OT: ACB & NFB

Wed Apr 26 13:58:45 UTC 2017

Hi, John.  I love that last bit!

And yeah, I agree, if I understand you right, that we should try to be 
our best, individually and collectively.

AlOn 04/26/2017 09:08 AM, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
> It's not really your fault, Al. It's mine. I'll admit that this thing
> about each and every person thinking they have all the answers is
> ubiquitous in the human race. Like I always say, I can't stand people
> who think they know everything, that is really annoying to those of us
> who actually do know everything.  But lets not settle for average. Just
> because everybody does it, that doesn't mean we have to. If sighted
> people were jumping off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge?
>
> PS: My dad used that bridge line on me one time when I was a kid. I
> said, "I don't know. I'd have to guess there would be some reason they
> are jumping off a bridge. It depends on what that reason was."
>
> -- John Heim
>
>
>
> On 04/25/2017 09:30 PM, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
>>
>>
>> Sometimes being inflexible is a good thing, sometimes a bad one.  It's
>> often but not always easy to know when to do which.  Some NFB rehab
>> centers have been more sensible than others in this department.
>>
>> I'm normally a guide dog user, but when I use a cane, the NFB straight
>> cane is for me the best by far most of the time.  I also use a folding
>> cane from time to time, however, and probably should get one of those
>> with the ball tip.
>>
>> Then again, maybe I shouldn't have said any of this.  This has arisen,
>> sadly, because I followed up a comment complaining about their being two
>> advocacy organizations of the blind by naming twhat I presume to be the
>> two he had in mind.  My point had to do with our predictable diversity
>> of needs and viewpoints and useful versus dubious forms of unity.  I
>> guess I should have figured things would veer off into whether one or
>> both organizations suck, but it didn't occur to me.  I probably should
>> have stuck to guzzling coffee and studying assembly.  (another grimace)
>>
>> Al On 04/25/2017 08:18 PM, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
>>> yeah, they kept trying to make me use "their" brand of cane. One small
>>> problem, the tips would wear out too fast. Another problem, the
>>> fastening screw would fall out.
>>>
>>> Somehow, I think their idea of a cane is simply a brand one. Sure, its
>>> lightweight, but its also a bit too flexible. It also doesn't work
>>> well in areas where sidewalks are broken. It most decidedly doesn't
>>> work in snow. Basically, I had my O&M instructor try to navigate a
>>> snow packed sidewalk with the NFB cane. Then I had him try it with my
>>> folding cane with the large ball tip. He kept insisting that I use the
>>> NFB model, but had to admit that it just wasn't practical to use in
>>> all circumstances. So, I take it as a valid assumption that the
>>> leadership is inflexible at the best of times. I know for a fact that
>>> a lot of their instructors are very inflexible unless presented with
>>> facts they can't ignore.
>>>
>>> -eric
>>>
>>> On Apr 25, 2017, at 4:05 PM, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
>>>
>>>> NFB members at a training center alienated me through their rigid
>>>> insistence on straight canes and failure to account for the
>>>> multiply-disabled or congenitally blind in training methods. I also
>>>> couldn't stomach their idea that I should run all my words and actions
>>>> through the "how does this make all blind people look" filter, or that
>>>> becoming normal should be my ultimate goal. Several of us in here
>>>> would have to lose a bunch of IQ points to be considered normal. And,
>>>> I hate the Borg.
>>>>
>>>> That was over a decade ago. I'm on some of their mailing lists and I
>>>> have some of their folding) canes since those are useful things. I
>>>> won't join, but I've met some interesting individual members.
>>>>
>>>> On 4/25/17, Linux for blind general discussion
>>>> <blinux-list at redhat.com> wrote:
>>>>> The ACB's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make
>>>>> them make money accessible was already flawed to say the least.
>>>>> According to the United States Constitution, the power to design money
>>>>> has been delegated to Congress, and the Department of the Treasury is
>>>>> only responsible for carrying out the orders of Congress. Therefore,
>>>>> the
>>>>> best way to make money accessible would have been for any and all
>>>>> so-called advocacy organizations to lobby Congress and get a bill
>>>>> passed
>>>>> and signed by the President of the United States that would redesign
>>>>> our
>>>>> money in an accessible way. Do I think the ACB's lawsuit was a
>>>>> publicity
>>>>> stunt? Absolutely, as if they wanted us to have accessible money for
>>>>> sure, they would have gone through the proper channels and we would
>>>>> have
>>>>> had it by now. Instead, where are we? No closer to truly accessible
>>>>> currency than we were when this whole sleighride begen nearly 10 years
>>>>> ago. Thank you, ACB and NFB for being such advocates for the needs of
>>>>> blind and visually impaired citizens of the United States. Without
>>>>> your
>>>>> petty bickering and your "We're not them" attitudes, the world would
>>>>> certainly be a better and more friendly place for all of us.
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
>>>>>
>>>>
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