[Nfb-editors] Purpose of a NFB publication

Sun Apr 10 14:42:39 UTC 2011

Gary, Mike, Bridgit, Chris and others:

Ya know, I look around and depending upon where I look, I do see that we've
had a positive impact upon --- parents, kids, educators, law makers, the
public in general, employers, etc. Yet, the problem of blindness is so large
and pervasive, that it just carries on with us as our society goes along.
The blind computer homies, that were once the radio freeks (A play on the
short-form of frequency), and all those signs and trappings  of old that
showed us that the blind were on the out-side looking in --- well, they are
all still with us, just in a new suit of clothing. (An older gentleman I
once met would put it like this- "It's the same old circus, just a different
set of clowns.) {Clowns in this case, are the negative guys, not us.} And in
saying this, I'm saying --- yes, our work is not done. That some of our
tools are now faster and reach out further, but it is still  mostly one of
those deals where we see most of our progress being won, on a one-by-one
basis. We are like they say, a low incidence group, our impact upon all
others is small and so change is slow. But change we are adoing. Looking
around we can see the small improvements and there is what I celebrate.
(Just my musings; we need to do what we are doing, improving where we can in
how we do it; a newsletter still has its place, and we just need to work
better some of the newer options.) 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 1:22 PM
To: 'Correspondence Committee Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Nfb-editors] Purpose of a NFB publication

Gary:

Great post as usual.  I've commented upon some of these issues in my reply
to Bridgit's post.  But some of your ponderings merit comment on their own.

In the case of the ham radio operators of which you write below, I think
that in addition to knowing they were helping people, they received kudos
and praise from other ham operators who, if truth be told, saw them as much
as miraculous freaks (I can't figure out how they do it!) as anything else.
Sadly, I don't think this has changed a lot in the world of amateur radio.
Look at the way the American Radio League and other ham organizations look
to the Courage Center handiham system to inform them what disabled amateur
radio operators need and want.  I'm not knocking Handihams.  But several of
us have gotten virtually nowhere in getting ARRL to recognize us as a
separate group with valid concerns.  For that matter, ACB Radio Amateurs
hasn't done any better in this regard than have we although they tend to be
less uncomfortable with the stereotypical mold of being alternately
miraculous or pitiable than NFB hams are.

I point this out only to opine that, as in days of yore, we, the blind, are
often rewarded for spending our days on the Internet; we are less well
thought of when we try to rock the boat for increasing accessibility and, in
my view, we have been to some degree our own worst enemy in that many young
folks expect as a matter of right that technology in and of itself will
knock down barriers -- and should be expected to do so -- and less emphasis
is placed on our being inventive and devising our own solutions to the
world's problems.  If you will, the Structured Discovery method of living,
while taught at our NFB training centers, is not quite as fashionable among
many young folks as it once was when we had little else to fall back on.

Compounding our difficulty (and here we come back to newsletters and the
Monitor) is the societal trend to be intolerant of complicated/sophisticated
messages that take more than a few sound bytes to communicate.  In other
words, like much of today's society, we are growing intolerant of skills
training or tasks that require prolonged effort, thought and determination.

The question is how to deal with this effectively, rekindling the dream in a
world where this sort of effort seems out of fashion.  About my only answer
is to *not* lower our standards and to keep doing the sort of in-depth
analysis and thinking that we are famous for; it is this that wins us many
of our battles.  Such victories are noticed and, presuming people wish to
emulate us, we can then point out to them that precision of thought and
action and determination are valuable assets to cultivate.

Has anyone come up with a rap song for the NFB Pledge yet? (grin)

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Wunder, Gary
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 12:07 PM
To: Correspondence Committee Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Nfb-editors] Purpose of a NFB publication

Hi Bridgit. One of the things I like in your note was your observation that
"We now have the opportunity to explore a future of our own making.  Jobs,
school and families are not dreams we long for, but are realities within our
reach." 

One of the questions I've been struggling with is how to start a dialogue,
probably in the Braille Monitor, about whether these are still the
widely-shared dreams of blind people. I read the statistics about our
unemployment, and in my job searches have certainly encountered
discrimination, but I can't tell you of very many Missourians who are
actively out looking for work. Neither can I tell you about many who are
employed.

In my younger days there were blind people who were smart and articulate who
simply would not tackle the challenge of going to get a job. Some of them
were amateur radio operators and spent their days doing good by taking
Western Union style messages and sending them free of charge across the
country and the world. The message might be as simple as happy birthday or
as complicated as "I'm going in for surgery tomorrow. I will let you know
how it goes. I will appreciate your prayers." Still other amateur radio
operators would connect their telephone and radio and help people talk to
loved ones. This, of course, was before the days of free long distance. 

The thing I want to focus on here was that the folks who spent most of their
time doing this substituted these volunteer tasks for employment. They were
not seeking jobs. They were getting fulfillment but from a very different
source because our society, whether through SSI, SSDI I, the Missouri blind
pension, or some other program, was perfectly willing to give them at least
a minimal level of support and didn't challenge them with the tough question
"Why aren't you employed?"

Today I think I see our young blind folks substituting the Internet for ham
radio. Maybe they are all about building websites to communicate something
special they believe they know about blindness. Some do their own radio
shows. Some make podcasts. The shows and topics seem to be all over the
place. On one podcast I follow, which is usually technical in nature, one
person put up a recording demonstrating how to change a diaper, while
another produced a podcast of his dog guide popping the bubbles that are
found in shrink wrap. Both were similar--lots of rustling plastic but not a
lot of information. I do not object to what anyone wants to do for
entertainment, but my concern is that these playtime activities are being
substituted for what I see as a major life activity and responsibility, that
being to earn a living and do these other things as time allows.

I think the question I would like to explore is whether the work ethic which
burned in so many folks of my generation still is prevalently found today.
If not, who put out the fire and how do we rekindle it? Is our safety net
frequently being used as a means of permanent support, and, if it is, is
there something we can and should do about it? 

Some folks I know claim they had to do upwards of a hundred interviews to
get their first job. Is this still true today? If so, I'm not hearing about
it. My fear is that, with all of the civil rights protections and advances
in technology, we still have a significant number of intelligent blind
people who aren't taking advantage of a world which is more receptive today
than ever it has been in the past to getting us employed and accepting us as
capable human beings in society.

I think the dream we share is worth dreaming and that what we dream of is
attainable. Are there more effective ways for us to sell this dream? If so,
how can our newsletters and our Braille Monitor help?  As I look at the most
recent issue of the students late, it is perfectly obvious to me that some
still buy the dream. The question really is how many, and are there better
ways for us to sell the dream of equality so that more young folks act on
it?

Gary

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