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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Hello Rajiv. I will not chastise you for your comments. However, I would like to comment on something specific you said below.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>You said, “</span><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Finally, the perfunctory rubber-stamp votes at conventions where everyone simply says "yay," to approve resolutions without any accurate count.</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I respectfully disagree with this statement. While it is true that when resolutions are voted on, if there is an overwhelming majority based on yay vs nay, the resolution passes. However, when it is not clear, it ends up going to a delegate vote. In fact, this tends to happen every year for at least one resolution. One of my more memorable ones took place in 2022, in New Orleans. The title and link of the resolution is: 2022-06 - Regarding Audio Description and Text-To-Speech <a href="https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2022-resolutions#06">https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2022-resolutions#06</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>This resolution was not decided by an uncounted voice vote. Because it wasn’t clear if it passed or not, brief discussions for and against were allowed, followed by a delegate vote. Ultimately, the resolution passed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>--<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Raul Gallegos</span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>National </span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Association of Guide Dog Users<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>(</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>346) 439-7444 • </span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><a href="mailto:rgallegos@nagdu.org"><span style='color:#467886'>rgallegos@nagdu</span><span style='color:#467886'>.org</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/df04fbdd43ea5830/Documents/www.nfb.org"><span class=MsoSmartlink>www.n</span><span class=MsoSmartlink>fb.org</span></a> </span><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>• </span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/df04fbdd43ea5830/Documents/www.nagdu.org"><span class=MsoSmartlink>www.</span><span class=MsoSmartlink>nagdu.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><a href="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/nagdu.org_7eopjofhnd4968m46rcmgrck0s%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics"><span style='color:#467886'>Subscribe to the NAGDU public calendar</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><a href="https://facebook.com/groups/nagdu"><span style='color:#467886'>Facebook Group</span></a> </span><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>•</span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'> <a href="https://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org"><span style='color:#467886'>Email list</span></a> </span><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>•</span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'> <a href="https://nfb.social/@GuideDogUsers"><span style='color:#467886'>Mastodon</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>“</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>You can l</span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>ive the life you want. </span><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>Blindness is not what holds you back.</span><span style='font-family:"Sans Serif Collection",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual'>”<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Rajiv Shah <rmshah@starpower.net> <br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, June 19, 2024 8:28 PM<br><b>To:</b> NFB Talk Mailing List <nfb-talk@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> Raul Gallegos - NAGDU <rgallegos@nagdu.org>; donbarrett1234 <donbarrett1234@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NFB-Talk] Partial Vision Interest Groups?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Hello,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>I will probably be chastised by this forum for speaking my mind, but, after seeing some of these viewpoints, I am afraid I cannot stay silent.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>When I first joined the NFB in the mid 90s, I did feel the sense of this condescending attitude that others have hinted. Frankly, it started with the cane I was carrying vs. the standard one carried by NFB party members. People said that I was behind compared to others. Behind in what? Behind in my lack of arrogance? Then the notion that blindness is a mere physical inconvenience. While this sort of philosophy does, indeed, instill confidence, it hardly leans on practicality. Finally, the perfunctory rubber-stamp votes at conventions where everyone simply says "yay," to approve resolutions without any accurate count. What that smacks of is the memable NFB adage that "We walk alone but march together." I would add that we simply march together, and have forgotten anything about being able to walk alone, with any modicum of independent thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Rajiv<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div></body></html>