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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=4>It is truly inspirational</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>What a beautifully written piece</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>We will use it on our senior division call</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=njtechdiv@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:njtechdiv@nfbnet.org">Tony Santiago via NJTechDiv</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Monday, May 03, 2021 6:23 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=NJTechDiv@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:NJTechDiv@nfbnet.org">NJTechDiv@nfbnet.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=ts12865@yahoo.com
href="mailto:ts12865@yahoo.com">Tony
Santiago</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [NJTechDiv] Blind pride, had to
share.</DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri, sans-serif; MARGIN: 0in">Some
of
you may have already heard or read this, but I thought it so good I had to
share. Enjoy.</P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri, sans-serif; MARGIN:
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri, sans-serif; MARGIN: 0in"><SPAN
lang=EN-IE>Why I am proud to be blind<BR><BR>written by Jonathan
Mosen<BR><BR>I
often mention on my Mosen At Large podcast that I am proud to be <BR>blind.
Recently, I was challenged by a listener and asked how I can <BR>possibly be
proud of having a serious, debilitating condition.<BR>I am glad to say that
disability pride, and blind pride as a subset of <BR>that, is on the rise.
Yet
it is an incomprehensible concept to some.<BR>I keep a gratitude journal,
where
I write at least 10 things every day <BR>for which I am grateful. So it was
easy
for me to consult that journal, <BR>where I have often written of things
relating to blindness for which I <BR>am grateful and write this piece on
why I
am proud to be blind. You can <BR>hear the audio of this in Mosen At Large
episode 119, but here is the <BR>text of what I said.<BR>I am profoundly
proud
to be blind. I am proud of the fact that as a kid, <BR>when my older
siblings
would have been found out for reading at night, I <BR>read in the dark as
much
as I liked, a Braille book tucked under the <BR>covers on winter
nights.<BR>I am
proud to be blind, because it connects me with a proud history. I <BR>share
a
characteristic with a man who gave us the priceless gift of <BR>functional,
efficient literacy. Louis Braille was an example of “nothing <BR>about us
without us” in the 19th century, long before we used that <BR>phrase. His
genius
invention was derided by sighted people who were <BR>certain they knew what
was
best for us. He was ridiculed. His code was <BR>driven underground and his
books
were burned. But he prevailed, because <BR>he was blind. He devised his code
for
himself, he gave it, at <BR>considerable personal cost, to all of us.<BR>I
am
proud to be blind, because of all the other blind people who <BR>followed in
Louis Braille’s footsteps, blind people innovating and <BR>inventing for our
collective advancement, imagining a better future and <BR>making it real.
Whether it be Larry Skutchan with his methodical mind <BR>and interminable
patience, or Ted Henter with his zeal and <BR>entrepreneurship, or David
Costution and Glen Gordon who believed that <BR>Windows could be truly
useable
and then made it come true, or the blind <BR>people now working on the
inside of
mainstream companies who are our <BR>champions, we dreamed it, we created
it.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because blind people are the reason the 33
RPM
<BR>record was developed, initially so talking books could be distributed
<BR>more efficiently.<BR>And speaking of talking books, I am proud to be
blind,
because blind <BR>people are the reason talking books exist. Now, sighted
people
are using <BR>them too.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because the original
reading
machine was created <BR>for us. We started the journey of digitising printed
text that resulted <BR>in the scanners that are still commonplace in offices
today.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because long before the term PDA was in
the
<BR>lexicon of sighted people, we were taking notes, keeping track of
<BR>appointments and reading books on devices like Keynotes and
<BR>Braille’n’Speaks.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because we were one of the
reasons computers <BR>started to talk. Technology is better because of blind
people. There are <BR>so many examples of technology when we, proudly, have
been
the blind who <BR>led the sighted.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because I am
not
influenced by someone’s <BR>physical appearance, but instead gain
information
from the tone of a <BR>voice and the words that are said.<BR>I am proud to
be
blind, because it has made me a more lateral thinker, <BR>developing and
refining alternative techniques to access a wide range of <BR>information so
I
can thrive in a largely sight-dependent world.<BR>I am proud to be blind,
because even though my other senses aren’t <BR>sharper than anyone else’s,
in
fact I have a dual sensory loss, like <BR>many blind people I use them well.
It
makes me smile when I can tell <BR>what type of audio processor is being
used on
a radio station, or when <BR>another blind person can tell the kind of car
that’s passing by simply <BR>by the sound it’s making, or when a blind
person
gives another blind <BR>person an instruction like, “when your cane hits a
pole
on my street <BR>that emits a fifth octave A-Flat, you’re outside my
house”.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because of the legacy of great blind
civil
<BR>rights leaders around the world. Often ostracised and branded radical
<BR>troublemakers, they confronted, and are still confronting today, the
<BR>tyranny of low expectations and the disabling decisions society has
<BR>chosen to make. They challenged the damaging, fundamentally flawed
<BR>notion that we had neither the ability nor the right to achieve
<BR>self-determination, that it wasn’t necessary for society to be
<BR>accessible, or inclusive, or accepting. Their belief in a fairer
<BR>tomorrow unshackled us from institutions and shattered disempowering
<BR>paternalism. Their tenacity has seen the increasing availability of
<BR>better training, much of it driven by blind people ourselves, and
<BR>increased opportunity through civil rights legislation.<BR>I am proud to
be
blind, because as a subset of the world’s largest <BR>minority, disabled
people,
blind people led the way in the disability <BR>movement, securing
legislative
victories long before they were common <BR>for much of the rest of the
sector. I
am grateful every day of my life <BR>for those blind people who took on
those
difficult causes, displayed <BR>tenacity and stated their cases again, and
again, and again until <BR>progress was slowly but surely made. I am proud
of
the personal <BR>responsibility I feel as a blind person to always cherish
and
defend, <BR>never take for granted, and constantly build upon the legacy of
civil <BR>rights victories that I have inherited and benefited from. I am
mindful <BR>that they must not be squandered, and I am proud to stand up, be
<BR>counted, and do my moral duty to advance that legacy so that the next
<BR>generation has even more opportunity than I have had.<BR>I am proud to
be
blind, because it has shaped who I am, it is part of my <BR>identity and it
has
helped define me. I accept that. I embrace that.<BR>I am proud to be blind,
because in being blind I contribute to the rich <BR>tapestry and the
diversity
of humankind.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because no matter how many negative
signals are <BR>sent, I know that being blind makes me no less a person of
worth.<BR>I am proud to be blind, because the opposite of pride is shame,
and my
<BR>blindness is nothing to be ashamed of.<BR>I am proud to be blind, and
therefore share a characteristic with <BR>talented people from all walks of
life. Blind people are parents, <BR>devoted, loving parents, some of whom
have
had their babies literally <BR>snatched from their loving arms, an atrocity
no
capable and loving <BR>parent should endure, and all for no other reason
than
people getting it <BR>horribly wrong about blindness. I am proud that we as
blind people show <BR>those parents love, solidarity, and a steadfast
determination to get <BR>those children back where they belong.<BR>Blind
people
are in factories and farms, law practices and legislatures, <BR>sandwich
shops
and start-ups. I am proud of the blind teachers, software <BR>developers,
businesspeople, mechanics, transcribers, musicians and even <BR>medical
doctors.
There is very little we can’t do and there are few <BR>professions where you
can’t find a blind person, often to many people’s <BR>surprise. The only
trouble
is, the world doesn’t necessarily know that. <BR>And that’s the biggest
reason I
am proud to be blind. Because every day, <BR>just by getting on with my
life, I
defy the odds in a disabling society, <BR>we defy expectations where there
is
little disability confidence. When <BR>people tell us we can’t, we show them
yes, we can. It can be exhausting <BR>sometimes. We may get knocked down,
and
sometimes we may feel like we’re <BR>out for the count. But eventually, most
of
us get up again. We apply for <BR>that one more job. We work around that
inaccessible website. We keep <BR>calm and carry on when we’re treated like
a
helpless child in the <BR>street, or when walking into a store, or when yet
another ride share <BR>driver declines to take our guide dog. That takes
guts,
it takes <BR>tenacity. The odds are stacked against us, but we march on, we
make
<BR>progress. Go us!<BR>Yes, I am proud, proud, a thousand times proud to be
blind.<BR>Share and enjoy<BR><BR><A style="COLOR: rgb(37,37,255)"
href="https://mosen.org/BlindPride/"
target=_blank>https://mosen.org/BlindPride/</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<DIV dir=ltr>Tony Santiago
<DIV>Sent from my iPhone</DIV></DIV>
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