[nfb-talk] why is it important to join an organization of theblind?

Chris Nusbaum dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Wed Jan 18 15:36:24 UTC 2012


Mike,

Great points! I love the wise humor of Dr.  tenBroek! * Grin! I 
don't know about you, but I see either a Monitor article or a 
banquet speech coming out of this thread.

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:18:27 -0800
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] why is it important to join an 
organization of theblind?

Chris:

Before answering your question, permit me to observe that society 
today is
not as into joining organizations to solve problems as it was 
when I was
young (1960's).  and, no; I don't count Occupy Wall Street as an 
organization
as it fails to articulate a coherent program of problems and 
solutions.
(grin) with the advent of so many channels of communication, it 
is my
observation that people tend to fragment and only talk with those 
with whom
they agree -- politically and socially.  So you can expect some 
resistance to
joining organizations as the norm these days is not to be so 
inclined.  I
also think that we aren't as conscious of history and civics 
these days
(that's where NFB shines) so many people don't realize what 
organizations
have done and that banding together to petition the government 
for redress
of grievances is as American as apple pie.

That being said, I think it's pretty easy to answer the question 
"Why
Organize?" And the answer will answer many of your subquestions.  
Why
organize? Because we're a minority and minorities must advocate 
for
themselves collectively to be heard.  One might just as well ask 
why there's
a NAACP or LULAC.  While it's true that blind persons are 
diverse, we all
have the characteristic of blindness in common and as long as 
society treats
the blind differently from the sighted when it makes no sense, 
we'll need to
advocate for ourselves and this means organizing.

To me, saying that one doesn't like politics or the supposed 
bickering in
organizations or doesn't agree with either NFB or ACB is simply 
either an
excuse to do nothing or evinces an abysmal ignorance of either 
organization.

I bet most people don't realize that Jacobus tenBroek once said 
that
generally the only thing one gets by sitting on the fence is sore 
anatomy.
(grin)

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 5:37 PM
To: NFB Talk List; NFB Blind Talk list; NFB NABS list
Subject: [nfb-talk] why is it important to join an organization 
of the
blind?

Fellow Federationists,

As I have become more and more active in the blind community and 
have met
more and more blind people, I notice that a lot of blind people 
are not
affiliated with any organization of the blind, for one reason or 
another.
Some say they are put off by the political arguments between the 
NFB and
ACB; some say they don't want to be "tied" to one organization; 
some say
they don't agree with either organization's philosophy and don't 
want to
identify themselves with either organization and their 
philosophy, and there
are other reasons as well.  I try to explain to them the value of 
the
Federation in my life, and how joining an organization of the 
blind connects
you with a diverse network of resources, who can help answer 
almost any
question they would have related to blindness.  I also try to 
explain to
them that if they had any problems, being a part of an 
organization would
help them with their advocacy efforts; the more people you have 
advocating,
the more effective the advocacy is.  But they still don't want to 
be
affiliated with an organization.  So I want to get your thoughts 
on these
questions; why do you think it is important to be a member of an
organization of the blind? Of what benefit/value is an 
organization to its
members, and to blind people at large? Some people have said to 
me, "Sighted
people don't have any organizations dedicated to their concerns 
as sighted
people; why should I join an organization dedicated to 
blindness?" Still
others have said, "Don't you (Federationists) want to be equal 
with sighted
people? If so, then why do we (blind people) need to be organized 
in some
kind of organization exclusively of and for the blind and people 
associated
with the blind?" These are some interesting questions; what would 
your
responses be to those people? I look forward to hearing your 
thoughts on
this!
Thanks,

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real
problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a
blind person has the proper training and opportunity, blindness 
can be
reduced to a mere physical nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan

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