[Arizona-students] National Federation of the Blind CommentsonSaturday Night Live Segment

[Brandon McGinty]

All,
I haven't watched the skit either, however, these are my thoughts, judging
from the list traffic...
We, as blind citizens, keep saying "treat us the same...give us the same
rights and responsibilities..."
I feel that as blind people, we have as much right to be made fun of, or
ridiculed, as any other person.
On Saturday Night Live, everyone, from large to small, black to white, to
orange skinned, is made fun of. We are just as deserving of this treatment
as everyone else.
We have to take the good with the bad, being able to get our own meals at
restaurants, and being able to take teasing and jokes at our expense.
Just my two cents.


-----Original Message-----
From: arizona-students-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:arizona-students-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle Silverman
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:21 PM
To: Arizona Association of Blind Students List
Subject: Re: [Arizona-students] National Federation of the Blind
CommentsonSaturday Night Live Segment

Hi all,

I didn't get to watch the SNL skit but I've read a  synopsis  of it as well
as a couple of news stories about it and of course the posts on NFBNet. I'm
not pleased with the portrayal of blindness and I am glad that the NFB
expressed an opinion about it especially since there was already a
controversy with Gov. Patterson's office complaining.
However, for the most part I don't think this is a big deal or an "attack on
blind Americans" in the same way that the Blindness film was. The Blindness
film used blindness as a metaphor for the end of the world and paired
blindness with images of fear, filth and moral disgust. The film was
intended to frighten, shock  and disgust viewers and used blindness as a
means of  doing so. I believe the Blindness film presented real dangers both
in the intentions that underlied it and in the negative associations that it
could have elicited in viewers. On the other hand, SNL is not supposed to
make people feel sick to their stomachs or scared that tragedy might strike
them.
Viewers either laughed or thought the sketch was stupid and tuned out--so I
think the comedic portrayal is much less likely to instill negative
associations with blindness. Of course it's also true that comedy shows in
general tend to parody anyone in the public eye and so the vast majority of
viewers are unlikely to take the specific blindness portrayal seriously.

I also think there's some value in being able to "take a joke" and accept
being teased as a sign of cultural acceptance. Let's  face it, as blind
people we make funny mistakes all the time and it's hard to survive some of
them without a good laugh. And I think most of us would agree that it's more
dignifying to be teased along with everyone else than to be gently stepped
over and told nothing but praise because of our blindness. When I was
growing up teasing a disabled child was a big taboo in my school, so I
escaped most of the bullying that happened to my peers. But, in exchange for
this "protected"
status I often wasn't included in peer group activities and people were
often afraid to make fun of me or even point out when I  made mistakes. For
example, until I was about ten, I actually thought I was a decent artist
because no one had the heart to tell me that the pictures I drew in art
class made no sense. As I grew up I often found I connected more with others
(sighted and  blind) who were willing to throw a joke or occasional mean
comment at me rather than hiding their feelings and treating me in a "fake
nice" way. In a similar vein, I think it would be dangerous if we as the
organized blind insisted on only being portrayed positively in comedy, or
not at all. As equal citizens we deserve the same rights, the same
responsibilities-and in American culture, the same vulnerability to ridicule
as anyone  else.
Political figures are even more vulnerable to ridicule than the general
population and if we're going to encourage Bush and Palin-bashing on SNL I
don't think we have the right to exempt ourselves just because we are blind.

So while I agree  with the general sentiment of the NFB's press release, I
also agree with Ryan's compelling argument about us making a difference by
going out and following our ambitions as individual blind citizens. He's
right that our success is going to ultimately matter more than a five-minute
TV sketch. I also think that those of you who feel strongly about the NFB's
actions, whether about the Blindness film, SNL or any other issue, should
not be afraid to write a letter to Dr. Maurer at the National Center
expressing your views.
The NFB is made up of all its members, not just the staff in Baltimore. We
have a right to ask the organization to act in accordance with our wishes
and to convey our unique experiences and perspectives to them. Contrary to
popular belief, the NFB is made up of a diverse member base that doesn't
agree on every issue, as we've shown here, and the leadership must balance
all of the members' views when making decisions that it deems best for the
blind.

Writing this from a snowy 5-degree day in Boulder!
Arielle

_______________________________________________
Arizona-students mailing list
Arizona-students at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/arizona-students_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Arizona-students:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/arizona-students_nfbnet.org/brandon.mc
ginty%40gmail.com