[Nfbc-info] Hating the NFB

Serena Olsen starbellyserena at gmail.com
Sun Feb 8 05:53:38 UTC 2009


California Federationists and students,

I came across the following videos on You Tube and at the risk of
bringing up something I missed the first time, I thought it important
enough to forward to TABS and the Texas affiliate president, but I
post it here too, as there are undoubtedly many lessons for us to
consider in how we interact with people and how it affects their
perceptions about blindness, blind people, and the NFB.  It is the
rant of an angry young college girl somewhere in Texas, and I hope
there is a Federationist nearby that can connect with her personally
and clear up some of her gross misperceptions!

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2KbTBRC3UY
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFEYGASy-Xg

I sent the following email to Jose, Jesse, and Tommy Craig. I hope
someone is able to connect with this girl and that this discussion
thread can serve as a sounding board to throw around ideas about how
to approach people like these, change their misconceptions, and bring
them into the organization.

Thanks,
Serena

Hi all,

At the risk of bringing up something that I missed the first time, I
happened on these You Tube videos and am disturbed to say the least.
The video is in 2 parts and I've posted the links below. It is nearly
a year old and hundreds of people have watched it. This girl is a
college student somewhere in Texas, so I wanted to bring this to your
attention--I think she could use a little outreach. To start, she's
pretty angry, which makes it hard to take seriously, but she also has
many facts about the NFB and people in general dead wrong and it would
be a mistake to dismiss her. She accuses the NFB of "spewing shit,"
though I doubt she'd admit she was a pot calling a kettle black (It's
ok for her, but not us, right?). Sounds like if she cleared up her
misconceptions and saw the NFB for what it really is, she'd fit right
in with the Federation...she's got some training, uses AT and mobility
aids, and reads some Braille (we all know the cane and Braille can be
huge stumbling blocks for partials...I didn't think I needed them at
her age, so she's got a leg up on where I was at her age). Yes, the
public is very ignorant about
blindness and blind people, she simply hasn't embraced the idea that
she can do anything about it, but she has a great "can-do" attitude in
terms of her own needs...if you can't do it the sighted way, find
another way. She may have a fierce hatred for the NFB, but imagine
how horrified she'd be to discover that her beliefs actually fit with
the NFB!

But I digress, are any of you familiar with this video or this girl,
and if someone hasn't already, can we find out where she is and where
her nearest Federationist is?!

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2KbTBRC3UY

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFEYGASy-Xg

Thanks!

-- 
Serena Olsen, MAIPS
NFBC Monterey, president

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