[Nebraska-students] Philosophical Terminology

[Amy Mason]

As to the discussion of the kids at the skating rink, blind would have been
a more useful term.  When it comes to the KNFB mobile, I think it was a
matter of what sub-division of the blind would be assisted.  A totally blind
person would have very little use for a magnification function, so it was
actually geared toward those who often self-identify as visually-impaired.
In that context, at least, Visually impaired is an appropriate descriptor,
and far less a mouthful than the NFB-appropriate alternative, blind with
some remaining vision.

Amy

On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 12:42 PM, KD Rieken <kdlachanteuse at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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> >
> >
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