[NABS-L] Preparing Blind People for the Rest of Reality

[Joe Orozco]

Hi,

Considering I wrote the post below with this list audience in mind, it
makes sense to share it here. I'll reiterate these are just personal
opinions, not an authority by any means.--Joe

There’s never been a better time to be blind, or so I’ve heard. And I
have to ask: How low have we dropped the bar?

I was recently chatting with a friend. I forget exactly how the
subject came up, but we found ourselves discussing blind people and
entry level jobs. I expressed frustration at the blindness consumer
groups for not doing a better job of partnering with national chains
to employ blind people.

If the unemployment rate among the blind persists deep into double
digits, why would we not fight to change the landscape?

The number of jobs that ask for a high school education or jobs that
do not require formal education to fulfill are growing at the slowest
rate compared to other trends. Blind people should be prepared for the
inevitability of automation, but in the meantime, it does not seem
reasonable that blind people should be kept out of the jobs in retail,
hospitality, and recreation so common to Americans as early as
adolescence.

In 2021, Amazons announcement to make more opportunities available for
the blind should not have been newsworthy. It should have been
commonplace. Why are we not demanding more companies follow Amazon’s
example of opening their industry to blind workers? It’s fine for
diversity campaigns to be inclusive of all genders, ethnicities, age,
and religions, but if companies are not stretching themselves to
accommodate disabilities, they are still blocking the doorway to
equality.

And then my friend said something that stopped my rant in its tracks.
She said that maybe it was because blind people were not ready for
those jobs...

I’ve prepared a few thoughts on the steps the up and coming generation
of blind individuals should follow as they prepare to meet the real
world. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do claim to be
successful. These are just one guy’s personal opinions, and hey, if
you disagree, you know where to leave your comments.

You can read the entire post here:

https://joeorozco.com/preparing-blind-people-for-the-rest-of-reality/