[nabs-l] Of Things that Matter

[Joe Orozco]

For me, the sex study is irrelevant and insignificant.  The age range is
limited, making me wonder about a sufficient sample, and we really don't
have a clue as to what exactly it is that the research hopes to accomplish.
And this survey is merely preparatory for a future survey?  What does
trouble me is the validity people have given the project.  From what little
we know of the project, it would appear the professor believes there is
something inherently different in blind people that would make sex education
a special circumstance for this population.

Maybe I'm missing something.  Is your perception of sex different because
you're blind?  Was your inability to see a significant challenge to figuring
out how it works?  Was your childhood so isolated that your friends did not
fill in the gaps?

Okay, let's say we agree the study is a joke.  You say it's important to
educate the public that blind people are every bit as capable of intercourse
as anyone else.  The million-dollar question is quite simply:  Why?
Seriously, why is it necessary to tell scholars that blind people learn
about sex the same as any other adolescent.  You could claim it's everyday
advocacy, but advocacy is only necessary if you are being barred from
equally participating in certain activities.

This specific study is intellectual waste because it makes blind people feed
into public misconceptions.  It makes blind people feel they need to defend
themselves against something for which no defense is necessary.  The
research presumes blind individuals are subjects worthy of unique
examination, and we allow ourselves to be reduced to odd samples the second
we begin to engage the researcher in his own experiment.  You're not going
to educate him, because it's not just about disproving a hypothesis.  It's
about disproving the preconceived prejudice that triggered the research in
the first place.

Ultimately, people will wonder but will probably not publicly ask:  Why are
sighted people generally put off by the idea of intercourse with a blind
person?  My educated guess is fear of the unknown.  We have all been in
situations where we feared too many questions would be just plain rude.
Well, you think, how is it that we're supposed to change minds if we're not
supposed to advocate?  Remember, you're not trying to have sex with the
general public.  There are things for which you do not need to make a
statement to make happen with the one person that is the target of your
natural instincts.

Is there a place for an examination of sex and blindness in the same
context?  Certainly.  We should examine the depravity of certain humans who
force themselves on blind people simply because they perceive the victims as
easy prey.  This is an idea worth investigating and finding solutions.

But, there is a difference between a victim of violence and a victim of
society.  In the case of the former, one may not always have the resources
to protect oneself against the circumstances.  In the case of the latter,
however, you do have a choice, and you do not need to feel pressured to send
a signal over something so insubstantial as to almost be laughable.
Hard-core disability activists who feel moved to write books about sexual
equality irritate me because all that time that was spent preaching could
have been spent...But, I digress.

We need to keep things in perspective.  We need to not be lured into
dialogues that do nothing to advance our equality.  There are plenty of
fields where we need to educate the public of our abilities, and as far as
I'm concerned, the three main people in that big diverse public for whom the
extra mile is required are the people you call family, the people who cut
your check, and the people you take home to meet mama.  How I learned about
and fulfilled my private tasks is not a matter of academic speculation,
because my disability does not make me any different from anyone else.

Alright, now I'm going to smack myself around for succumbing to the urge to
fall victim to this irrelevant distraction.  I am copying the professor here
in hopes he might enlighten me as to his motives.  Maybe there's something
there I'm just too dense to see?  Criticisms aside, I'm open to being
educated.

Regards,

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing