[stylist] more on this subject of Working in blindness field

Sun Feb 17 15:52:26 UTC 2013

New Braska is all kinds of awesome.  Some states are better than others.
Any field is open, but you may have to move to find it.  Aiwa is another
good state.  Leaving out the venders and customer service reps, no
disrespect to any of the people in those fields, human service or computer
programming fields followed by professors  and lawyers seem to be where
totals or braille users work.  This is by no means cut and dry, and I am not
including lo vision applicants, because the better your sight, the more
likely you will be to have a job which is outside of that block of fiends
that I just mentioned.  I've met braille users in just about every type of
career field, but keep in mind that a person who is blind does develop and
emphasize a slightly different skill set which naturally fits them better to
certain fields.  Going outside of those fields generally speaking, will
force the person to have to constantly perform at a higher level of skill
just to have a chance of success.  Of course, that is possible.  But
remember, I am making a basic statement.  Feel free to enlighten me
further.  Remember, I am saying this with the caveat  that anything is
possible, and I have met Blind teachers, mechanics, business owners who are
not venders, cabinent makers, among others.  Not all of the teachers were
teachers of the bisually impaired.  Some taught in standard classroom
formats.  I have heard of blind electricians, met travel agents, there you
go, travel agent is another field for the blind, and even read the article
on the blind doctor. I think he is somewhere in canada.  
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Robert Leslie
Newman
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2013 9:14 AM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: [stylist] more on this subject of Working in blindness field

Guys
Back when I started working for the commission for the Blind here in
Nebraska, back in the seventies, our federation had the mindset (this is a
generalization) that if you as a blind person had one of those jobs, then
you were suspect, as in you had gone over to the other side, that of the
enemy! (This was the state of relations between the progressive blind and
the rehab services.) Boy, back then, in a NFB chapter around here, you
mostly weren't encouraged to try and become an officer, because it was
feared that you would be a spy for the rehab side, and would be pushing
their (the bad guys) agenda. But --- this all changed. Here in Nebraska and
in New Mexico and maybe in some other states, the NFB got the bad agency
head folks fired and had a hand in who and what changes had to occur --- and
so the NFB philosophy got the upper hand. And then, it became respectful for
NFB members to be part of the rehab scene. (Here in the Omaha chapter we
still have one older member, like in the 80's who doesn't like seeing a
rehab professional being in a leadership position.)

Think of it, one of the larger and more active NFB Division's is the
Rehabilitation Professionals.

#2 Taking a serious look at job opportunities for the blind in blind related
professions --- count up the number of rehab agencies and/or other services
around the country and add up how many blind folks are working within them
and I bet that number is not as great as you think!!! Consider, that in
general, the not so good agencies who have low expectations are the ones
that will more than likely hire only a few token blind workers. And the
better rehab services, which are the minority in this nationwide group that
we are looking at --- sure, they may have more blind guys on staff.
(Nebraska at present has 1 blind related rehab service only. They have a
total staff at the commission that numbers around 55 and 17 are blind. All
other employed blind people work in a variety of other jobs; Nebraska is one
of the better states for employment of the blind and there are a bunch of
folks that are doing all kinds of jobs.) So watch that thought of yours,
that there are a big number of blind folks working in blind related jobs ---
for either reason of- A. That is where they are accepted. Or B. That it is
the job that the blind think of first as to what they can do.

(Just my rambling for this morning.)

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie J.
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2013 7:08 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Working in blindness field

Bridget,

Could it be that more of the state board members and generally more really
active members of the NFB are working in the blindness field because
blindness is their passion?It makes sense to me that if promoting
opportunities for blind people was your life's mission that you'd work in
that field and be more active within an organization that supported you.  I
do think all blind people have an interest in achieving true equality for
blind people. However I think for some it is their major life's work, while
for others of us it is something we do when we can around our other main
pursuits. So it makes sense to me that there would be a large number of
people within the NFB that do or want to work in the blindness field.

I've been blind for around 20 years now.  While I do know quite a few blind
people who work in the blindness field, I'd say I know a larger number who
don't.  Perhaps that's because I have never been very involved in leadership
within the NFB.  It does seem that those in leadership positions do work in
the blindness field much more frequently.  Again that makes sense to me due
to their strong interest and commitment to the cause.

Julie

On 2/17/2013 11:13 PM, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:
> Ashley,
>
> Without actual stats, we can't really debate this, but that being 
> said, I beg to differ, at least to a degree.
>
> I don't think anyone here is trying to make generalizations seeing as 
> we all are blind, but we are all speaking from our experiences and 
> personal observations.
>
> In the ten years I've been blind, which isn't long compared to some, 
> I've met more blind people working in a blindness-related field or 
> hoping to be employed in a blindness related field. For every lawyer, 
> teacher and computer programmer I've met, I've met ten who worked in a 
> job relating to blindness.
>
> There's nothing wrong with this, and most of us would agree that blind 
> people need to be working in these fields, but I also think it can 
> become a safety net for some; not all, but many.
>
> I've been to NFB conventions, and yes, there are people employed in 
> various fields, and many scholarship winners plan to, or are, pursuing 
> a myriad of career paths, but again, for every one of these people 
> I've met, I've met a dozen working in the blindness field. Or many of 
> these people end up in a blindness field despite their choice of degree.
>
> And having heard several scholarship winners speak at conventions, a 
> good number of them hope to work in some way in a blindness field or 
> teaching the blind. Again, nothing wrong with this, and we do need 
> blind people doing this, but, for me, it shows how many blind people 
> go into a blindness related field.
>
> And in our affiliate, most of the leadership either works in the 
> blindness field or hopes too. Of our eleven state board members, only 
> two are employed outside of a blindness field, and one is working 
> towards a degree so they can work in a blindness job.
>
> More and more blind people are seeking opportunities outside of a 
> blindness related career, but many are still drawn to the field for 
> whatever reason. Again, we need strong, competent blind people in this 
> field, but we also need to consider what we truly want as a person and 
> not a blind person.
>
> And a side note, I don't think Lynda meant anything negative by her 
> comments nor was she implying all blind people work in a blindness 
> related field. She was merely detailing her experience and speaking to 
> that experience alone.
>
> Bridgit
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 22:28:29 -0500
> From: "Ashley Bramlett"<bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List"<stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Sending this again: Article
> 	showingwhatparentsofblindkids are facing 
> Message-ID:<D073072BEB3F4E1F938EB6B7A6FF190A at OwnerPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> 	reply-type=response
>
> Lynda,
> I beg to differ. Have you been to a nfb convention?
> There are people employed in all walks of life and most scholarship 
> winners have a career aspiration in a non blindness field; they 
> include future teachers, therapists, researchers,  counselors, and 
> doctors.
> Most blind people I know work either in the IT field as computer 
> programmers or in the government, far from the blindness fields! Read 
> the braille monitor and you will see the wide variety of fields too!
>
>
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