[nfbwatlk] General Musings

[Mary Ellen]

As usual, Gary, your comments are carefully reasoned and thought provoking.
I think you're right that we don't always pay enough attention to our
history and the literature which is at the heart of what we believe. In the
Canadian Federation of the Blind, we spend at least one meeting a year
devoted entirely to philosophy. Philosophical discussion is also a major
focus of our conventions. I know that in Washington the spring seminar is
designed to emphasize our philosophy. WE are often criticized for putting
too much emphasis on philosophy by others who don't want to give it much
thought at all, but obviously I believe that's a wrong-headed approach.
This brings me to your comments on the Forum and the lack of ACB literature.
My major problem with the ACB is their lack of guiding principles. They seem
to decide where they stand issue by issue. Though I'm far from a frequent
reader of their writing, it seems that they emphasize accessibility and some
sort of informational parity with the sighted over personal responsibility.
Their focus seems to be on collective, rather than individual,
responsibility for solving the problems of blindness. Of course, we've sued
Target and fought for accessible ATM's and voting machines, but we've also
said blind people need to be resourceful enough to solve problems when no
"accessible" solution is available. I believe we are the only organization
of or for the blind which still encourages blind people to become proficient
at finding and training readers. (This comment may demonstrate my lack of
awareness of the positions taken by other groups, but I doubt it.)


You asked why anyone who believes blindness is a terrible handicap would
want to go into the field of work with blind people. Unfortunately, I think
I understand why, and the reason demonstrates one of the more dismal
characteristics of human beings. I knew a blind woman who worked for an
agency for the blind. She taught cooking. Whenever she knew there was going
to be a tour of the facility where she taught, she would give her student's)
an assignment more advanced than the student could handle. Then, when the
tour group came through, they would see her rescuing the student and
imparting her superior wisdom. Obviously, that teacher had some serious
problems. She thought so little of herself that she needed to repeatedly
demonstrate her superiority over her students. Other people enjoy working in
positions where they can take care of others. The need to be needed is one
of the most powerful needs on earth. Of course, there are healthy ways to be
needed. I know of nothing more satisfying than to see someone take charge of
his or her own life. It's one of the most rewarding parts of motherhood
watching my children learn to do more and more each day. (It would be even
more rewarding if one of the things they learned to do better and better was
cleaning their room, but that's a digression.)
One of the last times I saw Dr. Jernigan, he walked into a seminar he was
conducting for a group of us from Canada and announced "I am not a victim!"
He was reacting to what he perceived as a cultural shift away from
individual responsibility and toward collective blaming. No one is an
island; no one succeeds or fails alone. Still, I think we as a society have
moved too far down the road of collective responsibility. I believe
collective responsibility really means lack of individual responsibility and
lack of individual control. I would not like to return to the days when a
blind employee was so grateful for the opportunity to work that he or she
hesitated to ask the employer to provide any accommodation at all.. In fact,
I'm not crazy about the word "accommodation" because it implies that an
employer is putting him or herself out to take care of someone who is a
financial drain on the company. In reality, blind people bring rich
experience to their work in part because of blindness, not in spite of it.
Our society is enriched by the presence of blind people and employing us is
not a drain on the economy or a matter of charity. Sadly, far too many of us
still believe we can work only because the law protects our right to do so
and employers are good hearted. We should not be asking employers to
"accommodate" us; we should be asking them to recognize the good sense
involved in finding ways to make use of our talents. 
While I was waiting for the bus this afternoon, a man whose native language
was Spanish started a conversation. He asked if I could see at all. When I
told hinm I couldn't he said "Oh, that stick gives you freedom to go
anywhere you want to. Freedom is a very good thing." He was right.

Mary Ellen   

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mackenstadt, Gary
Sent: December 12, 2007 3:43 PM
To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbwatlk] General Musings


I very seldom provide any comments except in response to specific comments.
However, in reading the comments which have been on the list in the last
couple of days, I started thinking about organizational democracy,
individual responsibility and the pursuit of blind liberation.  Quite
frankly, I have been doing some reading about emotional intelligence and
intuitional decision making, and how all of that relates to individual
responsibility and the pursuit of blind liberation.  

In the Triple Revolution, Dr. Jernigan spoke of public opinion, the agency
ideology and the mindset of the blind individual.  With respect to the
attitudes of the general pub about blindness, there has certainly been some
progress.  Certainly, much of that progress is attributable to the NFB.  Our
efforts to educate the public, our PR effort, our advocacy for educational
programs, our work with parents of blind children, our legislative effort
both on the state and Federal level have all contributed.  

Certainly, there has been some change in the agency ideology.  Certainly,
there has not been enough.  Certainly, many of the agencies suck.  While
there is some recognition of the power and potential of the organized blind,
it is not enough and is too late.  The agency attitudes reflect what the NFB
has been fighting for nearly seventy years.  Quite frankly, I never
understood why people, both blind and sighted, go into the field with such
poor attitudes about blindness.  If one believes that blindness can be with
the proper training reduced to a nuisance, then it is understandable why a
person, blind or sighted, would go into the field of work with the blind.
However, if an individual believes that blindness is a tragedy, then why
would a person bother.  In other words, if blindness reduces the blind to
helplessness, then we should save a lot of money and close the damn agencies
down.  Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, there are regressive
agencies that do fall into this later category.  

Now, we get the mindset of the blind individual.  In the last sixty-seven
years, there has been a dramatic improvement.  I believe that this relates
not only to better training and improved opportunity, but it pertains to
individual responsibility.  This may be something that is inherent or
lacking with each individual.  Individual responsibility is fostered.
Certainly, teaching is one means of accomplishing this.  I believe that our
centers help to achieve this.  However, I also believe that many blind
people have achieved individual responsibility as blind people through the
NFB for numerous reasons.  

In my judgment, the NFB is the best rehabilitation tool for blind
individuals.  If people do not recognize this, then I feel sorry for them.
We need more members.  We need to reach out.  We need to think about what we
can do as individuals to make this organization.  We will disagree, which is
consistent with organizational democracy.  Ideas are of little use if they
only consist of wishing.  Unfortunately, we have limited control over
others.  Some people are better at control than others.  However, We need to
focus on what we can do to improve the collective good.  In the final
analysis, we know that we can influence ourselves as individuals, even if we
cannot influence others.  

Denise and I were in Baltimore in late October.  I had the opportunity to
tell some of our leadership that a major problem this organization is
encountering is the fact that we are forgetting our history.  I urge
everyone on this list serve to think about this.  Please read Blindness; the
Triple Revolution, Blindness: Discrimination, hostility and Progress,
Blindness: Myth and Image, and within the Grace of God.  

Organizational democracy, individual responsibility and the pursuit of blind
liberation are things that I care about very much.  If anyone is interested,
I am more than happy to discuss further.  By the way, Gary Klein has written
a lot of stuff on intuitional decision making.  It should be required
reading for people in the blindness field along with all of the NFB
literature.  

Also, let me say that I have never read any ACB literature, primarily
because there isn't any.  I have never been to an ACB meetings.  I have
never touched the Braille Forum.  I am sure that there are some people who
might want to react to that.  Go for it.