  (how's that for a tautology?)  And if I'm understanding
you correctly, you''re not pushing for a complete abolishment of all
devisions, just serious changes in the structure.  Mind elaborating?
  Best,
Kirt

On 3/8/11, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
> It would be ridiculous to eliminate the divisions! What about the
> Communities of Faith? Do you not think that faith is important? We go
> to convention, (many of us miss church,) so the devotions will be the
> only church we get while at convention. There are some divisions that
> may need to be fixed, (or eliminated,) but some need to stay. The
> performance division, the musicians division, and others are a great
> means to connect blind performers, and musicians, and people in
> general. The friendships made during those meetings last a lifetime. I
> hate calling people out, but Sarah, and Julie have been constant
> friends, since we met in Dallas. I know that if I have a question, I
> can go to one of them, and they will help me. That's the same with
> this student division. I was having problems with a certain thing, but
> I was able to obtain help from this list. I appreciate what certain
> divisions do, so it's a ludicris thing to say, that we need to
> eliminate these divisions, they just make us stronger.
> My 100 dollars worth,
> Joshua Lester.
>
> On 3/8/11, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Brice,
>>
>> You are the future of the NFB.  What do you think the organization should
>> do
>> about its operations if you think blindness might not be the only
>> disability
>> affecting the membership?  Don't speculate about what may happen.
>> Instead,
>> tell us what you think should happen.
>>
>> I don't know that I agree with this notion that people are made to feel
>> inferior because they have secondary disabilities.  There have always been
>> similar observations made about guide dog users in the NFB, but the people
>> who disliked and looked down on me before I went and got my guide dog were
>> going to dislike me and look down on me regardless of my choice of travel
>> tools.  I think part of me went and got Gator to show these people where
>> they could stick their condescending views.  Anyway, I guess Eleanor
>> Roosevelt was more polished when she said "no one can make you feel
>> inferior
>> without your consent."
>>
>> But, seriously, what's this nonsense about the deaf-blind division not
>> being
>> as promoted as the student or parent division?  They all get equal access
>> to
>> the convention program, and if you hear about it more, it might simply be
>> owed to the size comparison between the groups.  If divisions that focus
>> on
>> conditions other than blindness feel as though they're being left out, it
>> might be owed to the fact that the division is not doing anything worth
>> promoting?
>>
>> Mind you, I think the whole concept of divisions in the NFB is bogus.
>> First, a vast majority of them do absolutely nothing between national
>> conventions.  Second, they create rifts in the membership when
>> power-hungry
>> members view elections in these divisions as a badge of importance.
>> Third,
>> they distract us from the more important task of chipping away at the
>> fundamental challenges facing the blindness community.  If I were
>> president
>> of the NFB for a day, my first order of business would be to eliminate
>> divisions in the way they exist today.  There are so many professional
>> organizations out there that we shouldn't create mirror groups within our
>> ranks to create little havens for blind people.
>>
>> My point is this:  The NFB cannot exist without members like you.  You are
>> the current youth and will be the future leader.  NFB members spend so
>> much
>> time accepting and not enough time questioning and even less time acting,
>> and that is why several months ago I advanced the controversial idea that
>> if
>> the NFB keeps going down its current path, it will virtually cease to
>> exist
>> in 50 years.  More on that point in a future post, but to answer your
>> question:  The way you accommodate people with secondary disabilities is
>> to
>> encourage them to get involved.  Get on the boards and make the
>> organization
>> recognize and react to what may be a change in demographics.  A few years
>> ago when a group of people proposed the idea of establishing a GLBT
>> division, they were told that with enough support, the division would be
>> established.  I think we're still waiting on this group to get their act
>> together about drumming up support.  It's not enough to complain about
>> what
>> you, you in the general sense, think the NFB leadership is or is not doing
>> to accommodate certain members.  Just like the NFB as a whole has to make
>> a
>> good case to the general public that certain issues need to be addressed,
>> blind people with secondary disabilities need to come together and make a
>> case for why we as a whole need to be more conscious of their unique
>> needs.
>>
>> Just my twenty dollar's worth,
>>
>> Joe
>>
>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>>
>>
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