[Blindtlk] Use of the Term Visually Impaired

Sat Jun 22 05:49:47 UTC 2013

Evening, Mark,

         MMaybe folks like to be called lo vision or partially 
sighted or whatever., but don't you think if we had a singular term 
for those with vision problems, we would seem more cohesive? Do you 
know how deaf folks found their cohesion? Deaf people figured out 
that, the term deaf had been given strength, and they were proud to 
identify themselves as deaf,That's what I have heard, anyway. But, 
this could be nothing more than an imbelishment.A
for tonight, Car 02 PM 6/21/2013, Danielle Antoine 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:
> >>>>
> >> 
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/szostak.1%40buckeyemai
> >> l.osu.edu
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
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> >>>
> >>
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> >
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