[nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of successful blind people
Joe
jsoro620 at gmail.com
Fri Mar 28 23:29:04 UTC 2014
Arielle,
Yes, the "mantra" as you call it says that with proper training and
opportunity blindness can be reduced to a mere nuisance, but the "proper
training" naturally refers to the NFB's prescription of what proper training
looks like, training which for a variety of reasons the majority of blind
people will not receive.
I am confident in my abilities despite my never having attended a training
center. Nevertheless, my confidence is irrelevant when I encounter computer
applications at work that are not accessible. I cannot make these programs
work no matter how advanced my technology proficiency might be or no matter
how much I preach the Section 508 gospel. I don't sit in a corner and bemoan
my blindness, but nor do I view it as a mere nuisance.
When I bought a house, I did so with an eye to a bus stop within walking
distance. That may not sound like a unique argument considering our sighted
friends could also desire a bus stop within walking distance, but the
significant difference is that they have the marvelous choice of riding a
bike or driving a car. They have the freedom to live in rural or urban
environments and still get to work. True, we can hire drivers. So could our
sighted friends. The difference is that for us it's a necessity. For them
it's not, and so again this does not feel like a mere nuisance.
Even the most well-trained blind person is not above everyday challenges:
the guide dog user who may need to argue to be let into a restaurant, the
student who may need to insist that their exam be offered in an accessible
format, the job applicant who may have to persuade the employer to look past
his blindness, etc. I would never argue that these things can't be
conquered. Remember my whole tangent on not blaming the economy for
unemployment? Yet, I am not immune to the reality that blindness poses a
number of inconveniences my sighted peers do not have to face on their road
to success.
The NFB philosophy does an excellent job of motivating us to adjust to the
world rather than expecting the world to adjust to us. It makes for a
vigorous resolution amongst our own company, but then we hit the real world
and discover reality has not quite caught up to our battle cry.
It is true that our sighted friends have their own need for training. You
mention sighted people need education and financial resources, but then, so
do blind people. We can add education and money to everything else we have
to do to overcome the everyday challenges of being blind. The fact that we
should take your excellent suggestion and eradicate those scenarios where
training and opportunities are denied us only proves the point that
blindness presents its own set of obstacles we must eliminate before we can
succeed elsewhere, for surely it should never be enough to say we are
successful because we are independent. Independence, in my opinion, is only
a means to an end.
I liked how Dr. Jernigan put it: "We the blind must neither cop out by
selling ourselves short with self-pity and myths of tragic deprivation, nor
lie to ourselves by denying the existence of a problem."
I totally agree with you that we should not blame blindness nor congratulate
ourselves for overcoming it. However, I think we as a collective group will
need to exercise the NFB philosophy in the context of real-world issues
successful blind people face day in and day out. I'm glad, for example, that
blind people working the federal contract circuit will theoretically make
more money with the hikes in minimum wage. If minimum wage is what someone
considers success, more power to them, but to the person who wants more, we
should acknowledge the obstacles for what they are and face them head on.
Joe
--
Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
Visit my blog:
http://joeorozco.com/blog
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
Silverman
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 11:24 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of successful
blind people
Hi all,
The oft-quoted NFB mantra is that "with proper training and opportunity,
blindness can be reduced to a mere nuisance". The "with proper training and
opportunity" caveat is huge and, I think, under-appreciated. Some folks
think the NFB is saying that blindness is a mere nuisance for everyone, but
that's not true; it's only a nuisance for those with training and
opportunity or in situations where opportunity is present. The real problem
is that too many of us still lack either proper training, sufficient
opportunity, or both. If all of us had training and opportunity, blindness
simply would no longer be a problem for our success. I know in my life, in
areas where I have had proper training and opportunity, blindness is a
non-issue.
In other areas where I haven't been given good skills or where others deny
me opportunity, blindness becomes an obstacle. So instead of blaming
blindness for our problems or praising ourselves and others for "overcoming"
blindness, we really should be seeking training and opportunity and calling
attention to situations where it is denied us.
Keep in mind, too, that sighted people also require training and opportunity
to be successful. The sighted person who lacks education or financial
resources is still at a disadvantage in our society. So it's not about
blindness as much as it is about the fact that blind people are still placed
in a marginalized position where training and opportunity are lacking.
Arielle
On 3/27/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> This is a great discussion folks; I'm loving it. I'm seeing on hear
> that some people are saying to have a great work ethic, and work twice as
hard.
> My theory is to Have a great work ethic, and work smart. Work smart,
> not hard. Proper application of effort/force. I work hard in spurts,
> and do so when necessary. Twice as hard burns you out. To deny the
> blindness is a factor and is irrelevant is to like Joe said, deny the
> unemployment rate.
> If it is irrelevant, to you, then why are you on the list? It is what
> it is guys. I never said that you have to have or do any one thing,
> but if you do
> what your sighted counterparts around you do, you will usually find
> yourself lost in the shuffle. I've trained blind people for years in
> computers and in customer service. I've seen this time and time again.
> You just have to have a little more than simple hard work;
> unfortunately, like most minorities, you just have to raise your
> level. Remember, your sighted counterparts are also in many cases
> subscribing to the hard work theory.
> When I was most of you guys' age, I would have given anything to have
> someone tell me that, and to show me how to blend my skills. Don't
> get caught up on semantics and precise definitions; I am not going to
> define them for you. And if you want to find outliers and arguments
> to refute my claim, then so be it; please do so, knock yourself out.
> I don't care. I am only speaking from my observations, and my own
> experiences. One more thing.
> I read Joe's blog; it's great. Make sure that you love and have a passion
> for what you do, and no what it is you want to do. That burning desire
is
> a kindled flame that will burn when all else seems to fail and if
> tended properly, will carry you through.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Joe
> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 9:12 PM
> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of
> successful blind people
>
> Phil,
>
> A successful blind person looks, acts, and communicates like me. Isn't
> that obvious?
>
> But, kidding aside, I want to give you a different perspective from
> the people whining about how it is unfair to make blindness a factor
> in success.
> Apparently some of us believe that success is success and blindness is
> irrelevant, but to deny that blindness is a factor is to deny the
> reality that more than 70% of our blind peers are unemployed. To a
> degree, overcoming blindness is success onto itself, and if you can't
> succeed there, a person's likelihood of succeeding anywhere else is
> slim. Is the person willing to advocate for themselves? Are they
> willing to work twice as hard to achieve tasks their sighted peers can
> complete sometimes in half the time? Are they honest enough with
> themselves to tell if they possess sufficient daily living,
> technology, and communication skills to succeed at life, let alone the
> workplace? It may be true that our sighted peers may need to ponder
> some of these points, but not with the same necessity or to the same
> depth as the blind person who has to be extra competitive to beat
> sighted applicants.
>
> At some point over the past several years I stopped subscribing to the
> NFB notion that blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance.
> Were that true, I believe we would have seen better progress where
> blind people are concerned. Blindness presents certain unique
> challenges a person must regularly overcome to excel. Yes, building up
> confidence makes the process easier, but I don't know that we have
> reached a point in our evolution of independence that blindness is
> irrelevant, and certainly not so minimal as to be labeled a minor
inconvenience.
>
> Now, as to success across the board, blind or sighted, I think
> pursuing your own passions is a key ingredient. I wrote a blog post on
> the subject, which you can read at the link below:
>
> http://joeorozco.com/blog_are_you_living_someone_elses_dream
>
> --
> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>
> Visit my blog:
> http://joeorozco.com/blog
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Phil
> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 6:29 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: [nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of successful
> blind people
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm working on a research paper, and would like to hear what you think.
> Obviously there are external factors such as accessibility barriers,
> social and attitudinal barriers and so on that affect a blind person's
> likelihood of success in life. But if we focus on personal
> characteristics for a moment, what do you think are some personal
> characteristics that can help a blind person succeed, or ask in a
> different way, what characteristics and behavior traits do successful
> blind people around you exhibit? And what makes you cite these traits?
> For example, some have rightly pointed out that a sense of curiosity
> and exploration is key, both curiosity to explore one's physical
> surrounding, intellectual curiosity to explore different subjects and
> career possibilities, and so on. Others have also pointed out having
> the courage to be different is important as a blind person.
> What else do you think are important characteristics or behavior traits?
> Hope to hear lots of diverse views on this.
> Thanks!
>
> Best,
> Phil
>
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