[nabs-l] what is Federationism

[Mike Freeman]

Chris:

I conceive of Federationism as the attempt to live the Federation philosophy
in one's own life.  It is the active espousal of NFB philosophy in word and
deed.

What is the Federation philosophy?  Here's what I wrote on the NFB of
Washington website:

The real problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight; it is the
misconceptions about blindness held by society. 
The blind are neither especially cursed nor especially blessed; they are
normal people who cannot see. 
With training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to the level of a
physical nuisance or inconvenience. 
With training and opportunity, the average blind person can perform the
average job in the average workplace as well as can his/her sighted
colleagues. 
The blind are a minority within society and virtually all of the problems of
blindness are those experienced by other minorities within society, e.g.,
discriminatory treatment and lack of acceptance as persons of equal standing
with the rest of society. 
In essence, NFB's philosophy of blindness amounts to the knowledge that it
is respectable to be blind. 

Additionally, we of the NFB believe that we, the blind, can adapt to the
world, requiring few modifications to function effectively in the world as
it is.

I joined the Federation and am still a Federationist because I believe in
the tenets of NFB philosophy and, having had some difficulty securing
employment, because I vowed that I would do what I could to see to it that
such discrimination wouldn't happen to the blind of future generations.  It
is my way of doing what I can to see to it that the blind achieve
first-class citizenship and complete integration into society on a basis of
equality with the sighted.  I've always been interested in the law,
especially constitutional law, and the NFB is a great way for me to play
lawyer without a law degree (I've authored several Washington laws) and
gives me a chance to examine in detail such concepts as discrimination, what
we can and should expect from society and, perhaps more importantly, what we
shouldn't expect.

Mike Freeman


-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Chris Nusbaum
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 1:32 PM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] what is Federationism

Hi, all.

Here's an interesting, maybe somewhat philosophical question for all of you.
Sorry for those of you who don't like these topics, you don't have to reply.
I've always been an NFB member (since I was very little) but I was never
really active in it.  Oh sure, I followed some of the issues and had some
oppinions, but I never really was that active in the NFB itself.  Now, after
I went to the NFB's Leadership and Advocacy program, I seem to have a new
sense of support for the Federation and as I'm learning more, I want to be
more active in it.  I really am starting to understand and strongly believe
in the NFB philosophy, or at least how I interpret it.  So I want to ask you
a threefold question: what does Federationism mean to you, what do you think
the NFB philosophy is, and why are you a Federationist? I'm not going to
tell you my opinion just yet, mainly because I don't really have a strong
one.  That's why I want to hear from you, think about your opinions, and
finally decide what I believe.  I look forward to hearing all of your
thoughts!

Chris Nusbaum

"A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)

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