[nabs-l] NFB Philosophy

[Brandon Keith Biggs]

I'm not sure if that's what the die-hard NFBers believe, but I know being a 
part of NABS and being the future of NFB what Shaun said is what I believe. 
I hardly ever think of my blindness, let alone do I think I'm disabled. It 
makes me feel funny realizing, oh, uh... Hey I'm disabled... er...
I'm a firm believer in education, education, education. I'm a student, so 
I'm probably a little biased, but I just think we all need to get out into 
the public eye more and educate people in what we can do. It's my belief 
that if we do what we love to do with the passion and belief in our selves, 
it will infuse those around us with the idea that blindness is no different 
than being short or tall.
In my opinion that's why we should stop subminimum wage. Well frankly, I'd 
like to make a law for sheltered shops to be run by teachers and those who 
can inspire, because at the moment I've been told that many people in those 
sheltered shops don't think there is anything more they can do.
In my book, there is no larger crime than depriving someone of their dreams 
and the second biggest crime is taking away the chance for people to reach 
for those dreams.
For while there are dreams, there is hope. With hope life always has enough 
energy to turn the corner and keep going.
The NFB to me is that hope and the rock and refuge that is always there for 
me if I need it.
Thanks,

Brandon Keith Biggs
-----Original Message----- 
From: Littlefield, Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 10:54 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NFB Philosophy

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
>
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-- 
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.


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