[nabs-l] Blindness vs. Other Minority Groups

[Beth]

YEs.  That makes sense.  People tell me one thing, and I see 
another.  Deq is a very able person, and I see a lot of 
discrimination against Africans, African Americans (who didn't 
come here straight out of Africa) and Latinos being discriminated 
against in the education system because teachers say, "These 
people are not intelligent."  The blind are also discriminated 
against in the same ways.
Beth

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:15:44 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness vs. Other Minority Groups

Beth,

Could you clarify what you mean by the following?

Deq, my Somali friend, is so sweet, and so intelligent, I forget 
about
the whole Somali thing.

The only reason I ask you to clarify what you mean is because 
this is
exactly the comment that Arielle is so frustrated with. Are you 
saying
that you forget about the stupid things people say about Somali 
people
because of how sweet and intelligent your friend is? If so, 
you're
saying the same thing that people say about us as blind people. 
So, it
would sound like "My friend is so sweet and intelligent that I 
forget
how some people say that the blind are incapable." Does that make 
sense?

Respectfully,
Jedi

Original message:
 Try being Blind, Muslim, and Somali.  I converted to Islam and
 associate with Somalis, who are viewed as "violent, bombers,
 people who just want to absolutely throw you into a ditch."  Not
 that anyone has ever said that.  But the news views Somalis as
 "confidants of Al Shabbab" and so on.  Deq, my Somali friend, is
 so sweet, and so intelligent, I forget about the whole Somali
 thing.  Being a Muslim is not a bad dea at all.  Jedi, I see 
what
 you've got in the "unusual religion" category.  I don't think
 your stuff is too unusual.  Your religion could be categorized 
as
 "super Buddhism".  My religion could be classified according to
 interpretations of the Quran.  To those who practice
 Judaeo-Christian heritage, I don't think it's a bad heritage.
 I've been there.  But I didn't feel it was appropriate because
 the charismmatic Christians in my family didn't feel that
 blindness is something bearable.  Islam believes that if you
 "suffer", or if you really are suffering from mental illness or
 blindness, then if you are also patient with what you have, then
 you are bound for Heaven or Paradise as we call it.  Being blind
 AND a Muslim is a bad idea in some states like Florida, but not 
a
 bad idea in Colorado, where the Somali population is third
 largest only to one other state ad Minnesota.  I don't remember,
 uh, I think it was Maine I was thinking of.  I'm not Somali
 myself, but since Deq is a Somali, people tend to say things 
that
 aren't so nice about him, blind or otherwise.  I usually stop 
and
 defend him.
 Beth

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net
 To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:27:07 -0400
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness vs. Other Minority Groups

 Arielle,

 I think you're right that speaking about blindness in such a
 negative
 way is no different than speaking about other minorities in this
 fashion. I think the problem is twofold. First, people honestly
 feel
 that they are being kind to us, but they understand on some 
level
 that
 negative comments about other minorities are not kind; most
 people
 don't understand how their kindness impacts us. The other 
problem
 is
 that, up to this point, we haven't spoken with a clear voice on
 the
 matter of how we're treated by the sighted. Yes, there are our
 banquet
 speeches and our public announcements, but we're pressured into
 everyday politeness by both blind and sighted persons so much
 that
 we're afraid to tell the sighted how their so-called kindness
 really
 impacts us; the end result is that the sighted have no idea how
 we
 really feel about their behavior and we continue to have the 
same
 old
 issues we've had forever. Other minorities have done a much
 better job
 of voicing their frustrations than we have on an interpersonal
 level.
 We've conditioned ourselves into thinking that we owe the 
sighted
 some
 form of special courtesy since we're so afraid that they're 
going
 to
 judge us all based on the reactions of one person. If you want
 evidence, consider "Don't Throw the Nickel" and "The Nature of
 Independence."

 Let me say now what I've personally decided to do when it comes
 to this
 very issue. I stressed myself out to the point of needing
 counseling
 over whether or not the sighted would judge all of us based on 
my
 actions; I stressed out because i was afraid of how the rest of
 you
 might judge me if you ever found out about how I handled this or
 that
 interaction. That's a hell of a lot of pressure! I personally
 internalized the frustrations of all of us and this obsessive
 need to
 educate the sighted. I felt it was my responsibility to be an
 ambassador for the blind. I'm not kidding when I tell you that I
 emotionally hurt myself and physically drained my personal
 resources.
 After a lot of soul-searching and some professional help, I've
 decided
 to abdicate my role as ambassador for the blind unless I
 willingly put
 myself in that position (e.g. a meet the blind month activity or
 presentation on blindness). I have also abdicated my role as the
 educator. I've decided to stop dialoguing with the sighted
 through
 education and I've decided to start educating through dialogue.
 This
 needs explaining. If a sighted person says "You do so well that 
I
 forget you're blind," I say (if I think it's important enough),
 "I feel
 stuck when I hear you say that I'm so good at X that you forget
 that
 I'm blind. First, I feel forced to thank you for what you
 perceived to
 be a compliment because, if I don't thank you, I'm the rude one
 here.
 But at the same time, I feel hurt that you would say something
 like
 that because I hear you saying that you don't expect me to do so
 well
 because I'm blind and so are surprised, or that you somehow 
think
 that
 I'm better than whatever image you've created of me and my blind
 friends. This isn't to say that I don't recognize your attempt 
at
 kindness, but I'd rather you tell me that you appreciate
 something I'm
 good at because I'm good at it, not because I seem to go beyond
 an
 expectation I perceive you've set for me." Use whatever words 
you
 like
 folks. If you're genuinely grateful for the comment, say so. If
 you're
 angry, say so. But for goodness sake, don't just be quiet 
because
 you're expected to be polite. This is a great way to stack these
 things
 up in your heart. And if you can't say whatever you need to say
 to the
 person you need to say it to, find someone to say it to like a
 friend
 or a colleague who understands you. Put it in an e-mail message
 or
 whatever you need to do. That's what other minorities have been
 doing
 with comments like this, and I don't understand why we've not
 caught on
 except that we somehow seem to think we don't deserve this kind
 of
 equality. And you know what, some sighted people won't get it no
 matter
 what you do or say. But some will, and they'll appreciate your
 heart-felt honesty a hell of a lot more than whatever platitude
 you offer.

 Arielle, you asked some of us to talk about our other minority
 statuses
 if we have them. I fit into the "unusual religious belief"
 category,
 and my legal name reflects that fact. Some of you may know how
 much
 crap I've received from some regarding my preference to be 
called
 "Jedi" rather than my given name "Jennifer." I learned the hard
 way
 that going along to get along is a terrible choice. by going
 along to
 get along, I felt like some part of myself wasn't being heard.
 And if I
 fought against the tide of people telling me what to call 
myself,
 I
 felt like my words and reasons were falling into nothingness,
 even by
 people who cared about me but couldn't understand how important
 this
 preference was to me. So finally, i decided that I need to
 respect
 myself, especially because i wasn't getting much from others in
 this
 respect. So I changed my name legally and now it's no problem.
 I'm sure
 some people were disappointed in me for whatever reason. But I
 think
 they learned to respect me more as a person because I stood up
 for
 myself and didn't ask their permission to be who and what I am. 
I
 think
 the sighted are the same way. Maybe dramatic demonstrations such
 as
 mine aren't required in every situation, but I think we need to
 be
 ready for those times when they are.

 So in short, when you find yourself in a situation where a
 sighted
 person has said or done something to you, think about how that
 really
 makes you feel inside. And if it's important to you, make it a
 point to
 say whatever it is you feel you need to say. And since the rest
 of us
 aren't with you when you're going through this process, none of
 us have
 the right to judge you for whatever you do because we might have
 done
 the same had we been in your shoes. And if we really support 
each
 other
 and our collective bid for freedom, we shouldn't judge you
 anyway. Only
 you know what's right for you in how you deal with the sighted,
 and
 your experiences will tell you if any changes are needed to your
 approach. As to the reactions of the sighted, realize that
 they'll get
 over it; they're just as resilient as we are, and someone might
 actually take what you have to say to heart, I've heard it 
happen
 before and I've witnessed it myself. And really folks, we can't
 expect
 ourselves to represent all of us all of the time. We are a
 people's
 movement, yes. But first and foremost, we are people.

 If what I say feels right to any of you, let's get in contact
 because
 I'm working on some workshops in which ideas like these can be
 further
 explored and spread to the Federationists who are interested in
 this
 kind of thing.

 Thanks for asking the question, Arielle. It's high time someone
 did.

 Respectfully,
 Jedi
 Original message:
  Warning-this topic has the potential to start a heated debate,
 but I
  also think it is an interesting and important topic for us as
 blind
  people to think about.
  Lately I have been thinking a lot about how the problems faced
 by the
  blind are similar to or different from those faced by other
 minority
  groups in this country historically and in the present. More
 than
  that, I have been thinking about how the general public sees us
 as a
  group in comparison to how they view other minority groups. It
 has
  struck me that oftentimes members of the general public treat 
us
 in
  discriminatory ways or stereotype us without even considering
 that
  this kind of treatment resembles stereotyping and 
discrimination
  against other minority groups.
  Let me give a concrete example. In his book Freedom for the
 Blind, Jim
  Omvig writes of a time when he was directing a training center
 and a
  female staff member at the center commented, "You do your job 
so
 well,
  sometimes I forget you're blind!" Seeing the teachable moment,
 Mr.
  Omvig brought up this incident to his students during a
 philosophy
  class, and to illustrate his point he said to the woman, "You
 are such
  a good teacher, sometimes I forget you're a woman!" From what I
  recall, the staff member got a bit upset and insisted that "no,
 what I
  said about you being blind was very different from what you 
said
 about
  my being a woman. I was just trying to give you a compliment!"
  Now, as blind people most of us understand the problem with her
  comment-the implication that being blind must not be very good,
 so
  someone who does a good job isn't like other blind people. To 
me
 this
  sounds like the same problem as making the analogous comment to
 a
  woman-but she didn't see it that way. Why not? Is there a
 difference
  here?
  I have often been quite frustrated when people I know and
  trust-friends or family members, who have very liberal views
 about
  race, would never utter a racial slur or support discrimination
  against racial minorities, women, gays etc. who nonetheless 
have
 no
  qualms about saying negative things about blindness. Like 
saying
 blind
  people are all worse than the sighted at something, or that
 blind
  people are more dependent or less successful than the sighted,
 etc.
  They will sometimes say these things to my face and don't
 understand
  why I don't like to hear these things. Sometimes family members
 will
  make comments comparing me favorably to other blind people. 
They
 think
  they are giving me compliments, and fail to understand that I
 don't
  want to hear negative things spoken about the blind as a
 collective.
  Yet these same people would never tell an African American that
 they
  are "smart for a black person" etc. I remember during the
 protests
  against the Blindness film in 2008, I was perplexed by how many
 people
  just didn't get it, and didn't see what harm the film could
 do-and yet
  an analogous film where everyone developed black skin or female
  anatomy with such dire consequences would never be accepted in
 our
  modern society. And finally, in my research, I have observed
 that the
  college students in my experiments have no problem saying on a
 survey
  that the blind are much less competent than the sighted, yet
 would
  never say such things directly about another minority group-in
 fact,
  lots of fancy indirect measures have been developed to tap 
those
  attitudes because people nowadays are so unwilling to admit
 their
  prejudices, unless it's toward the blind.
  So, what's up? Are stereotypes about the blind somehow more
 accurate
  than stereotypes about ethnic minorities? Is discrimination
 against
  the blind somehow more justified? Or is it just that we are 
such
 a
  small group that we haven't developed the same history, had the
 same
  scale of civil rights activism, etc. to raise people's
 awareness? Do
  you guys think we deserve the same considerations as other
 minorities
  in this country? If not, am I missing something? If so, how do
 we get
  members of the public to see this?
  Also, as an aside, I'm curious to hear from those of you who 
are
 "dual
  minorities" being both blind and a member of a minority group 
in
 this
  country (ethnicity-wise, or a different group like GLBT,
 uncommon
  religious beliefs etc.) How do you think your two identities 
are
  similar? Different? Do you feel they interact with one another?
  I look forward to the discussion.
  Best,
  Arielle

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