[nabs-l] First Class Citizenship

Tue Apr 12 22:59:30 UTC 2016

I would suggest that first class citizenship is more elusive   than we give it credit. if one might define first class citizenship as being treated like everyone else all of the time in all situations than I think we might all agree that hardly anyone is treated as such.
 If someone was to treat me not as a blind person but as a African American male, then maybe I might not face discrimination and prejudice based upon blindness but I might  face it based upon my  ethnicity.
 I may never be treated as a person who’s blindness nor heritage are truly considered as pieces of the entirety of me, but what then? I wonder if then there is truly such a thing as first class  citizenship? 

 Then again, is it a matter of carving out our  own place in society by simply  living our lives  and  doing what we can do to succeed?  Even then will we be recognized as  beautifully complicated and fallible people? Or will we    always be considered the  “blind” person?  , the people who’s humanity is far too often obscured by the odd technology we use, and the  cane or dog we travel with??
 how many of our friends or family would  introduce or describe us  and without thinking elect  to use the word”blind as  a part of that sentence?  "      ?

 Julie  brought an element of philosophy into  this discussion, and I think it important to bring a little  more in. 
 I think that it is clear we all face the limiting attitudes and low expectations that are a part of being blind and working/living with people who aren’t blind. 

  If there is a such  thing as first class citizenship and we as blind people are going to realize it, I think that it’s on all of us to take an active role in some form or fashion in  moving us collectively  towards this place which we feel we have the right to occupy.  For me,  I believe that the National fEderation of the Blind is  that  vehicle that gets us there and we as the blind people who everyday see what  we see and know what we know have the power  to fuel that     vehicle.

 Many people might find reason to stop us from  achieving the goals we have for ourselves, both individually and collectively., These same people will ultimately  in some way, shape or form try to  place their fears and ignorance on us.
 The fact is that their success in doing so depends on how much we will allow their beliefs to get in the way of the bright future we say we want. If we are willing to turn  barriers that keep us out into door that we confidently walk through, then we will see more and more of  those who doubted us come to understand what we have known all along of the truth about blindness.

 If we take the time out of our busy schedules to educate, encourage and care for each other as we  explore what blindness and living the life we want means to each of us individually, then we help the whole of our blind population move forward.  After all, it is not enough that just some of us or even a great many of us  gain a truly positive philosophy of blindness and foundation  of blindness skills.  We all need to have an access to a knowledge  and understanding of these things.  Then maybe we then can possess  the   full rights and full responsibilities that come with the   first class    citizenship status we want.           

> On Apr 12, 2016, at 1:47 PM, Julie McGinnity via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> According to Jernigan, we would only find that we are first class
> citizens when we are anonymous in society.  I can look up the speech
> if any of you are interested.
> 
> I am prepared to tell you that we are not anonymous as blind people,
> but I am not yet able to say that society is against us and leave it
> at that.  A lack of
> education leads the public to treat us less than respectfully upon
> occasion.  But let's take a moment to consider how those
> attitudes arose.  Misunderstanding, lack of education certainly, but I
> believe they also come from a fear of the unknown.  And don't we share
> that very fear when we encounter someone who is different from
> ourselves?
> 
> After all, we're not the only ones who are not anonymous in society.
> Jernigan's definition may not even be accurate in explaining why blind
> people could be considered second class citizens.  I believe that
> unfortunately for Mr. Jernigan, blind people will never be anonymous.
> My dog and I will always receive open stares from the public, whether
> or not I see them.  You and I will stil be second guessed upon
> occasion about taking on some risk or challenge because we are blind,
> and you know, it could be harder for us.
> 
> We can't blend into a crowd or disappear at a big university. But
> maybe we can show our sighted peers the normalcy of blindness.  Part
> of my job is performing technology demonstrations.  When I present on
> Jaws, I focus in on my everyday use of a screen reader.  To the
> sighted observer, the screen reader is an alien voice that reads
> impossibly fast and never speaks the part of the screen where the
> mouse is pointing; however, to us the screen reader equals how we use
> the computer.  By the end of my presentations, they usually
> understand.  It's a beautiful process.
> 
> One more thing...  Last week at my university there was an
> accessibility fair.  A chapter member and I sat outside and Brailled
> names.  I had my Braille Note and iPhone at the ready to show people
> how I could use the Bluetooth to read and write texts.  One of my
> colleagues came up to get her name Brailled, but we spent most of the
> time chatting because she had already seen Braille and my chatty tech.
> This stuff was familiar to her.
> 
> So...  For what it's worth, I don't believe that we are always second
> class citizens.  We cannot expect to be treated as though we are, and
> that is part of our trap.  Enough people jump at us before thinking
> and allow their miseducation to guide them when interacting with us,
> and we react to that by expecting these attitudes.  Do we sometimes
> feel like second class citizens?  Yes, undoubtedly we all have felt
> that way.  But does that mean we should accept that status? No, not
> for a second.  We may not be anonymous, but we are most certainly
> human beings, messy and complicated like everyone else.  And our goal
> shouldn't be to disappear but to carve out our place as a unique, yet
> normal, demographic of society.
> 
> Just some thoughts...  :)
> 
> 
> On 4/12/16, Munawar Bijani via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>> This Email is very well written; you articulated an important point
>> eloquently. We cannot expect change if we refuse to change ourselves.
>> Many of us tend to find excuses or start blaming the system for what is
>> wrong with our respective situations, when in reality the problem could
>> be ourselves for not trying hard enough or whining about how unfair the
>> world is.
>> 
>> We have to jump through hoops because society's expectations of us is
>> very low. There is no changing this fact. As blind people we have to be
>> ready to jump through whatever hoops we need to so that we may prove a
>> point. If we sit back and whine about how things ought to be, we will
>> never get anywhere. Just because we have to work a little harder than
>> our sighted counterparts does not mean we are second-class citizens; it
>> only means we have an avenue for achieving equality by working harder,
>> so we must take it.
>> 
>> On 4/12/2016 12:00 PM, Christina Moore via nabs-l wrote:
>>> No group in society has every achieved the equality they have without
>>> putting in a lot of effort themselves.
>>> As a population we need to show the world that we can be successful.
>>> The more of us that go against perceptions of our abilities the closer
>>> we get to this status.
>>> Personally, I believe we do have equal access as others in this
>>> country.  Yes, we have barriers but we can choose to face them or let
>>> them define us.
>>> We have to meet each other halfway.  We cannot expect the rest of
>>> society to do all of the work.  At first we may have to do more than
>>> them but this has been the case throughout history.
>>> God Bless,
>>> Christina
>>> 
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Darian Smith via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Date sent: Tue, 12 Apr 2016 08:51:46 -0700
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] First Class Citizenship
>>> 
>>> How do we secure this  level of citizenship for ourselves?
>>> On Apr 12, 2016, at 5:37 AM, justin williams via nabs-l
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> The same as our counterparts who are nondisabled.  I shouldn't half to
>>> jump
>>> through more hoops to prove anything.
>>> Justin
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Darian Smith
>>> via nabs-l
>>> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2016 6:21 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] First Class Citizenship
>>> 
>>> Do you believe  that there is more then a right that we should demand? Do
>>> you think there is a responsibility we have as well?
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>> 
>> 
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>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Julie A. McGinnity
> President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
> Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
> "For we walk by faith, not by sight"
> 2 Cor. 7
> 
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