[Nfbf-l] Ingrown Eyeballs

[REPCODDS at aol.com]

>From the Editor: David Houck is the executive director of the South  
Carolina Federation Center of the Blind in Columbia. He is also a longtime  leader 
of the South Carolina affiliate. Every affiliate president could probably  
provide a list of names of members who need to read and digest the concepts 
in  the following little essay. Unfortunately those folks usually can�t be 
bothered  to read the Braille Monitor or the state newsletter. Still, the  
impulses it points to occasionally take up residence in virtually every member 
 and chapter, so we must guard ourselves against them and jolly ourselves 
and our  colleagues out of them whenever they rear their ugly little heads. 
Here is  David�s warning:  
Until recent years I had never heard the term "ingrown eyeballs," and it 
took  me some time just to notice the disease. The symptoms are real. In fact, 
if left  to spread, it causes self-imposed quarantines, isolation, and flat 
denial of the  disease by those affected. In more serious cases it cripples 
the Federation  body, which leads to increasing incapacity. In the long 
term the disease is  fatal.
Symptoms include chapter presidents or members who say there is no  need to 
do fundraising, blaming their inability on their own physical blindness.  
As for attending state and national conventions, those affected maintain that 
 "There is nothing to learn, and after all it�s so far to travel when we 
have no  way to get there because transportation is hard to come by--not to 
mention that  getting around in unfamiliar places is too difficult." 
If the chapter president wants to work with members of the larger blindness 
 community, infected members will find excuses not to do anything outside 
the  city limits or county lines. The symptom called "localitis" focuses 
their  attention on their needs to the exclusion of those of others. Another 
symptom  replaces independence and self-confidence with concentration on the 
physical  limitations of blindness. 
If the affiliate president urges the chapter to  get busy with statewide 
projects or national issues, the affected group rejects  the request with 
disgust. The usual symptom to watch for is anger. Sometimes  this attitude 
results from hurt feelings or bruised egos because chapter members  did not get 
the attention or flattery they thought they deserved. "After all, we  have 
enough to do in our own area. We cannot be expected to do anything beyond  our 
chapter." 
If these symptoms spread to other chapters, the disease will cripple the  
state organization because one side of the body is ineffective and lethargic  
while the other side has to carry the ball, working ever harder to meet the 
 affiliate�s responsibilities. Eventually the local chapter dies because no 
one  cares enough to lead it. It will take years to eliminate the 
indifference of the  blind in the area and reorganize a chapter. The health of the 
entire state  affiliate declines. Its participation in the national 
organization wanes.  Convention attendance falls, involvement in PAC and other funding 
efforts  declines, and support for important programs affecting blind 
people locally as  well as nationally withers away. 
The cure: Identify the symptoms early and prevent them from spreading.  
Support your fellow blind people inside and outside your local area. Take part  
in every possible state and national event and program. Your chapter will 
grow  and be lean and effective. Local leaders will emerge to succeed the 
chapter  president, staff the committees, and carry out state and national 
duties. The  health of the local chapter improves and bolsters the Federation 
statewide,  which improves the Federation nationally, which is good for all 
blind Americans.