[Mt-blind] Recent Topics

[Heather Stone]

Jim Marks,

I feel I have not made a mistake in expressing how I
feel about the N F B. You are the one who brought up
for discussion publicly that you feel the M A B should
identify more with the N F B. I feel that I was
entitled to express back why I would not support that
& why. I specifically stated that what I typed is how
I FEEL. I believe that everyone who reads it can
decide on their own what their opinion is. 
It is my understanding that just like the M A B, the N
F B seems to struggle attracting younger members. I
like the M A B & I try to be an active member & yet at
this year’s convention, twice I felt very
uncomfortable by the pressure of 2 N F B - loving
individuals trying to recruit me to go to the national
convention & N F B centers. I politely declined but
that didn’t seem to matter. Maybe they are use to
getting their own way by not letting up but I am
turned off by that approach & I FEEL others probably
are to. You ask how can I judge the convention without
attending. Well, you, Dan have judged without trying
1st hand the new proposed audible signal (where the
noise out put is on the opposite side of the street)
as not an option simply because it it not the tactile
vibrating one the N F B is holding out for. There
probably never be a universal auditory/tactile signal
installed at intersections across the U.S., just like
the signals them selves differ, just like some people
learn better auditory while others prefer tactile &
some use both depending on the task at hand. I have
listened several times to the description of the
annual convention & it sounds like a cult to me. At a
church potluck that I was invited to by neighbors, I
was ganged up on to join their church. This is how I
FEEL the N F B convention experience would be like.
There is so much talk about what an overwhelming
experience it is; from being among so many other blind
people to the speeches to it being held at some of the
most complicated hotel/convention centers they can
find. I FEEL it is all very well designed to turn an
underexposed blind person into a blind follower of the
N F B one-track way of thinking. I know that I don’t
need to drink a poisonous substance to experience that
it would be bad for me, which is the same reason why I
know I don’t need to attend the N F B convention.  
Also, for your knowledge, I have corresponded with 2
staff members from Blind Inc, who, in their replies,
choose to ignore situations where the N F B philosophy
is not applicable. . I attended 2 N F B of Idaho
meetings this last summer where the N F B way or no
way attitude dominated the meetings. 
Also, I have listened to a taped speech given by Fred
Schroeder, about 20 years ago & he starts out talking
about his own experiences & how he got involved with
the N F B but the speech ends with him banging on a
podium or table & yelling about how it is the N F B
against the world. I feel it often probably seems to a
blind person that it is the sighted world against the
not sighted but I feel it really is just the world &
everyone, sighted or not needs to find where they fit
into the world the best he/she can. As you know, my
career goal is to become a certified O+M specialist. I
was advised not to look to a sighted O+M as a role
model. So I seeked out a blind O+M who turned out to
be on the National Blindness Professional
Certification board. He shared with me the way he is
able to do the job without sight. However, he then
went on to try to lead me to believe that I would be
denied certification from ACVREP because I am blind,
which I found NOT to be true after I researched it &
located blind individuals who had indeed received that
specific certification without any trouble. When I
brought this to his attention, he choose to completely
ignore it (typical N F B) & again tried to convince me
that I would be denied certification for being blind.
I even have corresponded with Dr. Bell of Louisiana
Tech. I have no interest in being an active member of
an organization that chooses to continue to believe
lies as truths. Again, this is how I FEEL based on my
correspondences & research of the N F B. I accept that
the N F B is apart of you & Dan. However, I still
value knowing you both for many other admirable
qualities.

--- Jim Marks <blind.grizzly at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Heather,
> 
> One of my kids will not try new foods.  Although she
> is 17, she makes
> decisions about whether she will like something
> before she tastes it.
> I do not get how anyone can judge something before
> the fact.  My
> daughter's prejudices hold her down.  She misses so
> much simply
> because she made her mind up before the fact.
> 
> So here is my question.  How do you know that the
> NFB convention is
> bad if you have never been there?  I am very serious
> about this.  What
> is your evidence?
> 
> Jim Marks
> blind.grizzly at gmail.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 11/27/07, Heather Stone <heatherastone at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> > This is Heather Stone. Even though I am not a
> parent,
> > I spoke out in support of the parent division at
> our
> > convention. I have been away partaking in GPS
> training
> > at Leader Dogs for the Blind while my email box
> was
> > filling up with all the recent talk on MT Blind. I
> am
> > going to add my thoughts to these topics. In
> regards
> > to those of you who feel that the M A B should
> > strictly focus on the S O P & not support programs
> &
> > divisions for younger members, I feel this type of
> > thinking is rather childish. For example, when
> parents
> > have a 2nd child, it's not like they don't love
> their
> > 1st child any less. There is enough love for each
> > child. That is how I like to think of the M A B -
> that
> > it is becoming an organization that offers
> programs &
> > support for all blind Montanans regardless of
> their
> > younger age. This whole issue almost seems along
> the
> > lines of reverse age discrimination. I found it
> > interesting that within the same post, one member
> > expressed his dislike for the N F B & then went on
> to
> > say that parents & students need to join the N F B
> for
> > support rather than the M A B which I am
> interpreting
> > as that he is suggesting that the M A B can
> continue
> > to exclude these potentional new members by not
> > allowing the M A B to expand to meet these new
> members
> > needs. Like I stated at the convention, a year
> round
> > local connection is much more beneficial when
> seeking
> > support in your own community/state. As for the
> matter
> > of the M A B changing its name, I would be against
> it.
> > I accept that it is in the M A B's best interest
> to be
> > associated with the N F B because there is
> strength in
> > #s & some issues can't be handled on an individual
> > basis For example, the current hybrid cars
> problem. I
> > do realize that the actions of the N F B has made
> > quite a difference on the national level in
> regards to
> > equal civil rights for the blind. I respect Jim
> Marks
> > & Dan Burke very much. I know that they are very
> fond
> > of the N F B & I do not wish to hurt them with
> what I
> > am about to type but based on my experience with
> the N
> > F B & trying to communicate with N F B  members
> from
> > other states, I have come to the conclusion that
> it is
> > best for me to try to keep my association with
> that
> > organization to a minimal. I will not apply for a
> > scholarship from the N F B because I have no
> interest
> > in attending their annual brain-washing
> convention.
> > And finally, someone posted "Through the efforts
> of
> > MAB members, reaching out to the blind and
> visually
> > impaired in our communities, this is how we are
> > known.". I would like to know exactly how other M
> A B
> > chapters are doing this because to my knowledge
> here
> > in Missoula, the only ways we get a new member is
> from
> > B L V S informing the newly blind person about the
> M A
> > B or if the person seeks us out because they were
> a
> > member in the community that they moved from. B L
> V S
> > didn't inform me about M A B because I am not in
> the
> > older blind program. I discovered the M A B from a
> > newspaper article about Jim Marks that a sighted
> > friend brought to my attention but there was no
> > contact information, so months went by until I met
> > someone who knew his office & here I am - proud to
> be
> > a member of the M A B.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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> >
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jim Marks
> blind.grizzly at gmail.com
> _______________________________________________
> Mt-blind mailing list
> Mt-blind at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/mt-blind
> 



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