[Ct-nfb] Question on Hierarchy of Sight

[Justin Salisbury]

Hi everyone,

I just read a message on another affiliate's email list about a member who was hit by a car yesterday. He's a really nice guy, but the post introducing the issue to everyone seemed to focus not on how great a guy he was but on the fact that he and his wife are both totally blind. It gave me the impression that it was worse for him to be hit by a car because of his total blindness than it would be for a high partial or sighted person to be hit. The reason I think it's terrible is because he's that kind of guy that you'd expect to play Santa Claus for the children at a pancake breakfast, not because of his total blindness.

Please excuse me if the subject line is ineffective, but I cannot help but wonder if this has something to do with the hierarchy of sight, or maybe some other social ideas about blindness. Why do you think someone would focus on his total blindness in a message like that?

I'm choosing to have the discussion here instead of there because I want the discussion to be separated from personal feelings about this guy, who, again, is a great guy.

Looking forward to responses,

Justin

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