[nabs-l] Philosophy in society

[Kirt Manwaring]

To all,
  First, I'm on this list.  I'm not consciously avoiding anything
blindness-related.
  And, yes, it's normal and ok for blind people to sometimes talk
about blindness.  I get that.  (heck, I feel perfectly fine talking
about blindness on this list and with my blind friends)  But it
becomes a real problem when you never, or hardly ever, talk about
anything else.  I have friends who, when I'm with them, only talk
about blindness, only talk about assistive technology, braille, canes,
NFB/ACB philosophy, educating sighted people about blindness, etc.
It's not that those things are bad to talk about...they're necessary
and good and important.  But it's equally as important, maybe even
more so, to become well-rounded individuals who can relate and
participate in the sighted world on terms of equality.  And most of my
blind friends, unfortunately, do not have that balance.  I can relate
perfectly to what Jerardo is saying.
  Best,
Kirt

On 2/17/11, Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com> wrote:
> On the topic  of blind people in   blindness-related conversation:  I
> believe that's not at all uncommon  or unreasonable.  Ifyou are around
>  blind friends and something blindness related comes up, then it comes
> up.  It's normal for any ethnic group to have   conversations of or
> relating to their culture or ethnicity.  Can  those conversations  run
> a little long and be overkill, sure they can.  And while I  could
> guess that we've gotten caught up in a little more  "blindness talk"
> than we might expect every once in a while, I am not too sure how this
> translates into how we deal with the sighted community's perceptions
> of us, yet respect where we as a person/people  are at the time?  We
> may know the truth about blindness, but does that mmean that we need
> to walk around with nfb litriture in our back  pack ready to wirl
> around with something in   hand in responce to "why do you use that
> stick?" or, "you must be really good at music"? Doesn't that
> underscore why we are different  more than equil?
>   just some thoughts.
>
>  Respectfully,
>   Darian
>
> On 2/17/11, Bernadetta Pracon <bernadetta_pracon at samobile.net> wrote:
>> Bridgit,
>> Great essay. I really enjoyed reading it. I think it definitely echos
>> the way we all feel.
>>
>> Bernadetta P.
>>
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>
> --
> Darian Smith
> Skype: The_Blind_Truth
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>
> "You could be shown the road, given the vehicle, even handed the key.
> But only you can have the drive."
>
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