by Rebecca Kragnes
I was watching CNN with my husband at breakfast when the news story broke. Erik Weihenmayer had finally reached the top of Mount Everest. Certainly Weihenmayer is to be congratulated for such a feat, because according to an article which appeared in the “Los Angeles Times” and was reprinted in the March “Braille Monitor,” he received very little physical help for this or any other climbs. But what about financial help? Reading further in the article, I discovered that the Mount Everest Expedition was sponsored by none other than the National Federation of the Blind.
I wonder about some of the hypocrisy that underlies their sponsorship of this expedition. First of all, NFB posits that blind people are just like everyone else, and that a big deal should not be made over our accomplishments simply because we are blind. This seems to be true unless a particular accomplishment serves the purposes of the National Federation of the Blind. They splash Erik Weihenmayer’s name on the front page of their web site and are diligent about making sure news organizations get this guy’s story. If they are not creating a very big deal, then maybe I don’t understand what a “big deal” really is.
But the bigger and deeper issue concerns the financial end of things. I recently talked to an acquaintance who is a member of the Federation and who was unaware of NFB’s lawsuit which attempts to block FCC regulations regarding Descriptive Video Service. He said one of their main arguments is that the money spent could be used for better things which would promote a positive image of blindness. I suppose NFB would contend that their financial support of this mountain-climbing expedition (which involved nine sighted and one blind climber) benefits the whole blind community because of the attention it brings. However, one blind person is benefitting from NFB’s financial resources, and he could have found other funding resources to achieve this same accomplishment. By contrast, NFB wants to block funding for warning strips on transit platforms, accessible pedestrian signals, and Descriptive Video Services because, they claim, none of these accommodations would benefit the majority of people who are blind.
Reaching the top of a mountain doesn’t happen every day, but blind people do, in fact, travel across dangerous streets, negotiate transit platforms, and, yes, watch television every single day. If we blind people really do want to be seen in a positive light, why not give us the tools we need to participate fully and safely in all the tasks of daily living and send us on our merry way to competently live our lives? Isn’t this what NFB wants? That’s what they say, while they are also saying that no one should make a big deal of the accomplishments of people who happen to be blind.
I imagine that Erik Weihenmayer is a loyal Federationist, and that both he and they feel the relationship they share is a mutually beneficial one. Lots of organizations sponsor people, and NFB would probably argue that they have the right to do with their money as they see fit. I am aware that they have scholarships and other programs which benefit people who are blind. However, the NFB’s decision to financially help a few people who are blind while they argue that the government should not require a service that many of us who are blind have asked for because it would only help a few people is hypocritical!