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

Mon Mar 31 00:39:22 UTC 2014

I think it could improve by way of electing said people to a vice 
presidential or presidential position without thinking that oh, they're 
psychotic or oh, this person's not what WE want as the NFB standard or 
whatever.  I am not popular and don't get opportunities to lead a group, 
and was told by my own parents that I'm not capable of leading a group. 
How wrong is this!  I may end up leading a family if that is true, and 
the only way the perception of mentally ill and blind people can change 
is that if we just plain stop shunning them.  I will soon be writing 
about the trials and successes and questions about such things in my 
blog, I have a new wordpress blog so you all can check it out. :)
Beth

On 3/30/2014 1:44 PM, Anjelina wrote:
> Beth, how do you think this could improved? I know increased understanding and acceptance or mental illness can go a long way, but in the organization itself.
> Sadly society is still working toward accepting mental health issues as they do heart disease or diabetes.
>
>
> -Anjelina
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Mar 30, 2014, at 3:03 PM, Beth Taurasi <denverqueen1107 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> Because of the mental health issues I've experienced, the NFB has shunned me, and any division having to do with blind/mental illness folks has been shunned by the NFB.  I'm sorry, but that sounds weird to me that anyone would shun another person in the disabled community.
>> Beth
>>> On 3/30/2014 11:53 AM, Juanita Herrera wrote:
>>> Hello Joe,
>>> I strongly agree with you. I once held a leadership position in the NFB. However, due to health issues I was unable to continue holding that position, so I found myself having to give it up. Since then maybe one or two people have kept in touch with me. That brought me to the realization that this particular organization only wants people when that person has something to offer. If a person is unable to contribute, it seems like those people are pushed to the side or forgotten. Just as you stated, I feel that I have fallen through the cracks. In my opinion, if an organization wants to keep its members active and it's membership growing, then they should continue to reach out to their members even when those members are unable to contribute because maybe at a later time they'll be able to do so again. However, being that I have fallen through the cracks I don't know if I'll be able to do that again. I sort of feel rejected by my own community. Sorry for the long rant but these have been my feelings for a while now.
>>> Juanita
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>> On Mar 30, 2014, at 9:25 AM, "Joe" <jsoro620 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> 2006 was the last year I attended a national convention. While there I was
>>>> caught up in the ra ra of the movement and felt glad to be in the company of
>>>> so many people who could relate to the challenges that awaited me as a
>>>> recent college graduate. I left convention, finished up my summer as a
>>>> counselor in Iowa, and set off for DC to begin my business with the real
>>>> world. I would never take away someone's enthusiasm from attending a
>>>> national convention or Washington Seminar or one of the weekend leadership
>>>> seminars in Baltimore. They are very well-suited to boost a person's spirit,
>>>> but I believe too many people fall through the cracks when faced with
>>>> reality outside of those infrequent gatherings.
>>>>
>>>> To be fair, the organization is no different from any other nonprofit
>>>> business. It needs money to sustain itself, and in turn it needs more
>>>> members to help raise the money. Still, I found it rather disappointing that
>>>> so much of the board meeting I tuned into listen to last summer was
>>>> dominated by calls to raise money for this fund or that effort. I found it
>>>> even sadder that a recent issue of the Braille Monitor, our monthly dose of
>>>> inspiration, featured several articles just to the focus of generating more
>>>> ways to drum up more financial support, but perhaps the most frustrating
>>>> byproduct of this new NFB are the e-mails from so-called friends from whom I
>>>> have not heard in years but boldly ask me to contribute to their NFB
>>>> fundraising campaigns.
>>>>
>>>> In short, at some point the NFB embraced enterprise and forgot about the
>>>> movement. Between 2006 and 2012 I went on to help lead development efforts
>>>> for other nonprofits outside of the blindness field, also national in scope.
>>>> They too made fundraising a priority, but it never felt like the top, or the
>>>> only, priority. It gets tiresome when we focus on recruiting new blood and
>>>> raising new money and forget about strengthening the members and resources
>>>> we've already had.
>>>>
>>>> Nowadays I have the privilege of knowing some excellent blind professionals.
>>>> I think they would do well in the NFB. They are smarter than I ever will be
>>>> and have accomplished more than I may ever achieve, but they shun the
>>>> organization because they were turned away or because they were never
>>>> welcomed in the first place. It's something I should have kept in mind when
>>>> I had my brief taste of leadership in the organization. I had too much of a
>>>> mouth on me to ever be anyone's golden child, but I was reliable enough to
>>>> get the job done. But, getting the job done should have really meant
>>>> attracting and pulling in these men and women who could have made the NFB
>>>> lots better, listening to new ideas, and most important, remaining true to
>>>> the cause and not some multi-million-dollar institute we find ourselves
>>>> incapable of sustaining.
>>>>
>>>> So, what does any of this have to do with the original post? I don't want it
>>>> to ever be said I was a hypocrite. The leadership may as well know what I
>>>> think of them, but more importantly, to the college kids on the verge of
>>>> spreading their own wings, I want you to know the NFB banner will only guide
>>>> your way so far. Take what's great about the organization and leave the
>>>> political drama and marketing ploys behind. In the end it will be your own
>>>> wits and talents that will earn your pay check. The NFB will never give you
>>>> anything new. The philosophy merely helps you uncover what you always had to
>>>> be successful. Anything could happen with the new NFB president, and I will
>>>> be the first to retract my words if he is brave enough to reverse this
>>>> downward spiral. You see, we no longer live in a world where the NFB is
>>>> necessary for collective momentum. Technology has seen to that. Whether or
>>>> not the movement sticks around largely depends on how badly we want it to
>>>> exist.
>>>>
>>>> Is the ACB doing it any better? That's debatable, but you know what I've
>>>> found from the people I've met on that side of the house? They seem happier,
>>>> and that's something we can't seem to figure out in our camp. The few
>>>> victories they celebrate they do with even less money. Let that be a lesson
>>>> in financial management to you.
>>>>
>>>> I don't know what the hell I'm doing back here. I told myself I would never
>>>> become one of those bitter former NFB members. My only goal was to provide
>>>> different perspectives to the new generation of leaders coming up through
>>>> the ranks. After all, if you never taste the real world, you have no
>>>> business leading. That's like the teacher who teaches because they couldn't
>>>> cut it, and believe it or not, I want to see more and more of you excel at
>>>> whatever it is you want to do. The more of you there are, the greater our
>>>> strength.
>>>>
>>>> Moving forward I reckon I'll keep my opinions to myself here lest I be the
>>>> rotten apple that spoils the bunch, but in some lame attempt to answer the
>>>> original question, my answer would be this:
>>>>
>>>> The characteristics of a successful blind person are humility to consume
>>>> what they need to be successful, fortitude to turn away what will not, and
>>>> wisdom to recognize the difference.
>>>>
>>>> Joe
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>>>>
>>>> Visit my blog:
>>>> http://joeorozco.com/blog
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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