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

[Beth Taurasi]

I could have been more involvd in the Denver chapter, but I feel 
completely drowned out by the voices of professionals, blind parents, 
etc.  Brent Batron, for instance, and his wife, Ina, got a paper article 
written about them and their kids.  Kids!  They got kids and a decent 
life together.  The headline was amazing, and I am not complaining that 
they shouldn't have such a thing, but because they are both what I call 
"vanilla" blind, they were able to get jobs and such.  I as a someone 
with multiple disabilities, probably PTSD as a result of parental 
misconduct and some forms of abuse and chemical restraint and attempted 
brainwashing about my capabilities, am not welcome to the elite ranks of 
the NFB or ACB.  Sorry.
Beth

On 3/30/2014 4:53 PM, Ashley Bramlett wrote:
> Beth,
> Oh my goodness, I don't know where you had this experience. But, I'd 
> have to say that we have people with other disabilities in our local 
> chapters.
> I don't think your perception is accurate of NFB totally. NFB has many 
> diverse members. However, I think your individual experience with a 
> particular chapter may make you characterize it this way. I can see 
> why those with multiple disabilities may feel unwelcome in some 
> chapters, yet, I see nothing in our constitution or philosophy 
> precluding those with mental disabilities from joining.
>
> Ashley
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Beth Taurasi
> Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2014 3:03 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Success and Why I Left the NFB
>
> 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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