Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!oliveb!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!David.Andrews From: David.Andrews@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (David Andrews) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Re: Expulsion from NFB now a fact Message-ID: <17577@bunker.UUCP> Date: 4 Feb 91 17:18:24 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP Reply-To: David.Andrews@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org Distribution: misc Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA Lines: 63 Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP Index Number: 13458 [This is from the Blink Talk Conference] WW> David, WW> I agree with you that some NFB bashing has occured here, as WW> has some Arkenstone bashing, some Newsbits bashing, and WW> some Artic bashing, and some TSI bashing, and some Omnichron WW> bashing, etc. etc. etc. Why do you think the NFB should be WW> any different? Also, if indeed the anti-NFB messages showed WW> any more of a degree of misinformation than the messages WW> bashing the others, I'd actually empathise with your claims, WW> but as inflamatory as these messages may seem to you, not WW> really that much misinformation was propogated, and that which WW> was, you corrected. (Hey, I'm listening!) Yes Willie, NFB is certainly not the only thing to be bashed on BlinkTalk, but that doesn't make it any more appropriate. David, BlinkTalk is WW> not really that unique of a bunch of blinks, and I can WW> honestly say that I hear the same type of things said about WW> the NFB in most every group of blind people I've been around! WW> True, I've nver been to an NFB convention, but I have been to WW> lots of affairs where there are large numbers of blind people, WW> and when NFB comes up as a topic, there are always people WW> there ready to take a position against the Federation, and in WW> most cases an NFB loyalist ready to defend to the death their WW> organization. It would appear to me that the majority of Blink Talk users are either ACB persons, or unaffiliated persons. Federationists are in the minority here, and consequently will probably always receive a hard time. So be it. The NFB has for a long time taken public and controversial positions. For this reason, and others, we engender strong emotions in people, both positive and negative. Some months ago, I has a long conversation with my landlady in Albuquerque. She is Hispanic. Her Father, who is a college professor, has been active and prominent in Hispanic rights activities for many years. He was one of the founders of a major, controvertial activist Hispanics rights organization. He has also written a number of books. He and his books were considered radical for many years, according to Carmen. She said many people, including her relatives were always telling her and her family that they were fighting against things that weren't important, that they were imagining descrimination and that they should just go along. I have been told the same things here, and other places. Now, Dr. Samora's books are used as minstream college textbooks and he just won the highest civilian award from the President of Mexico, for his lifelong work. Many blind people would like to believe that there isn't descrimination, or whould hope that all of this will go away. It won't unless we point it out and fight it. In fifty years many of our ideas will be a part of the mainstream and many blind people won't remember how it is. As an example of this, AFB, in the past year or two, has adopted the "braille literacy issue" as its own. We have been talking about this, and pushing it for a number of years. I am not saying that this wouldn't have happened without us, but I do believe that we made it happen much quicker. I see messages here, letters to the editor in the Ziegler etc., where many blind people are acting and living more independently. These are ideas that the NFB has promoted for years and that I see increasingly being expressed by others. ... Your Sound Alternative -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!David.Andrews Internet: David.Andrews@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org