Well, I think that the blind advocacy groups have become self interested
participants in a society that has been corrupted by greed and that they
strive for access to power and become satisfied when they obtain relationships
with politicians and corporations. That's what NFB did in spades, and ACB did,
more quietly. But the ACB leaders never sat down and analyzed what was
happening to everyday blind people as agency services were gutted, and they
never took on the responsibility for fighting for maintaining those services.
They honored their blind celebrities, those folks who were especially talented
or lucky, and they held them up as role models and told everyone else that if
they just put forth effort and attended meetings and conventions, they, too,
could flourish. That reminds me. My older daughter and son-in-law were setting
up this computer for me on Sunday, and they saw the Washington Post headline
about that basketball player being killed in a plane crash. Such shock and
concern! I don't hear any such shock and concern about the news stories
regarding black people being shot by cops for no reason, or all those
immigrants in concentration camps, or the children separated from their
parents. But we do honor our celebrities, sports figures, musicians, actors and
actresses, and blind judges.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 1:53 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Blind Advocacy organizations, capitalism, and
socialism
It's very frustrating at times, the lack of effort by our national
organization. At the same time, when I belonged to the NFB, my complaint was
that Jernigan demanded that we all march to his tune.
When I begin getting up tight regarding the slowness of change in public
attitudes toward blindness, I look around me and see how slow the changes are
toward Women's Equality, Equality of Black Americans and other Persons of
Color. I see a nation that is coming apart at the seams and a growing gap
between the Rich Ruling Class and the Mass of the Working Class.
And all the time I'm struggling to push a huge round stone up the last steep
incline, only to haave it slip past me and roll back to the bottom of the hill.
And I have only two choices...so back down I go...
Carl Jarvis
On 1/25/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Back in the 70's when Fred was supervising rehab teachers, the
majority of his clients were elderly, newly blinded people. At that
point in time, the commission was funding rehab for homemakers and
then, something called, "homemaker's assistant". So each person was
provided with a personalized plan for instruction, and every 13 weeks,
if the goals hadn't been reached, another 13 weeks was requested.
Certain equipment was purchased for the client to help her reach those
goals, although never a CCTV when they became available. That was all
dessimated by the 90's. But there was never a peep out of ACB about
all of this decrease in services. I remember being on an Evergreen
trip to Spain, my first blind trip. At one point, we were sharing a
bus with a sighted tour group and one of the sighted people said
something which indicated that he assumed our government was paying
for our trip. At the time, I was insulted that he would think we were
objects of charity. Now I look back and wonder if some countries actually
paid for their blind citizens travel to other countries.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2020 9:37 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Blind Advocacy organizations,
capitalism, and socialism
To a large degree you're correct. Funding services for the blind has
always been inadequate, forcing providers to make choices that exclude
rather than include people. When I went to the Services for the
Blind, back in 1965, I was provided a brief session with a man who
said he was my VRC. He directed me to sign up for unemployment
compensation...without telling me that I could not collect Aid to
Dependent Children at the same time. Nor did he tell me that I would
receive more money through Aid to the Blind, than that of Aid to Dependent
Children.
While my tuition was paid by the government, and certain equipment
like a Braille Writer and a reel to reel tape recorder were also
provided, I received not one hour of adjustment counseling. When I
asked my VRC what sort of work blind people could do, he said that
basically I had three choices. I could go to work at the Seattle
Light House, or I could become a Vending Stand Operator, or I could go
to college and become a VRC...like he had done.
But as little actual help as I had in dealing with an entirely new
world, my wife received even less. At least while I was in the
training center I had activity and goals. My wife simply sat home and
wondered how she ever got into such a mess. 28 years old with a 2
year old, and stuck with a blind man for a husband.
Jump ahead 55 years and take a look around. Nothing has really changed.
Sure, there's more gadgets, but the rank and file newly blind person
is still left to do the heavy lifting of rehabilitation on his/her own.
And that is the younger, employable blind. The older blind, those
being "served" through the Independent Living/Older Blind Program are
given two or three one to two hour sessions, a talking watch, a
magnifier and a quick trip around their neighborhood with a white
travel cane. Then they are turned loose as having been "rehabilitated".
We do what we can, passing along second hand CCTV's when we can get
them donated. The same is true of other sorts of equipment, but
computers are very hard to come by. And even folks with computers
struggle to find help from people who are skilled in the adaptive
equipment needed in order to continue functioning in the community.
And during my years directing the Orientation and Training Center,
each new fiscal year we were sent a request from the governor with
instructions requesting us to show how we would run our program with
a 5% reduction, and with a 10% reduction in funds. And always we were
warned that the governor would not accept the elimination of any current
service.
As a result our Training Center had no substitute instructor. When a
staff person was out sick, I filled in.
We were a bare bones program, but each new fiscal year it was the same
old request. Trim the fat!
Carl Jarvis
On 1/24/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This is what I've been thinking about this morning, most probably,
because of the new computer that is supposed to arrive momentarily.
There was a time when agencies for the blind provided rehab teaching
services which included "skills of daily living". Well guess what? In
2020, using modern technology is a skill for daily living that one
must have in order to function in the modern world, not just to hold
a paying job, but just to be integrated into society. And, to some
extent, blindness organizations and the blindness industry recognize
that which is why Apple is praised for manufacturing technology that
includes accessibility for blind people right out of the box and why
some corporations are sued when their websites, (of course, always
commercial websites), are sued when they're inaccessible to blind
customers.
However, those of us who don't have an innate talent, as Roger does,
to learn how to use the computer and to learn new programs on our
own, there is no readily available agency to provide this service to
us. We need to find someone on our own, to teach us stuff, to install
stuff when necessary, and to update stuff, and we have to pay them.
It's difficult for everyone when Windows changes, but older sighted
people can easily learn from the younger people in their lives. For
blind people, it's a very different matter.
Things have to be set up so that the screen reader will work most
efficiently, and we often need to learn new things. One would think
that the national advocacy groups would be demanding that state
agencies for the blind provide this service for blind people of all
ages. But they don't.
The
young people in these organizations are accustomed to a system of
scarcity and those who have mastered technology, feel so superior and
so entitled, that they think that people should be able to do so on
their own or if they can't, than they aren't worth the trouble
bothering about. I think that every blind person should be entitled
to an up-to-date computer and a smart phone, and free instruction,
whenever necessary, to help him or her use the technology effectively.
I also think that every blind person should be entitled to an
instruction plan for any other services he or she may need, at
whatever point in life, these services are needed. None of this is,
available, of course, because of budget cuts. But the advocacy
organizations haven't fought to hold onto our services. They have
cooperated with politicians and business interests as a way of
getting whatever crumbs might drop from the table. And beyond that,
NFB has nurtured the fantasy that blind people aren't really
disabled, only inconvenienced. So audio description wasn't necessary,
nor protection from accidents on platforms in New York City subways,
nor any other accessibility measures.
Miriam
