[Blindtlk] Use of the Term Visually Impaired

Sat Jun 22 02:38:07 UTC 2013

I agree. I do have a little bit of vision, shadow perception, so
technically, I can see how someone might use the term visually
impaired to describe me. I don't get bent out of shape either way. All
I care about is that it doesn't become a focal point. Just pick a
term, stick with it, and move on to more important matters. I'm
equally comfortable with both terms, blind and visually impaired.

On 6/21/13, Danielle Antoine <singingmywayin at gmail.com> wrote:
> I prefer blind because I am total. but, I don't get into bashing folks
> if they say visually impaired. I'd rather people not struggle with it
> cause they are showing they are really uncomfortable with me. I am
> very open about my disability  personally though and may be that
> surprises some.
>
> On 6/21/13, Mark Tardif <markspark at roadrunner.com> wrote:
>> Yes, I seem to recall George's comments about those terms, and he used
>> rather colorful language, too, but I thought "Right on, George."
>>
>> Mark Tardif
>> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: kelby carlson
>> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 5:16 PM
>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Use of the Term Visually Impaired
>>
>> THe people in this particular discussion were arguing even beyond what
>> that HR department apparently had in place--that "visually impaired"
>> was in and of itself a morally off-limits word.
>>
>> My philosophy is akin to George Carlin's: changing the name of the
>> condition does not change the condition itself.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6/21/13, Sherry Gomes <sherriola at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> A number of years ago, I worked briefly for a large telecommunications
>>> company. The head of the training department had a meeting with me one
>>> day
>>> to get my ideas on how to make the training process better and how to
>>> attract more blind people to the company. In the middle of the meeting,
>>> he
>>> stopped me and admitted that he was shocked to hear me refer to myself
>>> as
>>> blind. He told me that he could get fired if he called me blind and
>>> someone
>>> from HR heard it. He had to say visually impaired. I thought that was
>>> one
>>> of
>>> the most ridiculous pieces of forced PC-ness I'd ever heard.
>>>
>>> Sherry
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Desiree
>>> Oudinot
>>> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 3:02 PM
>>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Use of the Term Visually Impaired
>>>
>>> Person first language has always seemed a bit nitpicky to me. Either
>>> way, the term is the same. Adjusting the order of words does not
>>> change the tone in which it's said, for example. If someone is
>>> stuttering and fumbling in desperation, trying to appear politically
>>> correct, I really don't care what term they use, or what order they
>>> say it in, as long as they can find some semblance of comfort so they
>>> can move past that and get to know me as a person. by the same token,
>>> anyone with enough spite or hatred in their heart can make any number
>>> of phrases or statements sound like a curse.
>>> In other words, far too much emphasis is placed on the ways in which
>>> words or terms are used. If we would all relax about it, and allow
>>> people to say what they're comfortable with, rather than trying to
>>> shove a certain ideal down their throats that blind, or visually
>>> impaired, or what have you, is the *only* acceptable, politically
>>> correct thing to say, a lot of awkwardness would be avoided, leading
>>> to more easily flowing conversations, educational experiences, and so
>>> on.
>>>
>>> On 6/21/13, Christine Szostak <szostak.1 at buckeyemail.osu.edu> wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>   I suspect that actually the issue was not really with the term
>>>> visually
>>>> impaired, but rather with the order. When you say a "visually impaired
>>>> person" the disability comes first as  opposed to saying a "person with
>>>> a
>>>> visual impairment". Thus, having the disability first is objected to,
>>>> at
>>>> least this is what I am assuming the blogger was getting at.
>>>> Happy Friday!
>>>> Chris
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Kelby Carlson" <kelbycarlson at gmail.com>
>>>> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 4:24 PM
>>>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Use of the Term Visually Impaired
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Hi everybody!
>>>>>
>>>>> So, since I'm not aware of any incendiary debates flaring up around
>>>>> here
>>>>> recently, I thought I'd bring up something I read recently that I
>>>>> found
>>>>> utterly baffling.  This was on a blog thread about proper etiquette
>>> around
>>>>>
>>>>> people with disabilities.  Towards the end, a discussion of language
>>>>> appropriateness came up, and someone said that "visually impaired" was
>>>>> an
>>>>>
>>>>> unacceptable term that should not be used.  Instead, one should say
>>>>> "with
>>>>>
>>>>> a visual impairment." I have heard similar things regaring the
>>>>> phrasing
>>> of
>>>>>
>>>>> a "blind person" versus "a person with blindness", but this was
>>> especially
>>>>>
>>>>> perplexing because I can't recall ever meeting someone in my entire
>>>>> life
>>>>> who was opposed to the term "visually impaired", at least when it was
>>> used
>>>>>
>>>>> to describe someone who had some functional vision.  I don't have
>>>>> strong
>>>>> feelings either way, but I would actually lean more to towards
>>>>> preferring
>>>>>
>>>>> visually impaired than "partially sighted", though I think neither one
>>>>> is
>>>>>
>>>>> more linguistically accurate than the other.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have encountered the issue of language surrounding disability many
>>>>> times, and it's always been a bit strange-don't we, as blind people
>>> (among
>>>>>
>>>>> other people with various kinds of disabilities) have higher
>>>>> priorities
>>> on
>>>>>
>>>>> our lists of "things to fix in the world"? These are just my thoughts
>>>>> on
>>>>> the matter.
>>>>>
>>>>> Kelby S.  Carlson
>>>>>
>>>>> Vanderbilt University
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> blindtlk mailing list
>>>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
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>>>>> blindtlk:
>>>>>
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>>> l.osu.edu
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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>
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