[nabs-l] NFB Philosophy

[Littlefield, Tyler]

Sean,
Thanks for your reply. Like I said, I've been curious about this for a 
while, and this is kind of one of the first responses I got that wasn't 
evasive or just more confusing.

I really liked everything you put out, not as the NFB philosophy, but as 
the way to think about things in general as a blind individual. I 
honestly think that my biggest problem for staying away from most of the 
organizations, at least away from getting totally involved, is the fact 
that I honestly believe there aren't to many people that fully go with 
something like that, whether it's the NFB's ideals or not.

Thanks again,
On 7/17/2012 11:38 PM, nabs.president at gmail.com wrote:
> Tyler,
>
>   
>
> Fair question. And while I do not claim to speak for everybody, and, in
> fact, believe that there is no one great truth or philosophy about
> blindness, do believe that there is a positive and realistic way of thinking
> about blindness and all that it entails that is referred to as NFB
> philosophy. I happen to subscribe to it, though I, as I have stated before,
> do not agree 100% with everything the NFB does or says. Claiming to embrace
> this philosophy no more relinquishes my claim on independent thought than
> does subscribing to any point of view on any other issue. So, to boil it
> down into a few key points, here is my take on what the NFB philosophy on
> blindness is:
>
>   
>
> 1)      Blindness need not prohibit one from leading a meaningful,
> productive and fulfilling life.
>
>   
>
> 2)      While blindness surely presents certain difficulties, frustrations
> and inconveniences, the perception of blind persons among the general public
> and the associated chronic underestimation of the abilities of blind
> individuals causes more problems than anything inherent to blindness itself.
>
>   
>
> 3)      Blindness, rather than defining who I am, is but one characteristic
> I possess. A characteristic with a greater impact on my life than the fact,
> say, that I have brown hair, but a characteristic nonetheless.
>
>   
>
> 4)      By employing blindness skills, and when given the opportunity to do
> so, average blind folks can do the vast majority of jobs, and participate in
> the vast majority of pastimes,  that average sighted folks can. By
> extension, exceptionally bright, hard-working, or otherwise gifted blind
> individuals can do the things that exceptional sighted folks can do.
>
>   
>
> And, though I wouldn't list it as a belief at the core of how I view
> blindness, I think it's worth saying:
>
>   
>
> Sometimes, we, as blind people, need to be willing to go the extra mile to
> get things done. Should things be designed for universal access? Absolutely.
> Is it fair that I have to spend extra time scanning my books while my
> sighted peers do not? No, it's not. However, in full recognition that there
> are strong and persuasive moral, and probably practical, arguments for
> remedying the status quo, we must recognize that the world and life are not
> fair. Sometimes I'll have to work harder than the guy next to me to
> accomplish the same thing. But, sometimes, the guy next to me will have to
> work harder than me to compensate for some shortcoming of his own. That's
> life, and we can choose to accept it and move on, or we can wallow and wine
> that things aren't fair. We've all got obstacles to overcome, and, for me,
> being blind happens to be one of them.
>
>   
>
> I hope that all makes some sense. I would be curious to hear what others
> think about the question. It is a good one and worth reflection and
> discussion.
>
>   
>
> Take care,
>
>   
>
> Sean
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/tyler%40tysdomain.com


-- 
Take care,
Ty
http://tds-solutions.net
The aspen project: a barebones light-weight mud engine:
http://code.google.com/p/aspenmud
He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.