[nabs-l] Future of the NFB

[Jedi]

Yes, you are missing the mark. A culture has little to do with whether 
or not you believe you can achieve within the greater society, unless 
that is one of the questions that founds your culture as it is with ours.

The blind community actually has at least four cultures that I can 
identify: the NFB, the ACB, the unaffiliated consumer base, and the 
unaffiliated professional base. Professionals affiliated with one of 
the organizations are likely to build their professional values on the 
foundation of their affiliation's values. The unaffiliated 
professionals (and consumers) will have their own cultures, but that 
could be considered a major cultural grouping.

A culture is a group of individuals sharing similar beliefs regarding 
human nature, relationships between time and space, traditions, values, 
etc. Just because one individual belongs to one culture, that does not 
mean that the same individual cannot belong to other cultures 
concurrently; this principle is called intersectionality. It is true 
that an individual can belong to multiple cultural groups, but strongly 
identify with some of their cultural markers over others for just about 
any reason under the sun.

I would be happy to argue the NFB as a culture, but that would take 
some time and a lot of analysis. And frankly, I'm just not up to the 
task at the moment. The bottom line is that, anthropologically 
speaking, the NFB is a culture and that you can certainly belong to 
such a culture and maintain your cultural identity outside of the NFB 
without compromising any and all of your cultural identities. Does that 
make sense? The disability community also has multiple cultures, and 
these may or may not have anything to do with a specific disability, 
but may have more to do with how disability is defined. There are some 
disability cultures that the NFB would most certainly not identify 
with, others with which we would identify with some, and others with 
which we share much in common in terms of our core values related to 
the role of disability in our lives.

Respectfully submitted

Original message:
> Jedi,
>   I'm still not sold on the idea of a "disability
> culture."...although, I think in the context of working with other
> disability groups with a similar mindset to us, it makes sense.  But,
> for me, the point of the NFB is empowering us to be part of whatever
> culture we feel like with blindness being as minimal a factor as
> possible.  I recognize that others have different interpretations of
> how to apply NFB philosophy, but that's what it means to
> me...blindness will not keep me from any of my goals in the world,
> even though it places some limits in the way I have to overcome.  If
> part of assessing our future is examining what NFB philosophy means to
> each of us, that's probably a good place for me to start.  Thoughts,
> anyone?  Am I missing the mark?
>   Best,
> Kirt

> On 3/12/11, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> wrote:
>> There are a number of disability communities that share similar beliefs
>> to our own regarding disability. So, the thing we must do is ally
>> ourselves with disability cultures similar to our own.

>> Respectfully Submitted

>> Original message:
>>> Joe,

>>> Something must eventually give. I do believe the NFB's prominence may
>>> gradually fade if something is not done. You have touched on the
>>> arrogance of our organization's leadership in earlier posts, and I
>>> think that arrogance and NFB snobbishness may slowly destroy us unless
>>> we learn to be more inclusive.

>>> But while it might sound cold, I did not join the NFB four years ago
>>> because I wanted to fight specifically for the disabled community as a
>>> whole. I am weary of watering down our policies and core beliefs,
>>> assuming we would even need to, to cater to people with multiple
>>> disabilities besides blindness. I believe that quality is more
>>> important than quantity, and yet our quantity will fade if we don't do
>>> something in the future.

>>> to lead on the cutting edge, I believe we need to recognize diversity
>>> and develop working relationships with other organizations. But at
>>> what cost, and is our national leadership willing to do this? Can we
>>> protect our own core beliefs while becoming more inclusive, or is it
>>> time we change the entire philosophy and structure of the
>>> organization?

>>> I cannot tell you what we should do. I am not even sure myself.

>>> Brice

>>> 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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>>> --
>>> Brice Smith
>>> North Carolina State University, Communication - Public Relations
>>> Brice.Smith319 at gmail.com

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