[nfbcs] Inconsistent Philosophy

Tue Aug 14 02:53:12 UTC 2018

Hey Pete,

What Dave says about human nature, and humans, being inconsistent is absolutely spot on. You show me a human being who doesn’t harbor at least *some* cognitive dissonance, and I’ll show you a liar. Of course there will be inconsistencies, and they will of course be magnified, simply by nature of being shown in the context of a smaller subset of a larger whole. And all of us humans take NFB philosophy, or for that matter *any* philosophy, and apply it to our lives, and interpret in our way, and no two ways, and no two interpretations, will be exactly the same. Add to this that not everyone is at the same place in their journey, in acceptance, in adjustment, in philosophy, and you’ve got absolutely huge numbers of inconsistencies brewing. 

Now if you want an organization made up of robots, or sheep, as the NFB has been accused of being both, then this organization isn’t the right one for you. We’re made up of humans. Lots of humans. Lots of humans with varying perspectives, goals, aspirations, life experiences, and yes, interpretations of a larger philosophy. 

I hope that some day you find something that makes you happy and fulfills you. Parenthetically, I note that this is probably the first time I’ve ever heard anyone complain about the NFB being something other than sheep, militant, radical, or a cult, by someone who apparently is not, or is no longer, a supporter. 

—Buddy

> On Aug 13, 2018, at 3:12 PM, David Andrews via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Peter:
> 
> I would say a few things here, you seem to imply that local inconsistency is a NFB problem.  It is an organizational problem, any organization could have it, it is not the NFB's fault, it is human nature.  Secondly, you did not step back from the NFB, you were thrown out. Finally, this thread is not appropriate for this list. Please stop trying to use our lists to be critical of the NFB. We aren't perfect, but this isn't the correct venue or way to accomplish change.
> 
> David Andrews, List Owner
> 
> At 02:53 PM 8/13/2018, you wrote:
>> Hello Denise and everyone,
>> 
>>        All of this discussion is causing me to bring up one of the issues that caused us to step back from the NFB. That is the inconsistancies members often experienced between what they hear at national conventions and that at local chapter meetings. NFB members be they blind individuals, parents of blind children, and blindness professionals spend thousands of dollars to attend the national convention and hear the message that "The blind can do anything the sighted can in school with the right technology." If the NFB was consistent across all federation entities whether you participate in discussions hosted on the NFB's mailing lists, attend the national convention or a local chapter meeting the message must be the same "The blind can do anything the sighted can in school with the right technology."
>> 
>>        If we had blind children who attended the national convention be told something like "Blind people can become guide dog trainers" They better be hearing that same message at local chapter meetings and other NFB gatherings.
>> 
>>        Inconsistencies in the organization's message heard at the national convention and that heard at local chapter meetings had better be the same or we wouldn't appreciate someone in the local chapter who may have also attended the national convention undermining the message our blind friends and children were given at a national convention or an NFB training center a message we spent thousands of dollars for our blind children to hear.
>> 
>>        The one strength of our business network is that the ideals taught and the message heard at local gatherings in our case they're called info sessions and at our major conferences is consistent at all levels "You can be successful and achieve your wildest dream." Likewise no matter if an NFB List like this, a local chapter meeting or the national convention blind kids, students, their parents, and blindness professionals need to hear the same message "A blind person can use Microsoft Excel to perform the same exercises and job tasks done by their sighted peers."
>> 
>> Peter Donahue
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
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