[nabs-l] Do you find this offensive?

[Nicole B. Torcolini]

I've been reading and thinking. In this particular context, that is, meant 
as a joke, it's fine. No, it's not in another context, and I'm not saying 
that it should be treated as if it was, but what if it was in another 
context?  If it was somewhere else, I would find it offensive.  The idea of 
looking at someone, particularly when they are talking to you, is something 
that sighted people expect and, in my opinion, a skill that people who are 
blind should try to acquire as part of fitting in socially.

On a brighter note...
This reminds me of a very funny "You're not looking at me story" that 
happened to me with, believe it or not, a gorilla. My family and I were 
visiting the San Diego zoo, and I was using one of those information devices 
that looks kind of like a wireless phone. Anyways, I had sat down on the 
ledge in front of the gorilla area with my back to the glass.  One of the 
not quite fully grown gorillas noticed that I was not looking at them.  It 
came up behind me and banged on the glass beside my head.  Of course, I did 
not know what was going on until my mom told me.

Nicole

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Corey Cook" <ccook01 at knology.net>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Do you find this offensive?


The proper response would be for the disability office to ignore it and move
on.
Personally it was funny.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 1:03 AM
Subject: [nabs-l] Do you find this offensive?


>
> Hello, all. I'm a student at Lewis & Clark College. A member of the
> Disabled Student Services just contacted me to alert me of a comment in
> the student newspaper she thought might be offensive. The comment was in a
> column on the back of the paper titled "You Caught My Eye," which is a
> series of  comments of the form:
>
> You:  Tall glass.
> Me: wanting to fill you with alcohol.
> You: Erotic Dancer.
> Me: Severely unimpressed.
>
> The comment thought to be offensive was:
>
> You: blind kid.
> Me: Caught you not looking at me.
>
> I'm wondering what you all think of it. The Disabled Student Services
> office wants to respond to the comment. How do you think they should
> respond? I personally don't find the comment offensive and might respond
> like this:
>
> You: Sighted kid.
> Me: Writing secrets in dots you'll never understand.
>
> Best,
> Haben
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
Corey Cook



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