[Blindtlk] If the World Went Sighted..

[humberto]

I also agree what you guys had said, very well said. Blindness 
must not be eradicated after all and at all!

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com
>To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:13:30 -0400
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] If the World Went Sighted..

>Very well stated Dianne. Like sighted people--like people in 
general, there
>are givers and takers and if you eradicate blindness then what 
else do you
>eradicate?
>Sherri

>Please check out the link below and help blind people in your 
local area
>achieve their dreams by visiting
>http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/Sherri.Brun
>Thank you.

>Character is the side of yourself you choose to show the world. 
Integrity is
>what you do, what you say and how you act when you think no one 
is paying
>attention.
>Sherri Brun
>flmom2006 at gmail.com

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Graves, Diane" <dgraves at icrc.IN.gov
>To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 8:29 AM
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] If the World Went Sighted..


>> Hi Guys,

>> Well, with regard to the goal of the current day researchers, I 
guess I
>> would have to muse that Adolph (spelling?) Hitler had some of 
the same
>> ideas. What happens in cases where technology won't eradicate 
the
>> blindness. There are exceptions to every rule. So what happens 
then? Do
>> you eradicate the person?

>> Blindness isn't the only minority that, in some way or other, 
taxes
>> society. For instance, would it be more cost effective if there 
were no
>> diabetics, no dyslexics, no groups in need of language 
interpretation,
>> retirees unable to make it on their pensions? What do you do 
with these
>> people? It seems to me that if we got rid of all these costs, we 
would be
>> left with a strong, athletic young, totally able bodied, English 
speaking
>> (or whatever the chosen language might be) individual. Just the 
kind of
>> person Hitler wanted.

>> Blindness is the sum of our minority status, the one that is 
relevant to
>> us, and the one that is the most feared. But we are not the only 
one by
>> any stretch of the imagination.

>> Blind people are people period. Although we are often unfairly 
lumped into
>> one category, that isn't reality at all. We have blind people 
who are
>> takers their entire lives and are content to be takers, feeling 
society
>> owes them a free ride. I might point out that there are many 
sighted
>> people with this mind set as well. If they can receive public 
assistance
>> for their entire lives, they are happy. Then on the other hand, 
you have
>> just as many blind individuals who have made a wealth of 
contributions,
>> giving back far more than they could ever hope to receive.

>> If I had a chance to receive my sight today, would I go for it? 
Well, I
>> don't know. It would depend on the risks, the cost, and a whole 
host of
>> other things. As things are, short of a divine miracle, that 
isn't going
>> to happen, and I'm completely okay with that. I  have the 
potential to be
>> just as productive as any of my sighted counterparts, and carry 
my weight
>> in society. We all have to work together to form a productive 
society.
>> Eradicating blindness is not the answer.

>> Diane Graves
>> Civil Rights Specialist
>> Indiana Civil Rights Commission
>> Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
>> 317-232-2647

>> "It is service that measures success."
>> George Washington Carver

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>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of humberto
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 11:17 PM
>> To: BlindTlk at nfbNet.org
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] If the World Went Sighted..



>> Hi all,

>> We recently had a discussion about how we would react if some of
>> our
>> blind friends could become sighted, and we asked whether it 
would
>> be
>> reasonable for a sighted person to want to go blind. This made 
me
>> think of an interesting, although a bit painful, question:
>> Would the world be better off, worse off, or about the same if
>> blindness were completely eradicated, through genetic 
engineering
>> and/or mandatory treatment of all causes of blindness?
>> The question may sound silly, but for many vision researchers,
>> eradication of blindness is a real goal. But does the presence 
of
>> blind people in our society have any benefit to the society or
>> the
>> world as a whole?

>> Certainly there are costs of having a small group of people in
>> society
>> who read and travel using different techniques than the rest.
>> These
>> specialized techniques have to be taught, technology has to be
>> adapted
>> to their use and negative public attitudes prevent this minority
>> of
>> people who do things differently from having full access to
>> societal
>> goods and opportunities. So would it be cheaper and less
>> resource-demanding if everybody could use the same visual
>> techniques
>> to accomplish life tasks?
>> On the other hand, you could perhaps argue that having people 
who
>> use
>> different senses to do things in society is advantageous.
>> Technology
>> is forced to innovate to become usable by those who don't have
>> vision
>> as well as those who do. And conceivably, if a darkness plague
>> struck
>> the planet, it would be better for the species if some of its
>> members
>> could fully function without light.

>> What do you think? Should we as a society make an effort to get
>> rid of
>> blindness? Or does blindness serve any kind of social function?
>> There obviously isn't a right answer here, but it's something
>> that,
>> for better or for worse, could become relevant to us someday.

>> Arielle

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