[Blindtlk] an awkward experience

Mon Oct 28 12:35:45 UTC 2013

Fortunately, my eyesight is much better than it used to be and I haven't experienced this sort of nonsense in years. When my eyesight was near its worse I often felt like I was a magnet for very strange and presumptuous people. Many strangers had no problem approaching me and asking me or telling me some of most inappropriate things I've ever heard, simply because it was obvious I had a severe disability; they would have never approached me if that wasn't apparent. I generally dealt with it by not dealing with it; I usually let them say what they had to say and eventually they would go away. Over time, these encounters contributed to my loss of self worth. Certainly these encounters were all of the same ilk; I was a vulnerable target for these people. Certainly the opposite never happened; no women ever approached me and asked me out, telling me how attractive I was :). 

How you handle it is up to you. It depends on how such encounters make you feel about yourself. Today I wouldn't tolerate such things. In this specific case I would point out to such a person the numerous flaws in their belief system, ensuring that in under three minutes they will have moved on. I don't think my (or anyone who has a disability) purpose in life is to make strangers feel good about themselves. I wouldn't approach strangers and force my beliefs or opinions upon them, and I will no longer tolerate having it done to me. This works for me but of course everyone is different. 

> On Oct 28, 2013, at 8:00 AM, blindtlk-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
> 
> Good morning, Michael,
> 
>         Let it go,  knowing of your helping that 
> woman to feel psychically whole, and righteous. 
> Wasn't serving as the object of her prairful 
> fervor, little to no sweat off your 
> ass?Personally, I always assume a passive 
> demeanor when people wish to excercise their 
> prayer rituals around, or about me. Through 
> praying rituals is not how I happen to 
> communicate with my spiritual side, but i 
> completely respect those whom needto feel they 
> are being spiritual by excercising a lil' prayer nor, ought you.
> 
> David W. (ESC) wrote:
>> First, you are going to meet people like this. 
>> Whether one is religious or not, and no matter 
>> what path you choose there are those who insist 
>> that they absolutely must inflict their beliefs 
>> upon you. Now I tried to be kind the first fifty 
>> or sixty times, I am no longer so. I have had 
>> strangers insist upon healing me on busses, 
>> street corners, grocery stores, and once in a 
>> bathroom. If you wish to be kind, remind her of 
>> Paul's idea that prayer should be something done 
>> quietly and in private. If you are feeling less 
>> charitable, when asked if she can pray for you, 
>> just tell her no, and ignore her. If she 
>> persists, go find the manager and complain. Not 
>> being a Biblical scholar, I do remember a passage that reads
>> "he who knows not, and knows not he knows not, he is a fool, shun him."
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2013 8:24 AM
>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] an awkward experience
>> 
>> Good morning folks,  I lost my sight six years 
>> ago and went through a very dark time for a 
>> couple of years and eventually became 
>> comfortable with who I am and have since then 
>> gone on to do most of what I did before.
>> 
>> But I had an experience yesterday that I 
>> didn???t know how to handle.  I was at the gym 
>> and had just completed an hour of cardio.  I was 
>> sitting at a table located in the center of the 
>> gym floor cooling down when a woman began a 
>> conversation with me.  She said that she was 
>> sitting at the table also (which I doubt) and 
>> that God had put her there to talk to me and 
>> that she was an evangelist.   She asked if she 
>> could talk to me.  When I answered in the 
>> affirmative she stood next to me, took my hand 
>> in both of her hands, and began praying over 
>> me.  She asked God to help this poor  child, 
>> saying that Jesus had healed the sick, cured the 
>> blind, and raised the dead.  She prayed for over 
>> a minute (at least it felt like), using verbage 
>> that I only hear on Sunday morning.  Then she 
>> finished and left me sitting there.  I was 
>> shocked and didn???t know what to say.  I let 
>> her do her thing thinking that I had probably 
>> made her feel positive about herself by helping
>> ???this poor child???.  Understand that I am a 
>> christian but have never had such an 
>> embarrassing display since losing my sight.  Has 
>> this happened to others, and how did you handle such a display?
>> 
>> Michael
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