[nabs-l] [nfbWaTlk] class essay

Sun Jun 19 08:00:43 UTC 2011

Hi, Kirt,

Thank you, for this!

Hamberto, Have you forgotten that, when people 
talk of "blindness" in everyday  speech, they are 
merely making a commentary on a person's mere 
failure  to perceive. Not, I don't think that they cannot physically SEE!
Honestly, I believe your premise, Hamberto, an 
extraordinarily flawed one because it seems to be 
removing spontaneity and truth from, your vision of a discourse.
  2011, Kirt Manwaring wrote:
>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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