[nabs-l] When a loved one goes sighted

Sat Apr 23 05:18:26 UTC 2011

People who are blind can read in the dark without needing a light.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jedi" <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 8:49 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] When a loved one goes sighted

> Mike,
>
> Keeping in mind that you're asking someone who has been conditioned to 
> believe that sight is inherently more convenient than non-sight, I'll 
> admit to you that I had some difficulty in generating a list of 
> conveniences associated with being blind. But for the fun of the exercise, 
> here is a list I've generated thus far and encourage the rest of the list 
> to come up with some others if so moved.
>
> 1. A blind person doesn't need windows. I think Jernigan pointed this one 
> out somewhere in one of his speeches.
> 2. A blind person doesn't need light. You've pointed this one out.
> 3. A blind person isn't hampered by changes in light level, including 
> brightness. Though this has already been half-stated in terms of the fact 
> that light is not required for a blind person to function, it's seldom 
> considered how much of a problem too much light can be for the sighted.
> 4. Social customs aside, it really doesn't matter to us what color things 
> are. I thought this was brilliantly illustrated in Dr. Maurer's story 
> about his gray pancakes.
> 5. You'd be surprised what contortions the sighted will put themselves 
> into in order to use their sight. For example, one of my profs at Tech 
> explained how he once tried to see into a dark and cramped space in order 
> to fix something; this need required him to attempt to place his hands, a 
> flashlight, and his head into this cramped space. He then realized that if 
> he'd thought about doing the task non-visually, he would have only needed 
> to put his hands into the space thus being much more comfortable.
> 6. Blind people don't need mirrors. I don't know about the rest of you, 
> but I consider this a major convenience.
>
> All of these are quite trivial and don't fundamentally change the way a 
> blind person functions in the sighted world. But at the same time, the 
> conveniences associated with sight don't fundamentally impact the way they 
> function either. I think Jernigan pointed out that the ability to see 
> someone down the street is a convenience, but not a major part to 
> functioning. He pointed out instead that the real convenience of sight 
> comes from the fact that life is structured for the sighted just as you 
> did. Now that is a convenience, but so is learning to do things 
> non-visually. Sure, a sighted person can learn to do these things, but 
> they often don't because they think the way they do things visually is 
> more efficient.
>
> As to your other question about blindness, and identity, I think it is 
> possible to think of blindness as just a characteristic and also think of 
> it as a fundamental part of one's identity in the same way that black skin 
> is a characteristic and is thought of as fundamental to one's identity. 
> Does that make sense?
>
> Original message:
>> Jedi:
>
>> How so?  What conveniences are inherently associated with being blind? 
>> Yes,
>> we can function in the dark but so can anyone else who does it for a 
>> while.
>> Ask any marine who's had to field-strip, clean and put back together 
>> his/her
>> weapon in thirty seconds in the dark!
>
>> Also, this whole analysis has some logical flaws.  Some of us (including
>> you) say that we wouldn't want to be sighted, either because being blind 
>> is
>> who we are or because we presume we would have to make adjustments.  But
>> Arielle's Magic Pill would, presumably, automagically make all those
>> adjustments for us so the operative question would be:  "If you didn't 
>> have
>> to do anything outside of sucking down a pill to become sighted with all 
>> its
>> attributes and knowledge outside of learning some skills like reading and
>> driving, would you take the pill?"  In that sense, my answer would be 
>> yes,
>> if only because the world is structured for the sighted.
>
>> And the only permanent thing is change and I contend that our identities 
>> are
>> constantly changing and that if we truly believe in NFB philosophy, we
>> wouldn't single blindness out as somehow inherently different from other
>> characteristics.  Hence, to my way of thinking, as long as there were no
>> great inconveniences other than learning a few skills to gaining sight, 
>> it
>> would be rather dense of us not to take the chance.
>
>> But it ain'ta a-gonna happen in my lifetime, especially as my brain has
>> already been rewired.
>
>> Mike
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of Jedi
>> Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 1:01 PM
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] When a loved one goes sighted
>
>> Well, my gut reaction would be to say no only because becoming blind
>> usually means that there's some kind of injury taking place or some
>> kind of illness causing it. But to deconstruct that narrative, is
>> injury required to become blind? If it were a magic pill, no. The
>> scenario would be the same as the magic sight pill except that
>> blindness is considered by society as a bad thing and sight a good
>> thing; and I'm just as guilty of that perception because I'm a part of
>> society. More than that, I'm prone to the notion that sight makes one
>> fundamentally more functional than a blind person. It is true that our
>> world is structured for people who can see and there are some
>> conveniences associated with sight, but there are conveniences
>> associated with being blind and there's nothing stopping us from
>> rearranging our society to suit everyone regardless of personal
>> characteristics except our lack of imagination and willingness to do
>> so. To apply some further deconstruction here, injury may be required
>> to restore sight to a blind person. So logically and with negative
>> blindness attitudes put aside, giving someone blindness is the same as
>> giving someone sight. In both cases, the individual will have to
>> relearn the new system of being and will have to get used to the change
>> in functioning and any perceived changes in identity.
>
>> Respectfully,
>> Jedi
>
>> Original message:
>>> Here's just another interesting idea to bounce around. If it is 
>>> reasonable
>>> to turn down the opportunity to see, even if it's a "magic pill" 
>>> scenario
>>> like in Arielle's research, do we feel it would be equally acceptable 
>>> for
>> a
>>> sighted person to choose to make themselves blind, because, for what 
>>> ever
>>> reason, they feel they'd be happiest and most themselves as blind 
>>> people?
>
>>> On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 3:16 PM, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> 
>>> wrote:
>
>>>> For me, blindness is a part of who I am. it has shaped my life in a
>> number
>>>> of ways ranging from the friendships and relationships I've had to the
>>>> career I've chosen. Though this may not be true for everyone, it's
>> certainly
>>>> true for me and I'd feel like I've lost an important part of who I am,
>> and
>>>> that loss would far outweigh any gain I receive through sight.
>
>>>> What scares me the most about medicine and sightedness is the 
>>>> possibility
>>>> that governments will require all of us to undergo such procedures 
>>>> rather
>>>> than allowing us the ability to be blind in a sighted world. In other
>> words,
>>>> the government or the world at large would think it's much easier and
>> more
>>>> reasonable to cure us rather than make a world that's usable for 
>>>> everyone
>>>> regardless of characteristics.
>
>>>> Respectfully,
>>>> Jedi
>
>
>>>> Original message:
>
>>>>  Jorge and Homberto,
>>>>>  I feel the same way.  I'm very curious to see what sight is like, I
>>>>> wonder about it sometimes.  I'd even go as far as saying I sometimes
>>>>> would like to see...but if the option were available, the tedium of
>>>>> relearning everything, not to mention the risk of the surgery for
>>>>> something I don't really need, more than balance out any wish I have
>>>>> to see.  But, should a blind friend choose differently and receive
>>>>> sight, I would totally understand, respect and support that decision.
>>>>> And it wouldn't change the friendship on my end, although it would
>>>>> spark some interesting conversations.
>>>>>  Just my thoughts,
>>>>> Kirt
>
>
>>>>  On 4/20/11, Jorge Paez <computertechjorgepaez at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>>>>> Hombertu,
>>>>>> I agree.
>>>>>> I personally wouldn't choose to be sighted for one simple reason.
>>>>>> I've learned everything without sight.
>>>>>> If I regained sight I'd have to relearn everything.
>>>>>> Sure I had sight but lost it when I was so young I can't remember,
>>>>>> so really I can say I've been blind all my life,
>>>>>> and sight would just make it too difficult.
>
>
>>>>  Jorge
>
>
>
>>>>  On Apr 20, 2011, at 8:55 PM, humberto wrote:
>
>
>>>>  First of all, If I was to become sighted, I would not do it. I myself
>>>>>>> wouldn't want to become sighted because of 2 reasons:
>>>>>>> 1.  since I am blind since birth, I will feel so weird being 
>>>>>>> sighted;
>>>>>>> just
>>>>>>> like a sighted person  had been born with sight and feeling weird 
>>>>>>> when
>>>>>>> they become blind. The world would be so different and I cannot even
>>>>>>> explain how different since I've never ever been sighted, and don't
>> want
>>>>>>> to be.
>>>>>>> 2.  I am blind, I am the way I am and I still want to be blind since 
>>>>>>> I
>>>>>>> am
>>>>>>> born blind. Blindness is just an ordinary thing for me. Even my mom
>> has
>>>>>>> gotten me to pray and get me to ask doctors if one day I will "see"
>> but
>>>>>>> that was when I was little, and looking back, I am so * GUILTY * 
>>>>>>> that
>> my
>>>>>>> mom did this and told me that I will see soon in a quite convincing
>> way
>>>>>>> and now I think, and since coming to the United States and attending
>> NFB
>>>>>>> related camps and meetings such as the NFB youth Slam, I see my own
>>>>>>> philosophy of blindness, which is that blindness is something 
>>>>>>> ordinary
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> normal and nothing to be neglected or regretted about.
>>>>>>> Just my 20 dollars for what it's worth, and, great question.
>
>
>
>>>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>> From: Jamie Principato <blackbyrdfly at gmail.com
>>>>>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>
>>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>
>>>>>>>> Date sent: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:56:20 -0400
>>>>>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] When a loved one goes sighted
>
>
>>>>  Hi, all.
>
>
>>>>  I was thinking recently about all of those "what to do what a
>
>>>>>>> loved one goes
>
>>>>>>>> blind" articles and pamphlets I've seen, and how often I hear
>
>>>>>>> people talk
>
>>>>>>>> about the reactions of friends and family and their community
>
>>>>>>> when they lost
>
>>>>>>>> their vision. I think there have even been comments on this list
>
>>>>>>> about
>
>>>>>>>> sighted friends for some reason thinking they have to treat us
>
>>>>>>> differently,
>
>>>>>>>> or can't relate to us as well because we're blind.
>
>
>>>>  My question is this. How do you think the blind would respond in
>
>>>>>>> similar
>
>>>>>>>> situations, say, if a friend among a netork of fellow blind
>
>>>>>>> students
>
>>>>>>>> suddenly went sighted? As medical technology advances rapidly, it
>
>>>>>>> is
>
>>>>>>>> becoming more and more possible to correct a number of causes of
>
>>>>>>> both
>
>>>>>>>> congenital and later onset blindness. I know there are different
>
>>>>>>> opinions on
>
>>>>>>>> matters like this in other disability groups, and the question
>
>>>>>>> really got me
>
>>>>>>>> thinking.
>
>
>>>>  I'd love to hear peoples' thoughts!
>
>
>>>>  -Jamie
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>
>
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