[nabs-l] Starting a political listserve

Tue Sep 20 21:30:57 UTC 2011

Hi all,

One thing to add: my creating of the group puts me, under my 
email address, as the moderator of said group.  This means that 
if a thread gets out of control, I can post warnings as the 
moderator (as Dave does) and can block posts or people from the 
list.  I'm not sure how all the moderator controls work on Google 
Groups, but I'm sure that with a list such as this one, I'll 
learn real fast! * Smiles!

 Chris Nusbaum

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance." -- Kenneth Jernigan (President of the National 
Federation of the Blind, 1968-1986.)

  Visit the I C.A.N.  Foundation online at: 
www.icanfoundation.info for
information on our foundation and how it helps blind and visually
impaired children in MD say "I can!"

Sent from my BrailleNote

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:17:33 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Starting a political listserve

Dear Bridgit and all,
Only one thing.  I'm not going to clutter this list with 
pros/cons of a new
list.
A point to clarify.  The list is not under NFB because David 
indicated he did
not see such a list as necessary.

Some of us such as Joshua Lester, Chris  Nusbaum, and I feel a 
list
about politics and how it relates to blind people would be a good 
idea.
We thought we could discuss laws that affect us like IDEA and 
civil rights
and policies/funding.
Politics has a huge role in how we are educated and congress 
funds programs
for us.  For instance, Learning Ally is no longer funded by 
Department of .
education.
I am interested in the braille proofreading course, yet I learned 
today that
the contract for that course was not renewed yet due to funding.
Also, library cuts in states
have forced the closure of some talking book libraries.

The discussion stemming from a certain thread was only 
opinionated, but we'd
try to have some facts to support any opinions on such a list.  
We'll see
what happens.

Ashley

-----Original Message-----
From: Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 5:12 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] Starting a political listserve

I've been following this thread and choosing to remain silent, 
but I
think something must be addressed.

First, I believe Dave made a similar comment, but the political
"discussion" started here didn't read like a discussion or 
intellectual
debate in any sense of the meaning.  Rather, it was politically 
driven
agendas- both liberal and conservative- that turned into 
diatribes
pitting Fox news and MSNBC against one another.  No factual 
information
was given; no documented evidence was used to support any claims; 
no
real political issues and campaigns were mentioned in the posts.  
It was
all opinionated, emotion-driven rhetoric that created more 
tension and
anger than any healthy debate or discussion.

A separate listserve specific to politics would inevitably 
descend into
a similar situation.  It would be similar to a listserve catering 
to all
religions, but most of us would agree this would become about who 
is
right and will burn in hell rather than an intellectual exchange 
of
ideas and concerns.

Based on how the discussion disintegrated on a student list, I'm 
not
sure why others think it could be something else on another list.

Second, and probably more important, it is crucial the Federation 
remain
politically neutral.  We have multiple members with various 
backgrounds
and beliefs.  The Federation doesn't want to ostracize anyone, 
especially
potential members, because they feel the Federation supports one
political side over another.

The Federation also doesn't want to ostracize politicians because 
of
assumptions that the organization subscribes to one group, or 
agenda,
over another.  We solicit support from all political sides for 
the issues
and concerns important to the Federation.  We can't appear to 
support one
party even though we expect individual support from all parties.

A listserve specific to politics has the potential to come across 
as
predominantly supporting one political party over another.  Based 
on
recent political threads, I see this happening, placing the 
Federation
in a precarious situation.  If such a listserve existed under the
Federation name, it would be fundamental the list remain 
politically
neutral, but as already mentioned, the ability to remain neutral, 
or at
least appear neutral, is not likely.

We also have to consider potential consequences of such a list.  
What if
politicians were aware of negative comments made towards their 
party or
causes or themselves? Consider the implications.  How can we 
approach
politicians, expecting them to support legislation in our favor,
claiming this is what blind people want, when Federation members, 
or at
least Federation listserves, aren't neutral or appear to only 
focus on
negative back-and-forths? It's too great a risk especially  when
political online communities currently exist.  If you want to 
discuss
politics, it doesn't have to be done specifically with blind 
people.
Join any of the online, or local, groups that exist.

In my option, if anyone initiates  such a listserve, it can't be
advertised as an NFB listserve.  Arielle has suggested a good 
idea for
those interested in politics; Google it and find online 
communities
dedicated to politics, and this way, you can find a group that 
mirrors
your own political views as well.

I'm merely stating what the Federation itself states.  I 
understand the
desire to discuss politics, and I applaud you students taking an 
active
interest in politics, but creating a political listserve doesn't 
seem to
have a point, and I fear what ramifications may stem from such a 
list
especially if it appears to support a singular political view.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog for Live Well Nebraska.com at
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 39
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:21:34 -0600
From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Off Topic Messages
Message-ID:

<CALAYQJAkbk8iR8GWe43YD+5=h+xCC3pJbQsO1xGSOb1LcT3hZQ at mail.gmail.c
om
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi all,
I'm sure there are lots of mainstream political discussion 
listservs
out there already.  Just punch "politics discussion listserv" or 
"young
Democrats/Republicans listserv" or some such into Google.  I 
don't
think we need separate listservs for blind folks to discuss 
politics.
As for list moderation, a new NABS board was just elected in 
July, and
is still establishing committee assignments.  I have been in 
discussion
with our new president, Sean Whalen, about listserv committee
structure, so I know he and his board are working on it.  If you 
would
like to assist with list moderation, send him an email and let 
him
know.
For the new people: David Andrews is the list owner, and has 
final say
over what is and isn't allowed on-list.  He has the authority to 
place
people on moderated status or deactivate their list subscriptions 
at
his discretion.  However, a student moderator or listserv 
committee is
often appointed by the NABS board to keep things running smoothly 
and
help defuse problems before they get up to Dave's level.
Best,
Arielle

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