[nabs-l] NFB Philosophy

Marc Workman mworkman.lists at gmail.com
Wed Jul 18 06:30:26 UTC 2012


Hello Sean,

As I was reading, I was wondering why the emphasis was entirely on attitudes with no mention of physical/design barriers, and then I get to the last point and realize why. The barriers aren't the problem, it's our failure to simply accept them and move on that's the problem.

Sean wrote,
> we can choose to accept it and move on, or we can wallow and wine that things aren't fair.

Or, a third option, we can do something to change what isn't fair, call something an injustice when it's an injustice and do something to eliminate it.

We've had similar discussions before, so I don't expect to change your mind, but maybe someone else will be persuaded, and I'm not all that tired anyway.. I will say that I think you do reflect a common attitude that partly constitutes NFB philosophy, and it's probably the one aspect of this philosophy that I think is mistaken.

I think I get it — the whole pull yourself up by the bootstraps attitude (very American) — there's value in that, but I think it tends to come from a place of privilege. Going out on a dangerous limb, Sean, guessing white, male, middle class, well educated, heterosexual, no other significant physical or psychological variations. Even if I'm completely wrong on most of this, I can tell you're well educated and intelligent. My point is only that it is easier to say we should just suck it up and move on from such a place of relative privilege. The danger of just sucking it up and moving on is that you might not be as motivated to change things to help out those who aren't able to suck it up and move on. Personally, I'm aiming for a world that's as inclusive and accessible as possible to all blind people, not just the creative, educated ones. So if there's a barrier that I myself can get around, that won't stop me from pointing it out and trying to eliminate it. Simply going around it, however, makes me more likely not to think about it and consequently not to do anything about it.

There is value in providing blind people with tools for dealing with injustice and encouraging them to use these tools. We live in an unjust world. What I reject is the false dichotomy of either accepting the injustice or whining about it. We can and should not simply "accept it and move on", but actively work to eliminate injustice where ever we find it.

Regards,

Marc
On 2012-07-17, at 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
> 
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