[nabs-l] unemployment rate

[Sean Whalen]

Kirt,

 

I know this thread has long since passed, but I just wanted to write to say
I'm sorry, you are correct. Nothing in your original post said or implied
that you devalue the work of blind folks in the blindness field. It was an
unfair characterization. Everything I said still stands, generally speaking,
and many people do devalue the blindness work, but you did not.

 

To answer the question, I know of no such statistic, but, fortunately for
you, your success in gaining employment in whichever field you choose is not
dependent on the number of other blind folks who have been successfully
employed in that field. I can see where the temptation to gauge your
prospects against the number of  others who have done what you want to do
comes from, but I wouldn't give it too much thought. Just get the education,
develop the skills, and keep the determination, and you will be bringing up
the numbers of the employed blind in no time.

 

Take care,

 

Sean

 

 

 

From: Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com>

To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list

      <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>

Subject: Re: [nabs-l] unemployment rate

Message-ID:

      <AANLkTinqS4qubYsaKncp+bgMZjLc6e5k2dc6dHEq_a1A at mail.gmail.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

 

Sean,

  I'd like to point out a few things.

  First...other disabilities, particularly severe cognative

disabilities, are extremely relivant to a person's job eligability.  I

don't want to sound prejudiced...but that's just the way it is.  I

know lots of people with severe mental disabilities who happen to be

blind as well and, while I'm not under-valuing them as people, I am

fully aware that some of those disabilities impact a person's ability

to work.  That's why I'm curious what the unemployment rate is for

people who are only blind...because, for a lot of those people, other

severe cognative disabilities are definitely a factor in their

unemployed status.

  As for the question about blind people working in the blindness

field...I'm a little lost as to why you think I was implying that was

inferior.  I'm just curious because that's where most blind people I

know work.  Indeed I'm hard-pressed to find a totally blind person in

my local area who I know that doesn't work in the blindness field...so

I think it's a legitimate question.  It's like if I were to ask what

percentage of the American working population works in, say, the

lobbying business.  That, to me, does not imply the inferiority or

superiority of that kind of work...it just means I'm interested to

know how many employed blind people have jobs in the blindness field.

Do you see my point?  I just want to know because I'm a blind person

and most blind people I know work primarily with other blind

people...so I wonder if anyone has any kind of data to show how many

blind people work outside of the blindness arena.  That's all, I just

want to know because I'm probably not going to have a job in the field

of blindness and I want to see where that puts me, percentage-wise.

In this case, I'm not looking down my nose at anyone.

  All the best,

Kirt

 

Sean Whalen

Policy Associate

Linchpin Strategies, LLC

 

639 Massachusetts Ave NE

Washington, DC 20002

Phone:  (866) 443-0998

Fax:       (202) 318-8113