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From: Jamal.Mazrui@p0.f460.n101.z1.fidonet.org (Jamal Mazrui)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: our friend in boston
Message-ID: <16436@handicap.news>
Date: 25 Jun 91 15:40:14 GMT
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Index Number: 16436

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Thanks, Tandy, for your sincerity and warmth.  I see signs that
my campaign is having some influence, but how much remains to be
seen.  Much of it, I think, will not be in public support which
is at this time so threatening to most Federationists, but in
the building of an initially privately held base of sentiment in
the blind community that becomes intolerant of the autocratic,
destructive ways of the NFB administration.  Over time, it will
become possible for blind people to re-claim their movement from
those who have abused the power given them.  I do not
necessarily wish a different set of leaders, for the current
ones are quite talented, committed, and positive philosophically
on blindness.  It would be nice if they reformed their
destructive ways and confined their energies to doing good.  If
they do not respond responsibly, however, the sentiment of the
blind community, they will find themselves put aside some day by
the collective will of the blind.

I made a committment to myself to spend the amount of time and
energy that I had previously been devoting to Federation
activity in this campaign for democratic change in the movement.
 I have kept my committments to VIBUG and the VIPEmployment
Group and now also Vision Foundation, where I have been
developing a computerized, speech friendly information and
referral system on resources for the blind:  organizations,
services, aids, publications, etc.  I hope that in these ways I
am still directly contributing to the betterment of blind
people, as well as in the more indirect, long-run approach of
trying to hasten the day when we have a responsible, responsivve
organied blind movement to work for the kinds of objectives that
require broad, collective action in society.

--Jamal--

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