[nabs-l] [nfbWaTlk] class essay

Sun Jun 19 07:18:37 UTC 2011

Holy crap this is awesome!
(how's that for a formal letter opening?)
  I actually disagree with this.  A lot.  Maybe these expressions came
about, at least in part, because of the stereotypes of us being
stupid/inattentive/inferior.  But, the fact is, most of the time when
people use them they aren't talking about physical blindness at all!
Are we being racist when we talk about black friday every year, or the
"black death", or some issues being black and white, or blacklisting
someone?  I know I'm not.  When we say someone has an unorthadox way
of doing something, are we saying they aren't part of the Eastern
Orthadox branch of Christianity?  If I tell you all I just got a fat
paycheck from my job, am I making fun of people who are overweight?
The same principle applies here, I think.
  If someone has "blind faith", it just means they can't see what's
really going on because they're mentally blinded by the person/idea
they are following.  When we say "in the country of the blind, the
one-eyed man is king!" (not that I've heard that in casual
conversation), we're saying that when everyone is too stubborn/set in
their ways to look at reality, even someone with a little bit of
insight is superior.  it's a metaphor.  The way it's used in every day
parlains isn't making fun of physically blind people at all, it's
making fun of people with blind minds!  What's that motto at the end
of each of Chris's messages?   "A loss of sight, never a loss of
vision."  Same concept-these sayings and idioms make fun of people
with no vision...heck, I use them sometimes because the imagery fits.
And, when I say "dude!  What are you?  blind or something?", after a
friend runs over a curb or misses an exit from the freeway, I'm not
implying blind people aren't attentive.  I'm just implying we can't
see.  Don't we have real problems to worry about?  Like actual
descrimination maybe?
  Best,
Kirt

On 6/18/11, Carly Mihalakis <carlymih at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
> At 03:24 PM 6/18
>
> Hi, Humberto,
>
> Do you envision a culture that only speaks in
> generalities and does not celebrate people by use
> of descriptive language? Ought there be some
> ministry of language, some policing body that
> goes around, making sure individuals don't take
> offense to a mere figure of speech? 'Seems it may
> be impossible to speak in an interesting and
> engaging manner if descriptive, specific language
> is not employed, to help do so.
> Carly of Berkeley/2011, you wrote:
>> > Our daughter Joanne is a linguistic
>> anthropology student and was assigned > to > do
>> a one page essay on the ways society reenforces
>> discrimination. She > could have chosen a
>> number of groups and picked one from any number
>> of > ways > that discrimination and bigotry is
>> permitted to continue. Here's what she > said
>> about language and the blind. > > Don't Turn a
>> Blind Eye on the Discrimination Against the
>> Blind > > By Joanne Gabias > > North American
>> societies are trying more and more to be >
>> accepting of disabilities. They do so by adding
>> Braille to elevator > buttons, > adding closed
>> captioning on television, and making sure there
>> are > wheelchair > accessible parking spaces.
>> These actions may alleviate discrimination to >
>> an > extent, but in everyday society,
>> discrimination is far from extinct. As we >
>> know, language creates, transmits and
>> perpetuates culture. In our society, >
>> expressions that refer to someone as being
>> naive, inattentive or stupid > all > use the
>> word blind. Discrimination against the blind
>> can only diminish > once > our language removes
>> these connotations (of being naive, inattentive
>> or > stupid) from the word blind. > > > > "What
>> are you, blind?" This statement is normal in >
>> everyday > speech in our society. No matter the
>> context, this phrase is degrading, > and >
>> indicates the person is subpar. Until this
>> expression is out of our > linguistic
>> vocabulary, it is impossible for a blind person
>> to be treated > with respect and not be cast in
>> these stereotypes of being naive, > inattentive
>> or stupid. > > > > "In the kingdom of the
>> blind, the one-eyed man is king" - > Desiderius
>> Erasmus. This famous quote, once again or
>> almost more so, shows > the blind as inferior
>> human beings. This quote implies that the blind
>> can > never achieve greatness. They will always
>> be lower than everyone else. In > fact, having
>> no sight rather than a small amount of sight is
>> more > advantageous, since having a small
>> amount of sight can be unreliable in > many >
>> situations. > > > > The English proverb "the
>> eyes are the window to the soul" > implies that
>> people whose eyes don't work, don't have souls,
>> and souls are > required to be human in our
>> culture. In other words, the blind are not >
>> human. Our society puts so much importance on
>> sight that it is difficult > for a blind person
>> to show the world they are just as able as a
>> sighted > person. > > > > The list of
>> linguistic discrimination towards blind
>> people > is abundant. Until the connection
>> between blindness and naive, inattentive > and
>> stupid is removed from our language,
>> discrimination towards the blind > will
>> continue to be transmitted and perpetuated
>> throughout our culture. > As > Mark Twain once
>> said "The difference between the right word and
>> the > almost-right word is the difference
>> between lightning and a lightning >
>> bug." > > > > > >
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