[NFBF-Melbourne] FW: Book Club Meeting Notice

Wed Mar 25 13:46:54 UTC 2020

For your information. 

Camille 

From: ctate2076 at att.net <ctate2076 at att.net> 
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2020 9:45 AM
To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List' <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>;
nfbf-leaders at nfbnet.org
Cc: ctate2076 at att.net
Subject: FW: Book Club Meeting Notice 

Just a friendly reminder that the Book Club is meeting on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Camille 

From: ctate2076 at att.net <ctate2076 at att.net> 
Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2020 9:41 AM
To: nfbf-leaders at nfbnet.org; 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
<nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: ctate2076 at att.net
Subject: Book Club Meeting Notice 

Hi All: 

The Book Club will be meeting on Thursday, March 26, at 8 p.m. President
Valkema posted a Braille Monitor article that generated some discussion on
our list and we would like to continue the conversation in Book Club. The
article by Gary Wunder and the link to it is pasted below. The call-in
information is: 

Call-in number: 712 775 7031

Access Code: 938047311 

Mobile users: 7127757031,,,938047311# 

Let's continue the discussion! Come and join us! 

Warmly,

Camille  

https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm20/bm2003/bm200306.htm

Live the Life You Want: A Choice or a Prescription for Being an Elite Blind
Person

by Gary Wunder

<https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm20/bm2003/gary-wunder2018.
jpg> When I was asked to be a part of coming up with branding messages and
we selected "Live the Life You Want," I was keenly aware that anything we
chose would perpetuate the questions folks on the outside have always had
about us: Is the Federation's goal to help blind people travel their own
path, or is it the Federation telling blind folks how to live? I knew that
the way people perceived a message was everything and feared that if it took
much explaining, it wouldn't be the right tagline. My concern didn't spring
from some innate ability to predict the future but from living through some
of our past.

I clearly remember other messages that tried to briefly speak to our mission
and work-nowadays called an elevator speech. If you only get the time it
takes to go from floor three to four, can you briefly explain what this
organization that means so much to you does and why others might want to
help further its goals?

"We are Changing What It Means to be Blind" was a phrase I liked very much.
It was on the lips of many of my generation in the movement. But the problem
with it was that too many people thought we were pledging to change visual
acuity, and it took too much time to explain that it was social change that
filled our agenda. Then there was "It is Respectable to be Blind," the
reaction to the fact that some didn't believe that people perceived as
broken could ever garner true acceptance and respect. But some folks
objected to this one because they thought we were saying that the mere
presence of blindness in one's life conveyed respectability. They agreed
that being blind didn't preclude being respectable but neither did it convey
respectability 
The criticism of our tagline isn't the five words "Live the Life You Want."
It is the suspicion that what we really mean is that blind people are to
live their lives in such a way that they become the elite blind, the people
who go further than anyone expects, the people who are admired by all
because of their undeniable intellect, motivation, and accomplishment. To
some extent I understand the concern and the way that some have elevated it
to a criticism. Every civil rights organization pushes its people to go
beyond where they are. All of us believe that many of the things that keep
us from being all we can be are socially constructed barriers. But beyond
this, most people involved in civil rights also believe that part of the
problem we face comes from buying the societal expectations that do so much
to limit us. So yes, there is upward pressure to do more and be more, but no
organization encouraging the advancement of a class is free from this
expectation.

For me our tagline asks each of us to exercise some faith: faith that we
will help when one of us encounters problems in living the life they want,
and faith that each of us can dare to dream and dare to act on those dreams.
Not every dream will come true, and not every dream is meant to. As a
youngster I dreamed of being an astronaut, and that hasn't happened. But
many of my generation shared that dream, and only a small number achieved
it. Blindness certainly precluded me from flying in space, but so too did a
number of things: the few positions there were to be had, the training that
was required, and even the height and weight requirements that were and
probably still are a part of the program. 

Nobody in the Federation has ever questioned what I have wanted or done in
my life except a dear friend who once told me that before writing a book
about myself, I'd first need to do something worth writing about. My
Federation colleagues, friends, and family have asked me to be honest in
distinguishing between real accomplishments and the faint praise I can
easily get by being blind. They have asked that I look at the things I have
in my life and try to see that others have it at least as good, and they
have allowed me to participate in something I believe makes that possible. 

At least from my perspective as the editor of this publication, I welcome
articles from people whose aspirations and achievements vary widely. If you
volunteer for an organization that values your work and gives you
satisfaction, write us. If you work a job that pays at or slightly above
minimum wage and you have a story to tell about how you do it as a blind
person, write us. If there is something you do in lieu of paid employment
and there are good reasons why you don't pursue something that pays, tell us
about it. If you have tried and failed and there may be a way we can help or
benefit from your experience, together let's put that out for public
discussion and concerted action.

Please don't assume that because you don't see articles about people like
you, it is because we actively discourage them or outright turn them down. I
believe we mean what we say in our tagline and that we find value in anyone
brave enough to dream, brave enough to try, and brave enough to share their
story with blind people who share in common this pledge of helping each
blind person live the life they want

Sincerely, 

Camille Tate 

President, Melbourne Space Coast Chapter, National Federation of the Blind,
FL 

Board of Directors, National Federation of the Blind, FL 

Email: ctate2076 at att.net <mailto:ctate2076 at att.net>  

Phone: 321 372 4899 

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