[Nebraska-students] Philosophical Terminology

[KD Rieken]

That raises a very valid point. Why do such publications include both
phrases? "Blind and visually impaired?" Is it directed toward those who are
struggling with their concepts of blindness so they don't feel excluded, or
is it something that's so ingrained in our society that it's hard to get
away from? Thoughts?
Kayde

On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 9:35 PM, KD Rieken <kdlachanteuse at gmail.com> wrote:

> While I agree that one of the goals of the NFB is to veer away from such
> terms, another goal is recruiting and spreading the message. If a random,
> partially-blind person on Facebook came across a group that said nothing
> about "visually impaired" or "low vision" people, a likely response would
> be, "Well, that's not for me, I'm not blind, I have low vision." So by
> putting these terms out there, we increase the likelihood of recruitment,
> then start to educate about terms of blindness and what they mean. That's
> the only reason I can think of. Anyone else have thoughts?
> Kayde
>
> On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 1:48 AM, Karen Anderson <kea_anderson at cox.net>wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>>
>>            I was looking around on facebook and noticed several new groups
>> for students affiliated with the NFB. And I must say, several of them look
>> really interesting. However, I have one concern. Since joining the
>> federation it has been my understanding that we encourage everyone,
>> whether
>> they are a high partial or totally blind, to consider themselves blind.
>> Our
>> taglines are things like, "Changing what it means to be blind," and "Voice
>> of the Nation's Blind." Yet more and more frequently I find other terms
>> showing up in our literature. The term "visually impaired," is used in the
>> group descriptions for both The NFB Café and Blind 411. I believe one of
>> our
>> greatest strengths, one of the things that sets us apart from other
>> organizations, has always been that we do not divide people into
>> categories
>> based on how much vision they have. We believe that those with no vision
>> at
>> all can be just as successful as the highest partial. It seems to me that
>> using terminology such as "visually impaired," and "low vision," changes
>> that, and I fail to see what good can come from that division.
>>
>>            I am extremely interested to see what the list, and
>> particularly
>> the members of the NABS board, have to say about this issue.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Karen
>>
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>
>