[nabs-l] Success and Why I Left the NFB

[David Andrews]

I don't want an extended ACB versus NFB bashing session here -- it 
serves no purpose.  I will just say one thing Michael, no ones hands 
are clean here.  We are not perfect in the NFB, and, over the years 
have taken shots at the ACB.  However, I attended the ACB National 
convention, a few years back when it was in Minneapolis, and I heard 
a bunch of shots at the NFB, some from the main podium others from 
other places.  I have also read stuff against us in the Braille Forum 
over the years.

I think it would serve everybody if we just ended this here and now.

David Andrews Moderator and List Owner

At 04:25 PM 3/30/2014, you wrote:
>as a member of ACB, peter, you are sadly mistaken, as most of you 
>NFB people are, you sit and bitch, bitch about how ACB is trash, how 
>ACB does this and that, as a proud member of ACB, we do not sit and 
>bash NFB, we dont sit and call your president a dictator, even 
>though my personal opinion, is that he is, how if someone doesn't 
>agree with nfb philosophy, you shun them and kick them to the curb 
>as if they are junk, calling people traders and the like to boost 
>your ego does not and will not achieve anything, you are the sad 
>depressed people who need to see the light or are you just to blind 
>to see the light?
>Lets take a trip back in time if we may, to the year 2000.  ACB held 
>there conference/convention in DesMoines.  Durring the convention, 
>ACB President Chris Grey and other members were treated 
>pourly.  Based on what I have been told,, you nfb people treated acb 
>like we were the plague.
>
>-----Original Message----- From: Jamie Principato
>Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2014 4:05 PM
>To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Success and Why I Left the NFB
>
>This is exactly the problem I have with the way some within the 
>organization play the political game. The feud with the ACB is 
>nothing but a distraction. It's a tool to give a cub set of members 
>something to rally behind, because nothing says "I'm a dedicated 
>member of the in-group" like sharing a common out-group rival.
>
>And why do you need a computer with internet connection for 
>verification, simply to be a respectful individual and hear a 
>colleague's proposal? Stating that you run a company is not by any 
>means sufficient to scam anyone. And you can always check when you 
>get home if you're so inclined, but to turn them away entirely and 
>claim it is because your laptop isn't handy makes me suspect another 
>motive for turning away a member of the out-group.
>
>Sent from my iPhone
>
>>On Mar 30, 2014, at 2:47 PM, "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>Good afternoon everyone,
>>
>>   I have a few thoughts on this thread. First no one likes anyone 
>> who runs from a fight. Health, work, and other issues can get in 
>> the way of serving in the organization but there are other ways to 
>> stay involved. People are only pushed to the side is they believe 
>> they are and don't find other ways to stay involved. They become 
>> lion prey rather than becoming or remaining lion chasers.
>>
>>   The shunning we've seen is of those who lack blindness skills 
>> being offered the opportunity to learn them from those who just 
>> happen to be NFB members. My advice to such individuals is that of 
>> Judge Judy "Get over it!" If learning to use a computer, honing 
>> your Braille skills, becoming a better traveler will help you 
>> become more independent and create new career opportunities for 
>> God sakes except their offers of help regardless of whose camp they come from.
>>
>>   As for this whole NFB VS ACB junk particularly when ACB members 
>> like to bring up stuff that happened 50 or 60 years ago they have 
>> been served notice from us that such conversations are off limits 
>> and they would do well to "Get over it" and that we're not 
>> interested in hearing it. On a few occasions we had several of 
>> them removed from our home due to the conversation getting 
>> out-of-control. And it didn't bother us to see them pay a $50 cab 
>> fare to get home to teach them that continuing to engage in this 
>> kind of non-productive garbage can become a very expensive proposition.
>>
>>   On several occasions our chapter exhibited at a local resource 
>> fair for those with low vision. Both NFB and ACB had booths at 
>> this event. Some of us went by the ACB table to say hello. At no 
>> time did we attempt to harm their display or interfear with their 
>> activities in any way. They did not return the favor. One year 
>> several of their members tried to knock over our table which had a 
>> number of expensive notetakers on it. Our president at the time 
>> should have had the backbone to notify show officials and have 
>> them removed from the event but didn't. On another occasion one of 
>> these ACB folks tried to tell us he was the president of a new 
>> company we may be interested in learning about. Since we did not 
>> have a laptop with an Internet connection present to verify his 
>> story or not we were unable to do anything about it. Had we 
>> searched for the name of his company and found no reference to it 
>> online it's possible we could have had him kicked out for 
>> promoting a scam during the expo. By now you know that we have no 
>> patience with those who misrepresent themselves by atempting to 
>> promote a fraudulant company or engage in destructive behavior. 
>> The individual I referred to in this paragraph has served as the 
>> Alamo Council of the Blind's President.
>>
>>On the other hand if they wish to learn about various programs and 
>>services offered by the federation, learn about the BELL Program 
>>for example, our STEM Initiative, or if they would like an 
>>opportunity to ride in a car driven by a blind driver we're game 
>>for the conversation. Yes I know this is rather heavy-handed but 
>>there's some history behind why we've taken such a hard line with 
>>these people. It can be best summarized in a paraphraise of some 
>>words of a song by the late Stompin Tom Conners:
>>"That there may never elsewhere be,
>>Another Philadelphia tragedy,
>>Another philadelphia tragety."
>>
>>   The words above refer to an insident I and several other 
>> individuals were involved in during our 2001 Convention in 
>> Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Disagreements and philosophies among 
>> organizations of the blind helped lead up to this incident. Since 
>> taking such a hard stance against those who have nothing better to 
>> do than to run away from battles, sit on fences, etc there has 
>> never been another incident of that kind involving us. We had a 
>> close call in 2012 but heeded the warning signs and took action 
>> prior to that year's national convention to fend it off. Thanks to 
>> our alertness that national convention went without a hitch.
>>
>>   Another thing that disturbs us is the ACB's attempts to 
>> undermind our programs and activities in some states. Did anyone 
>> tell them that this is America and they're free to establish 
>> programs and operate them as they see fit instead of attempting to 
>> scuttle the hard work of others?They attempted to quash NFB 
>> Newsline in a few states. If they didn't like the way the Newsline 
>> Program operates they're free to begin a similar program and 
>> operate it as they choose. Fortunately since we now host The 
>> Braille Forum I would hope it's got them thinking twice about that one.
>>
>>   One thing that could help bring about greater unity in the blind 
>> community is if more agency directors had more backbone and laid 
>> out to all potential partners for a program they're considering 
>> the criteria these partners will need to satisfy for consideration 
>> instead of feeling like they need to be all things to all consumer 
>> groups of the blind. Again this is America and we're a free 
>> enterprise society. If someone wishes to be considered to assist 
>> with a program or to help fill a need they need to meet the 
>> criteria for consideration. For example if a host agency decides 
>> that immersion training is to be used in the operation of a 
>> particular program or service anyone wishing to partner with this 
>> agency will need to endorse immersion training or they will not be 
>> considered as a venture partner. Thus if ACB wants to be a partner 
>> in the operation of a program or service offered by a blindness 
>> agency that chooses to use immersion training they'll need to over 
>> hall their philosophy and adopt immersion training as a viable way 
>> to operate a program. If they're unwilling to do that they will be 
>> filtered and would do well not to complain that they were left out 
>> of consideration and would do well to refrain from trying to 
>> undermind the activities of such an agency because they were 
>> unwilling to adapt their approach and philosophy to meet changing 
>> conditions and needs of the blind. Again we have no patience with 
>> losers according to our standards!
>>
>>   As for Joe's point about fundraising part of this one can be 
>> traced to the approach to career planning taken by many in the 
>> field including the NFB. We hear it every day about how unstable 
>> the job market has become yet we still tell people to go to 
>> school, get good grades, and you'll land that dream job when we 
>> should be taking it a step farther and urge blind individuals, 
>> parents, and educators of blind children  to develop multiple 
>> income channels should something happen to your primary income 
>> source and so you will have the funds to support causes such as 
>> the activities of the NFB. We're currently working with the mother 
>> of a blind child in our area to encourage her to do this so she 
>> will be bettter able to meet her blind child's needs as she 
>> progresses through school and college and to have financial 
>> resources that will last her for her entire life instead of just 
>> 40 or 50 years of it if even that given the high unemployment rate we face.
>>
>>   And let's not forget aboutthe the high cost of technology, and 
>> the refusal of the so-called blindness professionals to teach 
>> blind children and adults such valuable skills as Braille and cane 
>> travel to name a few. The NFB needs to urge blind persons and 
>> parents of blind children to develop multiple income sources so in 
>> the event that a school district is unwilling to teach a blind kid 
>> Braille no problem. They can hire someone to teach them privately 
>> and perhaps provide a job for another blind individual. If 
>> necessary they could home-school their blind child and give 
>> him/her an education far superior to that offered in many public 
>> schools. Likewise if a state agency refuses to fund a blind person 
>> to attend one of our centers since we urged them and their 
>> families to create ,multiple income streams they could pay for it 
>> themselves and to Hell with the rehab system. The more financial 
>> resources you have at your disposal that you can control the 
>> better you can provide for your blind child or fund the training 
>> you yourself wish to obtain.
>>
>>   We attend regular information sessions related to one of our 
>> ventures. Each week we see many college students at these 
>> meetings. They're heeding the advice of those telling them not to 
>> put all of their eggs in one basket. These young folks most often 
>> referred to as Generation Y or Gen-Y for short understand the 
>> value of this advice and are creating multiple income streams for 
>> themselves should something happen to them or their career job. 
>> Individuals 30 years of age and under are considered to be a part 
>> of Gen-Y. Like their sighted Gen-Y counterparts blind individuals 
>> should be as intelligent. Consumer organizations of the blind need 
>> to become more agressive in this respect and urge blind persons 
>> and their families to do likewise.
>>
>>
>>      Mary and I have been around professional networking for 
>> years. In the late 1970s a blind individual and his wife became 
>> very successful in a well-known direct selling business achieving 
>> an extremely high level of success. Back then there were no smart 
>> phones, no direct delivery of the products in question to his home 
>> as there is now, no Internet portals in which one can transact 
>> business, yet this individual and his wife built an empire using 
>> this concept. The online resources I'm speaking of our accessible 
>> and usable by blind entrepreneurs. We have worked closely with the 
>> company in question to insure that this is so and they have 
>> greatly appreciated our assistance. Given his success one would 
>> think other blind individuals would have followed his lead in 
>> large numbers given the technology and services now available to 
>> those persuing careers in the direct selling industry. We find 
>> this state of affairs sad and shameful! This is something that can 
>> change in the years ahead. It's not too late. Anyone wanting more 
>> information about such opportunities is strongly advised to seek 
>> it from credible sources such as attending a meeting like the one 
>> mentioned above. Some of our NFB Lists have been used to spread 
>> information concerning particular companies that is inaccurate, 
>> false, and misleading. We're neither talking about your 
>> grandmother's business opportunity or NFB.
>>
>>
>>
>>   If the NFB wishes to have increased financial support it needs 
>> to change the advice it gives to its members and others with 
>> respect to career options and advise blind consumers to create an 
>> income to last them a lifetime not just for 50 years of it only to 
>> end upon skid row when those years are over. It needs to give the 
>> kind of career advice that will allow its members and others to 
>> have the resources needed to support its programs and to allow 
>> blind individuals to maintain a deasent quality of life.  Now I 
>> believe I'm spent. All the best everyone.
>>
>>Peter Donahue