[Nfbc-info] blind Idol contestant

[Brian Buhrow]

	hello.  I don't mean to be a rotten egg, but I'm troubled by the trend
I see on this list of discounting the accomplishments of our fellow blind
citizens.  Recently we had the discussion of the blind judge in Michigan
who was elected to the top court of the state and how his techniques
couldn't possibly be working for him as well as they should be.  I noted in
my contribution to that discussion that he contributed 1.8 million dollars
of his own money to his campaign.  I don't know about anyone else on this
list, but if a blind guy is working for a living and he has 1.8 million
dollars to contribute to his own campaign, I'd say he's doing something
right and we just don't have all the details.  

	Now, we have this discussion starting with the American Idol
competitor.  I don't know who this guy is, nor do I know how good or bad he
is at his craft.  What I do know is that he has a right to compete for a
spot on the show and if he's good enough to get on for a while, that's
great!  

	I encourage everyone on this list to re-listen to or re-read Dr.
Jernigan's speeches: The Nature of Independence (1993) and Blindness: The
Pattern of Freedom (1985).  None of us, blind or sighted, is good at
everything we try.  Nor is it the case that we use the tools available to
us in the most efficient way possible all the time or, in some cases, even
some of the time.  There are plenty of nay sayers who would have us blind
folks sitting at home in our rocking chairs listening to the radio.  As a
group, we shouldn't be doing that.  We should be encouraging our fellow
blind to get out and try new stuff, compete in mainstream competitions and
otherwise try to live the lives they want.   If they're  having trouble
doing it or if they are creating more stereotypes in the process, we should
figure out how to reach out and see if they're willing to consider doing
what they're doing in a different manner.

	Let's figure out how to encourage and educate those of us who are out
there reaching for the brass ring rather than opining that they're not
doing it right or with the best attitude known to the community.  If this
knew American Idol contestant, who happens to be blind, is good, he should
win.  If not, then he shouldn't.  In any case, he should feel free to
compete and we should encourage him to do it no matter how we feel about
his actual musical talent.  then, we should get to know him and help assure
that he feels good about trying new things going forward and learning
blindness skills along the way.

	Ok, that's enough soap boxing.  Except that I've included the links to
the referenced speeches, below.

-thanks
-Brian



 The Nature of Independence (Dallas, 1993)
https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/convent/addres93.htm
(Audio): https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Audio/BanqSpeech/The_Nature_of_Independence.mp3

 Blindness: The Pattern of Freedom (Louisville, 1985)
https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/convent/banque85.htm
(Audio): https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Audio/BanqSpeech/BSP-1985.mp3