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

Wed Apr 14 18:19:31 UTC 2021

Hello,

I had to read your article a few times through before composing an adequate response. While I understand your focus on providing a “realist’s” view, it seems like you are coming from a place of denunciation and stigmatization. As a young blind woman doing the best I can with the cards I’ve been dealt, I took the criticism in your article personally. It is incorrect to assume that all blind people are in the same position and that we all are at fault for challenges that we encounter. I agree with you that we are competing in a sighted world and that braille and JAWS are incredibly important tools, but those skills take time to learn. Everybody has a different story and although blindness is not what holds us back, in reality, sometimes it slows us down.

In response to your thoughts on blind people in the workplace, we can’t focus on what should or shouldn’t be, we can only work from the current situation. The NFB isn’t an accurate sample of the blind population in the US, and so the percentage of us that focus on improving life for those in our community (vocational rehab, TVIs, or leaders in blindness organizations) is going to be skewed. The vast majority of my blind peers study something unrelated to blindness. I am in IT, one of my best friends is studying environmental science, a classmate is studying neurology, and I know people in and outside of the NFB in everything from law to sports administration to engineering. It is easy to go about life without meeting another blind person outside of a blindness organization, but we’re there. I promise.

Lastly, I want to address your comment about college being much easier now than it ever has been. I had to laugh this one off before it made my blood boil. College isn’t a walk in the park. College is more like running a marathon through a park that’s on fire while being chased by wolves. And doing that blind will never be easy.

I appreciate your time and your willingness to share your thoughts. I’d love to continue the conversation.

Thank you,

Emily Kiehl
University of Cincinnati | 2023
Information Technology - Networking
National Association of Blind Students - Ohio
813-394-2720

________________________________
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> on behalf of Joe Orozco via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 5:02 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Joe Orozco <jsoro824 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] Preparing Blind People for the Rest of Reality

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/

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