[stylist] Definition of blindness and pursuing goals

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

You misunderstand what some of us are trying to say. No one doubts that
setting goals alone will take you to the top with little to no
complications and set-backs. To go through life without the expectation
of disappointment is wrong. To expect to have everything you want land
in your lap with no work is the completely wrong way to look at things.

You still have to set goals and takes steps to achieve those goals
though. Networking and being in the right place at the right time is
half the situation, but you still have to set goals and work towards
them. You still need to find what steps are required for the outcome you
hope to achieve. Then when in the right place at the right time, you're
ready to go.

You say Justice Sotomayor had special advantages. She did. She received
scholarships because she received straight A's all through her academic
career. She worked hard to achieve this. As I mentioned, she didn't get
a job right out of law school, and during college, she worked several
types of jobs.

And you act as though someone like Justice Sotomayor received special
treatment, but how many blind students are paying for their education?
How many purchase their own technology for school? Do all your
classmates or co-workers have rehab agencies assisting in the job search
or acting as a liaison between client and employers? If blind people
can't, or won't, work, we automatically qualify for government
assistance. Do other people have this luxury? Even other disabilities
don't receive the same level of assistance from the government as blind
people do.

So we can't really act as though we don't get special treatment at times
either.

I certainly haven't gotten this far in life without a few set-backs. I
lost my vision at 22. There was no reason to think I would be blind. I
had to learn to do things in a different way. I had to adjust to doing
things this way. It wasn't always easy. I still went back to school and
graduated, I'm still pursuing my goals though I'm focused on mommyhood
right now, which is another goal of mine that didn't come easy for
various reasons. 

No one said setting a goal would make achieving it easy, but if you
don't set a goal at all, your chances of succeeding are slim.

Bridgit
Message: 9
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:09:09 -0500
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Definition of blindness and pursuing goals
Message-ID: <F7051D48ECFA45CDA800245BB169623A at OwnerPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=original

Lynda,
I generally try and be positive despite attitudes and setbacks too.
I hold onto goals and career aspirations too.
But first you have to often start at the bottom and prove yourself,
especially being blind in a capitalist society.
Its great to say the rags to riches stories; I've heard many of them and
even know people who have big degrees and great jobs who came from low
class
backgrounds. For instance, there is a blind guy named Mario Bonds; he
and I
had the same O&M teacher growing up.
He was raised by his grandmother because something happened to his
parents.
I forget all the facts.
Anyway, he graduated from George Mason university with his chosen
degree.
I think he has a job or at least is looking for one. I know last I heard
he
had gotten some government internships while in college.

I'd have to say though that attitude isn't enough. You have to have
resources and someone willing to take a chance.
Take employment for instance. You will more than likely be hired by a
sighted person. You have to sell yourself and  overcome any stereotypes
that
employer has to get to your goal job. You may be real positive but other
societal barriers are out there. I had a rude awakening when me, a
middle
class
college student, went to the government for internships.
I found substantial barriers! I mean hello people, all the positive
beliefs
and me saying I could do this and that for them means nothing if you
are not given tasks to show your skills or half the software you cannot
use.
Barriers such as visual software, even inaccessible time sheet software,

lack of accessible online training, and not given tasks that showed my 
skills were apparent.
The government has an unfunded mandate in section 508. That section says

that all I T products have to be accessible.

What bothers me about rags to riches stories is that it ignores the 
circumstances you have. Some things are beyond our control and you can
only 
do so much to get past barriers. I know blind intelligent people looking
for 
work.
They are trying harder than most have to. Might I add that when they
land a 
government job if that is what they want, they are often not promoted or

given chances to get training and move up the chain.

So, those are just some things to overcome. I'm sure Ms.
Soto Mayor overcame a lot. I'm glad for her. But I bet she had some 
opportunities created somehow; if her parents were poor, they surely did
not 
pay for her college; she probably got scholarships or grants.
We do not live in a vacuum as humans so we have to somehow somewhere
depend 
on others for part of our success.