[NFBNJ] NFB: National Federation of the Blind Comments on Foundation Fighting Blindness #HowEyeSeeIt Campaign

[Brian Mackey]

Greetings to all!

 

I have received the following from Danielle Trevino, Membership Engagement
Coordinator at the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore.

I have asked Brian to paste the information from the two blogs at the end of
this email.

Listen to President Riccobono's comments as he supplied a Youtube on this
subject.

There is a link to assist you to make a video.

 

Thanks.

Joe Ruffalo, President

NFBNJ

973 743 0075

nfbnj1 at verizon.net <mailto:nfbnj1 at verizon.net> 

www.nfbnj.org <http://www.nfbnj.org> 

 

 **

 

National Federation of the Blind Comments on Foundation Fighting Blindness
#HowEyeSeeIt Campaign

 

Hi Everyone: 

I just wanted to share President Riccobono's blog posts about the campaign
to give you some more context about the steps we've taken and how we can all
participate. His first post gives a fantastic overview of how we need to
challenge the fear of blindness.
https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/challenging-fear-blindness

His second blog gives quick tips on how to continue to push back.
https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/dont-participate-dont-donate-educate-national
-federation-blind-and-howeyeseeit
He also recorded his own video about the campaign; you can find it on
YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ8HS3YztSM

If you'd like to make a video of your own, but don't know how to get
started, we've got you covered with this blog post about shooting selfie
videos.

 https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/shooting-selfie-videos

Remember that making a video is not the only way you can help. If you're on
social media, you can like and share posts by others and if you'd like to
contact the FFb directly, you can send an email to howeyeseeit at blindness.org
<mailto:howeyeseeit at blindness.org> .
Let's join President Riccobono in challenging the fear of blindness.

Danielle Trevino

 

***

 

Challenging the Fear of Blindness

Submitted by mriccobono on Sat, 09/17/2016 - 10:21 

Blog Date: 

Saturday, September 17, 2016

By Mark Riccobono

In my
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/banquet-speech-2016.html>
banquet address at this year's national convention, I talked about fear and
how "if we resolve ourselves to face our fears, respect the power within
those fears, and turn that power into action, we can take control of our own
destiny, diminish the negative fears of others, and raise our expectations."
I also outlined the ways that the conditioned fear of blindness is used as a
tool to generate funding, sell unnecessary products, and limit the rights of
blind people. A new campaign has been launched that plays to the conditioned
fear of blindness, and I am calling on blind people to push back on this
harmful campaign by telling the world about blindness through social media.

 

There is a social media campaign using the hashtag #HowEyeSeeIt. The people
using this hashtag are making videos of themselves attempting to do everyday
tasks under blindfold with the misguided view that this experience will help
them know what it is like to be blind. The motivation for the campaign is to
raise funding to eliminate blindness. We in the National Federation of the
Blind know that blindness doesn't hold us back. We also know that living
with blindness requires learning the techniques blind people use to do
everyday tasks without vision. We are not opposed to medical research, but
the way to generate interest in medical research is not by further spreading
the fear of blindness and strengthening misconceptions about the lived
experience of blind people.

 

The current videos being circulated with the #HowEyeSeeIt campaign are
perpetuating the idea that blindness is something to be feared and that
blind people adhere to low expectations. Some of the tasks people are
encouraged to do in this campaign are having a friend give them an
unidentified amount of cash and then, under blindfold, attempting to pay for
a meal with this money. Another particularly outrageous example is people
are asked to attempt to take care of your child for one minute while
blindfolded. At a time when we have launched new efforts for blind parents
who have their children taken away because of misconceptions about
blindness, this is dangerous and offensive. These examples and the dozens of
others used in the campaign rely on the notion that vision is a requirement
for success but we know the truth-blindness does not define us or our
future.

 

I urge you to join me in changing the perception that blindness is scary and
that we are limited by this characteristic. Now is the time to turn our fear
into power and that power into action. We have the opportunity to change
what it means to be blind in a commanding way. All you have to do is:

1.    Make a video of yourself accomplishing an everyday task as a blind
person. For example, show how you dance, sing, exercise, care for your
children, go to school or work, play sports, manage your finances, travel,
participate in social events, enjoy your hobbies-in short, take a video of
yourself living the life you want.

2.    At the end of your video, say that you're a proud member of the
National Federation of the Blind, and tag three friends or family members to
keep the trend going. You can also urge your audience to make a donation to
the NFB.

3.    Upload your video to social media using the hashtag #HowEyeSeeIt. Make
sure to link to our website,  <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org, and tag the
NFB in your tweet, Facebook, or Instagram post. If the people you mentioned
in your video are on social media, be sure to tag them too. You can find us
on Twitter at @NFB_Voice, on Facebook by searching "National Federation of
the Blind," and on Instagram at NFB_Voice.

Together, we can show the world that blindness is not what holds us back by
demonstrating how we live the lives we want. Please be sure to share with me
other ideas you have about how we take this opportunity to demonstrate the
truth about blindness. Send me an email with your ideas to
<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> officeofthepresident at nfb.org.

 

***

 


Don't Participate. Don't Donate. Educate. The National Federation of the
Blind and #HowEyeSeeIt


Submitted by mriccobono on Tue, 09/27/2016 - 11:40 

Blog Date: 

Tuesday, September 27, 2016


 


 

Members and leaders of the National Federation of the Blind from across the
nation do a fantastic job of countering low expectations, misconceptions,
and stereotypes about blindness.  We believe the #HowEyeSeeIt Blindfold
Challenge being promoted by the Foundation Fighting Blindness unnecessarily
perpetuates negative perceptions and fears about living with blindness. If
you haven't taken action yet, or want to let others know how to counteract
this harmful fundraising campaign, here are three quick tips:

1. Don't participate. Putting on a blindfold for a few minutes is not the
way to learn about blindness and blind people. This does not demonstrate the
reality of what it is like to live successfully and independently as a blind
person. Do not participate in the #HowEyeSeeIt Blindfold Challenge.

2. Don't donate. The National Federation of the Blind generally supports
medical research on eye conditions, but spreading fears and misconceptions
about blindness is not the right way to fund this research. New treatments
or cures may or may not be available in the future, but the one thing we
know for sure is that perpetuating fear about being blind jeopardizes the
dreams and aspirations of blind people living successfully and independently
today. The Foundation Fighting Blindness must understand that this approach
is unacceptable, and does not portray the lived experience of blind people;
there must be consequences. Don't donate to the Foundation Fighting
Blindness until it stops spreading unfounded fears regarding blindness and
blind people.

3. Educate. Blind people, along with our family members, friends, and
supporters, please post photos and, preferably, short videos with the
#HowEyeSeeIt hashtag showing how blind people perform various tasks and live
the lives they want. If you're blind, take a few minutes to make a video of
yourself preparing a meal, cleaning the house, or playing with your
children. Here are some          tips for shooting a video.
<https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/shooting-selfie-videos>  If you're sighted,
help a blind friend or family member make a video, or make one yourself in
which you talk about what you have learned from the blind people you know
and how they are living the lives they want.

 

It's really that simple: don't participate in the #HowEyeSeeIt Blindfold
Challenge or donate to the FFB. Instead, educate the public on how blind
people live the lives we want.

 

 

Forwarded by:

 

Brian A. Mackey

Brian A. Mackey
Owner, Mackey Enterprises, LLC
Treasurer & Webmaster, National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
609-953-6988
 <mailto:Bmackey88 at gmail.com> Bmackey88 at gmail.com
 <http://www.mackeyenterprisesllc.com/> www.mackeyenterprisesllc.com

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make
those dreams come true"
      -Vince Papale

 

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