[NABS-L] Federation Philosophy and Reproductive Rights

[Cricket X. Bidleman]

Hi Aaron,

I believe the intent of the article was not to discuss pro-choice vs.
pro-life, but to discuss how Federation philosophy relates to
abortion. Abortion itself is already a controversial topic, and
actually I think the whole article is fairly controversial. It's a
truism to say that not everything is black and white, but some people
genuinely feel that knowledge of a baby being born blind is cursing
them to a deprived life. While I don't support this at all, I respect
the perspective. As a survivor, I appreciate that something like this
was written, and I hope people go into further research on it.

Also, I think it would be much easier in future if, when you're
referencing another person's email, you could summarize their point
instead of putting the whole quote. This is assuming that the email
chain is included beneath your email.

I'm not sure that I understand your point about training centers.
Would you mind clarifying? I don't want to respond to the wrong thing.

As to the last thing, you reference tax credits, and adaptations that
we have to make to society and vice versa. Random tax credits just for
being blind or disabled don't make much sense. However, as with the
ATAA, there are clear excess expenses that we face as blind people,
such as with assistive technology. These are expenses we have to cover
in order to remain afloat and to even have a chance at competitive
employment, that sighted people do not incur. Due to this, it would
make sense to have a tax credit to help mitigate the costs. This is
not the same as a tax credit just for being blind. I'm co-writing an
article that you might find interesting that relates to this. It's
true that we have to adapt to society and vice versa. Braille door
signage is an accessibility accommodation. We deserve it, or we can't
even have that equal access. NFB and ACB are both huge organizations,
so I'm sure there will be some member out there who believes in every
variation of everything. Each individual's standpoints should never be
taken as representative of the whole organization.

I'm happy to talk further. You have my number. Please refrain from
publicizing it on the list, and from providing it to people without my
knowledge. Thanks.

Aloha,
Cricket

-- 
Cricket X. Bidleman (she/her/hers)
Stanford University | Class of 2021
BA Candidate | Communications
Accessibility Consultant | Stanford University Computer Science
Director of Communications | Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU)
President | California Association of Blind Students (CABS)


On 3/2/21, Blind allday via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Justen,
>
> What I meant when I said
>
> “I think you were trying to be controversial but at the same time not be
> controversial.”
>
> It starts with the intro of your article from the editor.
>
> “Here is what he has to say about the controversial subject of reproductive
> rights and issues we should consider as Federations:”
>
> The issue in your article isn’t if people are prolife or pro-choice which is
> where the controversial part comes in. You didn’t say how you feel either
> way. The only thing that comes close to touching the subject is when you
> said
>
> “I personally know many people who were born blind, and I can say with
> certainty that my life is better because they are in it. If they had been
> sacrificed, euthanized, aborted, or whatever someone would call it, I would
> not have been able to benefit from the positive contributions that they have
> brought into my life.”
>
> The part of you not trying to be controversial is the main point of your
> article which is not women should have the choice to make whatever decision
> they want but can’t independently because everything is inaccessible and
> Societal attitudes about blindness get in the way, which I believe that most
> people would not disagree with that. Those two main factors prohibiting
> women to independently make whatever decision they want. Not which decision
> they should choose but the decision to independently choose.
>
> To your point when you said
>
> “One common idea in NFB philosophy, so far as I understand it, is that it is
> counterproductive to have special discounts for the blind for services that
> everyone may access. For example: transit fares. In the US, you can often
> find some kind of discounted fare on a bus or train if you have a
> disability, but even someone as wealthy as Jim Givens, a blind guy who
> happens to be CEO of Goodwill Industries International, a very wealthy
> conglomerate of subminimum wage sheltered workshops, can go to an Amtrak
> (train) counter, and get a discounted fare just because he is blind. I doubt
> he takes Amtrak because he makes so much money as the Goodwill CEO, but he
> could. The system is not set up for poor people to be able to get a
> discounted Amtrak fare; it is about blindness. This kind of program can
> contribute to a perpetuation of negative attitudes about blindness. This
> kind of logic, in my opinion, would likely be applied to any kind of
> healthcare to basically say that blind people shouldn't be given a special
> blind discount for healthcare, but if there are healthcare programs for
> low-income people, those should be equally accessible for us.”
>
> The analogy I am going to make is a little different but why does the NFB
> want special departments to service the blind inside or beside the main
> vocational departments across the country? They’re sending the message that
> blind people are different from other people with disability’s based solely
> on blindness.
>
> Imagine Jim Givens being denied acceptance to LCB, CCB or Blind INC because
> he is rich and can afford to be carried everywhere if he wanted to as a way
> of travel and could pay people to do everything for him.  I doubt he would
> do this, and I doubt the LCB, CCB and blind INC would deny   his acceptance,
> but it is good to know and to have those three centers for everyone in place
> if ever needed.
>
> To your last point
>
> “The NFB has also spoken up about taking away the waiting period for folks
> approved for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration
> to get their first checks and to get their healthcare plans that come with
> that.”
>
> This is a great thing but it’s counterintuitive do we want help because of
> our blindness or don’t we? I remember reading that people inside the NFB
> didn’t want a tax credit because it was a handout. They also didn’t want
> braille on hotel doors. The NFB and ACB philosophy are both right and wrong.
> Society has to adapt to us, and we have to adapt to society to an extent.
> Blindness is both a characteristic and handicap.
>
> It’s Aaron Espinoza. Blind All Day is to pay homage to my obsession to all
> things related to blindness.
>
> Blind247365
>
>
>> On Mar 2, 2021, at 1:29 PM, Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hello Blind Allday,
>>
>> I'm not sure who you are, but it's good to meet you. It kind of reminds me
>> of how, growing up in a small town where everyone knows everyone, we would
>> often wonder who it was in the Santa suit or dressed up at the haunted
>> house.
>>
>> I don't exactly know how someone would try "to be controversial but at the
>> same time not be controversial."
>>
>> I think it's great that the Royal National Institute for the Blind is
>> working on an accessible pregnancy test. I am really coming to appreciate
>> the job they've done with the Pen Friend 3. I wonder if mainstream testing
>> technology can be made available and affordable in a way that gives a
>> clear, unambiguous result that is also nonvisually accessible. It may help
>> everyone, not just the blind.
>>
>> Since I'm not sure if you live in the US, I figure it might help to give
>> the context that there are already programs to help give reproductive
>> healthcare to low-income people. A big one here is called Planned
>> Parenthood. We could work to help make sure that these services are
>> accessible to the blind, especially since many of us are low income.
>>
>> One common idea in NFB philosophy, so far as I understand it, is that it
>> is counterproductive to have special discounts for the blind for services
>> that everyone may access. For example: transit fares. In the US, you can
>> often find some kind of discounted fare on a bus or train if you have a
>> disability, but even someone as wealthy as Jim Givens, a blind guy who
>> happens to be CEO of Goodwill Industries International, a very wealthy
>> conglomerate of subminimum wage sheltered workshops, can go to an Amtrak
>> (train) counter and get a discounted fare just because he is blind. I
>> doubt he takes Amtrak because he makes so much money as the Goodwill CEO,
>> but he could. The system is not set up for poor people to be able to get a
>> discounted Amtrak fare; it is about blindness. This kind of program can
>> contribute to a perpetuation of negative attitudes about blindness. This
>> kind of logic, in my opinion, would likely be applied to any kind of
>> healthcare to basically say that blind people shouldn't be given a special
>> blind discount for healthcare, but if there are healthcare programs for
>> low income people, those should be equally accessible for us.
>>
>> The NFB has also spoken up about taking away the waiting period for folks
>> approved for disability benefits through the Social Security
>> Administration to get their first checks and to get their healthcare plans
>> that come with that. In this case, it appears that we are supporting the
>> existence and availability of healthcare to anyone who qualifies as
>> someone with a disability, which includes us. This is a little bit broader
>> than just equal access, it's also about making sure that we can get the
>> healthcare we need through this disability-related, income-restricted
>> program. At some point, in the words of Dr. Jernigan, we need to find
>> enough food to keep body and soul together.
>>
>> Hope that helps!
>>
>> Justin
>>
>>
>> Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury
>> he/him/his
>>
>> Phone: 808.797.8606
>> Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu
>> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury
>> ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury
>>
>>
>> “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate
>> the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who
>> feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”
>>
>> Cesar Chavez
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Blind allday <blind247365 at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2021 3:06 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>
>> Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Federation Philosophy and Reproductive Rights
>>
>> Hello Justin, A couple things about your article.It's mostly about women
>> facing accessibility barriers, which is true. I believe the RNIB is
>> working on an accessible pregnancy test.
>> Can you explain  why you believe in the following    "Blindness should not
>> prevent someone from having the same access to reproductive healthcare
>> that would be available to their sighted counterpart. If sighted women can
>> access the online healthcare information system, blind women should have
>> equal access. If sighted patients can fill out the paperwork privately,
>> blind patients should be able to do the same. For affordability, I am not
>> sure that we should offer a disability discount, but there are funding
>> mechanisms to help low-income patients receive care, and they are
>> disproportionately used by blind patients; thus, we may have an incentive
>> to support those funding mechanisms because of their disproportionate
>> impact on our community. Any access barrier related to blindness should be
>> toppled."  Especially about you not believing in a disability discount but
>> supporting a general discount.  The rest of your article is just preaching
>> to the choir about blind people being equals  and having the same rights
>> as anyone else which is true. I think you were trying to be controversial
>> but at the same time not be controversial.
>>
>>> On Mar 2, 2021, at 10:09 AM, Justin Salisbury via NABS-L
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi everyone,
>>>
>>> I want to share with everyone a piece that I was fortunate enough to
>>> publish in the March issue of the Braille Monitor. I am hopeful that it
>>> will lead to meaningful reflection and discussion. Don't feel like you
>>> cannot disagree with me, but, if you do, please explain why in a way that
>>> will not scare off someone who might be brand new to our mailing list.
>>>
>>> Some of us may have heard people say something like "I am a member of the
>>> National Federation of the Blind; therefore, I am 100 percent pro-life,"
>>> or "I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind; therefore, I
>>> am 100 percent pro-choice." I contend that the Federation philosophy is
>>> not inherently pro-life or pro-choice, but there are perhaps meaningful
>>> applications of our philosophy in the area of reproductive rights.
>>>
>>> Here it is:
>>>
>>> https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm21/bm2103/bm210314.htm
>>>
>>> Aloha,
>>>
>>> Justin
>>>
>>>
>>> Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury
>>> he/him/his
>>>
>>> Phone: 808.797.8606
>>> Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
>>> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury
>>> ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury
>>>
>>>
>>> "Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate
>>> the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who
>>> feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."
>>>
>>> Cesar Chavez
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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