[nagdu] The membership has spoken, and I am disappointed

[Applebutter Hill]

Buddy,
It is a puzzlement. You would think that advocating for ownership would
strike most of us as consistent with the NFB's mission. I wonder what's
really behind the no votes, Are people afraid that their school won't assist
them or support them if they  have behavior/training/legal issues? Are they
concerned that, without the schools having some measure of authority over
the team, the authority for abused dogs will fall to the local
municipalities who will be reluctant to prosecute a "poor blind person?" The
PETA crowd doesn't believe in ownership at all. Perhaps it's a matter of
priority, and people want NAGDU energies spent on different matters
altogether. Well, like others have said, the debate continues.
Donna & Hunter
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan via
nagdu
Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2015 4:31 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Buddy Brannan
Subject: [nagdu] The membership has spoken, and I am disappointed

So the resolution re: guide dog ownership and the NFB's support of
advocating for the schools to change of ownership just failed to pass. I'm
amazed. I'm disappointed. I'm frankly puzzled. How is it that we believe
policies saying it's OK for guide dog schools to retain ownership, and this
apparently does not connote low expectations for blind people, when such a
position in any other context would never stand?

One thing that the folks who spoke in favor failed to mention, though I
guess it wouldn't have helped, was this. Even if schools aren't routinely in
the business of repossessing dogs without due process, the point is that
they shouldn't have the ability to do so. It's great that it's never
happened to most of us. It's fantastic that you feel as though you own your
dog in every way that matters. But some day, the way things are now, this
may not be the case, and we want to protect against that. After all, yes, we
are essentially being given an expensive gift. Let's just for the sake of
argument say that this is the case, though I know that there would be
argument on that point. The point is, if the schools deem a student worthy
of this gift, they should feel confident enough in this decision to give it
without such reservations. If they do not, maybe they need better screening
processes.

I'm just flabbergasted.


--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name





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