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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV>As someone who has some light perception in my left eye, I have actually
been accused of faking my blindness. People automatically assume that you
are totally blind if you say you are blind. For practical purposes I’m
almost there, but I still identify as blind, because there is no way I’m
anywhere near being a high partial. And my right eye is a prosthetic eye
anyway. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">Mark Tardif
<BR>Nuclear arms will not hold you. </DIV>
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style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=nfbf-l@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">Sherri Brun via NFBF-L</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 18, 2020 4:57 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=nfbf-l@nfbnet.org href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">'NFB
of Florida Internet Mailing List'</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=flmom2006@gmail.com
href="mailto:flmom2006@gmail.com">Sherri Brun</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NFBF-L] Why I Identify as Blind When I Can (Kinda) See
| by Lisa Ferris | Medium</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
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style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Hi Judy.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>We are all at different levels—different skill levels,
different ways we have come to terms with our blindness. We just have to
keep moving forward. I admire you so much!<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Sherri<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p> </P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-TOP: #e1e1e1 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in">
<P class=MsoNormal><B>From:</B> NFBF-L <nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org> <B>On
Behalf Of </B>Judith Hamilton via NFBF-L<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 18,
2020 4:31 PM<BR><B>To:</B> NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List
<nfbf-l@nfbnet.org><BR><B>Cc:</B> Judith Hamilton
<hamilton.j.r.2309@gmail.com><BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NFBF-L] Why I
Identify as Blind When I Can (Kinda) See | by Lisa Ferris |
Medium<o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p> </P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>I can relate to this. I have spent most of my life "sitting
on the fence" Never feeling like I fit in the fully "sighted group" due to
the vision I don't have; nor the totally blind group because I do have some
vision with magnification. I have been confronted by strangers who would say
"You're not blind". Our society puts a lot of emphasis, possibly too much, on
appearance. Now that I am in Act 3 of my life, I have come to terms with these
issues by connecting with my NFB family and learning tools to put in my box so
that the struggle is not so tough. It does not go away, but it is less. I am
still progressing.<o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>Respectfully,<o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>Judy Hamilton<o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p> </P>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>On Sun, Oct 18, 2020 at 3:29 PM Ryan Mann via NFBF-L <<A
href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</A>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>i agree. Even though I have a little bit of vision, I tell
people that I am blind. <o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p> </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>Get <A href="https://aka.ms/o0ukef" target=_blank>Outlook
for iOS</A><o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>
<HR align=center SIZE=2 width="98%">
</DIV>
<DIV id=gmail-m_-582859881038268992divRplyFwdMsg>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"> NFBF-L <<A href="mailto:nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org</A>> on behalf of PLipovsky via
NFBF-L <<A href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</A>><BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 18,
2020 3:15:49 PM<BR><B>To:</B> 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List' <<A
href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</A>><BR><B>Cc:</B> PLipovsky <<A
href="mailto:plipovsky@cfl.rr.com"
target=_blank>plipovsky@cfl.rr.com</A>><BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NFBF-L] Why
I Identify as Blind When I Can (Kinda) See | by Lisa Ferris | Medium</SPAN>
<o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P><SPAN
style='FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial",sans-serif'>Agreed.</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P><SPAN
style='FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial",sans-serif'> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P><SPAN
style='FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial",sans-serif'> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P><SPAN
style='FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial",sans-serif'> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<DIV
style="BORDER-TOP: #e1e1e1 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in">
<P><B>From:</B> NFBF-L <<A href="mailto:nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org</A>> <B>On Behalf Of </B>DENISE
VALKEMA via NFBF-L<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 18, 2020 2:59
PM<BR><B>To:</B> NFBF <<A href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</A>>; NFBF <<A
href="mailto:nfbf-leaders@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>nfbf-leaders@nfbnet.org</A>><BR><B>Cc:</B> DENISE VALKEMA
<<A href="mailto:valkemadenise@aol.com"
target=_blank>valkemadenise@aol.com</A>><BR><B>Subject:</B> [NFBF-L] Why I
Identify as Blind When I Can (Kinda) See | by Lisa Ferris |
Medium<o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV>
<P> <o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P>Kimberly shared this with FPOBC on Facebook. I relate. What are your
thoughts? <o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P> <o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>“If you can only read with 20X magnification, you are going to read with
incredible effort and incredibly slowly, as compared to the blind people
reading braille at 200–300+ wpm. If you are afraid to go out at night because
you are night blind, you are going to be more impaired than someone who can
use their cane and go anywhere, anytime. If you struggle to find your way
around your computer with only 1/9th of the monitor visable (through
magnification) you are going to be more strained and tired, and less efficient
than blind people who learned to use voice synthesized computer programs. The
skills of blindness (basically, non visual methods of doing things) are almost
always much more efficient than those that maximize vision, which cause
strain, fatigue and can be unreliable. I think most people with some vision
use maximizing strategies sometimes, but they gain the most function if they
have a full bag of tricks. By not considering those with limited vision as
blind, they weren’t considered for blindness skills training. It robbed them
of the strategies that would make them almost fully funtional in a sighted
world.”<o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P> <o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<P><A
href="https://medium.com/@lisaferris/why-i-identify-as-blind-when-i-can-kinda-see-2df3f6af5a0c"
target=_blank>https://medium.com/@lisaferris/why-i-identify-as-blind-when-i-can-kinda-see-2df3f6af5a0c</A><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<P><BR>Together, <o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<P>Denise Valkema, President <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt">National
Federation of the Blind of Florida </SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<P>(305)972-8529<o:p></o:p></P>
<DIV>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt"><A href="mailto:president@nfbflorida.org"
target=_blank>president@nfbflorida.org</A></SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt"><A href="http://www.nfbflorida.org"
target=_blank>www.nfbflorida.org</A></SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt">Follow us
@nfbflorida</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt">You can live the life you
want.</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they
want.<o:p></o:p></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________<BR>NFBF-L
mailing list<BR><A href="mailto:NFBF-L@nfbnet.org"
target=_blank>NFBF-L@nfbnet.org</A><BR><A
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NFBF-L:<BR><A
href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/hamilton.j.r.2309%40gmail.com"
target=_blank>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/hamilton.j.r.2309%40gmail.com</A><o:p></o:p></P></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
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