[Blindtlk] [nabs-l] [nfbWaTlk] class essay

Sun Jun 19 10:45:12 UTC 2011

president at nfb.org<mailto:president at nfb.org>

the other one doesn't work.

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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Humberto Avila<mailto:avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com> 
  To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'<mailto:blindtlk at nfbnet.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 10:55 PM
  Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] [nabs-l] [nfbWaTlk] class essay

  I think Dr. Maurer's email is president at nfb.org<mailto:president at nfb.org>, or mmaurer at nfb.org<mailto:mmaurer at nfb.org>; I'm not sure.

  -----Original Message-----
  From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
  Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 6:45 PM
  To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list; blindtlk at nfbNet.org<mailto:blindtlk at nfbNet.org>
  Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] [nabs-l] [nfbWaTlk] class essay

  What a great essay!!! I could see that being quoted in an NFB 
  convention banquet speech some day.  Does anyone have Dr.  
  Maurer's email?

   Chris

  "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
  To learn more about Camp Abilities and find a local camp near 
  you, just click on this link to their national Web site: 
  www.campabilities.org<http://www.campabilities.org/>.

  The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps visually impaired youth in 
  Maryland have the ability to confidently say "I can!" How? Click 
  on this link to learn more and to contribute: 
  www.icanfoundation.info<http://www.icanfoundation.info/>.

   Sent from my BrailleNote

   ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Humberto Avila" <avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com<mailto:avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com>
  To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>,<blindtlk at nfbNet.org<mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org%3E,%3Cblindtlk at nfbNet.org>
  Date sent: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:24:40 -0700
  Subject: [nabs-l] [nfbWaTlk] class essay

   Our daughter Joanne is a linguistic anthropology student and was 
  assigned

   to

   do a one page essay on the ways society reenforces 
  discrimination.  She

   could have chosen a number of groups and picked one from any 
  number of

   ways

   that discrimination and bigotry is permitted to continue.  
  Here's what she

   said about language and the blind.

   Don't Turn a Blind Eye on the Discrimination Against the Blind

   By Joanne Gabias

   North American societies are trying more and more to be

   accepting of disabilities.  They do so by adding Braille to 
  elevator

   buttons,

   adding closed captioning on television, and making sure there 
  are

   wheelchair

   accessible parking spaces.  These actions may alleviate 
  discrimination to

   an

   extent, but in everyday society, discrimination is far from 
  extinct.  As we

   know, language creates, transmits and perpetuates culture.  In 
  our society,

   expressions that refer to someone as being naive, inattentive or 
  stupid

   all

   use the word blind.  Discrimination against the blind can only 
  diminish

   once

   our language removes these connotations (of being naive, 
  inattentive or

   stupid) from the word blind.

   "What are you, blind?" This statement is normal in

   everyday

   speech in our society.  No matter the context, this phrase is 
  degrading,

   and

   indicates the person is subpar.  Until this expression is out of 
  our

   linguistic vocabulary, it is impossible for a blind person to be 
  treated

   with respect and not be cast in these stereotypes of being 
  naive,

   inattentive or stupid.

   "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" -

   Desiderius Erasmus.  This famous quote, once again or almost 
  more so, shows

   the blind as inferior human beings.  This quote implies that the 
  blind can

   never achieve greatness.  They will always be lower than 
  everyone else.  In

   fact, having no sight rather than a small amount of sight is 
  more

   advantageous, since having a small amount of sight can be 
  unreliable in

   many

   situations.

   The English proverb "the eyes are the window to the soul"

   implies that people whose eyes don't work, don't have souls, and 
  souls are

   required to be human in our culture.  In other words, the blind 
  are not

   human.  Our society puts so much importance on sight that it is 
  difficult

   for a blind person to show the world they are just as able as a 
  sighted

   person.

   The list of linguistic discrimination towards blind people

   is abundant.  Until the connection between blindness and naive, 
  inattentive

   and stupid is removed from our language, discrimination towards 
  the blind

   will continue to be transmitted and perpetuated throughout our 
  culture.

   As

   Mark Twain once said "The difference between the right word and 
  the

   almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a 
  lightning

   bug."

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