[nabs-l] blindness Vs other minority groups

Fri Nov 4 16:48:14 UTC 2011


Good morning, Joshua,
Of course, maybe that goes without saying. Yet, one ought to be 
careful not to ignore a person's unique, texture which makes them 
unique?  Remember this, How much fun would it ever be, if we were, 
locked  within a repeteitive, homogeny?
Please don't read this as my being wrapped up in that "
"cult of the individual crap because that is not what I mean. I am 
simply trying to describe my dispising homogeny particularly amungst 
people.  2011, Joshua Lester wrote:
>Alexander:
>I didn't say that.
>That was Loren Wakefield's point, that I also take issue with.
>What I was saying is that it is wrong to poke fun at anyone, based on
>what they are, be they disabled, or a diferent religion.
>We should always be careful what we say.
>Blessings, Joshua
>
>On 11/2/11, Alexander Castillo <alexandera.castillo at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hello all, first, I would like to identify myself as someone who is
> > coming from the perspective of two minority
> >
> > groups. I am blind, and I am also from the Dominican Republic.
> >
> > Let's start off with the statement that Joshua made about Christianity
> > being an acceptible religion to poke fun at.
> >
> > This example misses the point, as christians in this country  are a
> > majority, not a minority. I'm not saying that
> >
> > one should be able to make fun of Christianity because of this, I am
> > saying that it does not fit into the topic.
> >
> > However, if we lived in a mostly non-christian nation, and christians
> > were a minority, then the comparison would be
> >
> > right on the money.
> >
> > The issue is whether or not blindness differs from other minority
> > groups.  And, I do not think that it does. If you
> >
> > take a look at people who have been historicly oppressed, look at the
> > symptoms which have come from  that
> >
> > oppression, the stereotypes and discrimination, we could probably draw
> > the conclusion that indeed, blindness is and
> >
> > should be considered a disadvantaged minority group.
> >
> > Once while walking home from a night of bowling I was told by a woman
> > that "I was walking very well for someone
> >
> > blind." she then continued to say that I was almost walking faster
> > than she was. She meant this as a compliment.
> >
> > While chopping vegetables,I heard a man say "Wow, he's chopping up
> > that pepper like he's not even blind.."
> >
> >
> > One of my brother's friends once told him that he did not understand
> > how I always "stayed fresh" meaning that I was
> >
> > always well dressed and looking sharp.
> >
> > I understand what this means. Blind people are understood to lack the
> > skills which sighted people inherently
> >
> > possess, and therefore, as a blind person, I   was doing so well that
> > the sighted person was impressed.
> >
> > Now, I will say that even though hispanics/latinos in this country
> > have a high school drop out rate, that in the
> >
> > workforce we still hold mostly blue collar jobs, that  many of us  pay
> > taxes at a lower income braquet, and yes, we
> >
> > as a whole in this country are considered for a very good part
> > disadvantaged," No one would dare tell me that I was
> >
> > doing so well for myself even though I was Hispanic.
> >
> > Disability, is very slowly beginning to be looked at as a minority
> > group in the same way as ethnicity, gender,
> >
> > religion... The change is taking place because for once, the
> > disability community, and in our particular case the
> >
> > blind community, is being led by our own people. But this is a very
> > slow process, and I would say that most of the
> >
> > general population does not understand the change, or why even why
> > they  have such a rigid view on disability.
> >
> > Disability, and blindness in particular, are considered weaknesses,
> > flaws, things which make the typical human being
> >
> > incomplete.  It is rarely seen among the "able-bodied" as a simple
> > characteristic. If we consider this perspective,
> >
> > the "able-bodied" or sighted person    is indeed giving a compliment.
> > They are saying: I recognize your flaw, and I
> >
> > recognize how you have overcome it.
> >
> > Indeed, we do deserve the same considerations as other minorities,we
> > have had a history of  opression, a history of
> >
> > activism against such oppression, but what we lack is  that point in
> > history in which we had not been oppressed.
> >
> > We cannot point to a map and say, once upon a time, our people were
> > free in this place, or once upon a time,
> >
> > societyconsidered us equal. The blind, for the most part have remained
> > mysterious, and strange to the able-bodied,to
> >
> > the sighted, to the typical human.
> >
> >
> >  We are even mysterious and srange to ourselves, often wondering why
> > some blind people do this, or why some blind
> >
> > people do that.
> >
> > Every day however, I come across more and more blind people who  are
> > ready for employment, who are confident, who do
> >
> > not have and will not suffer the same stereotyping and discrimination
> > that many of us have and will face. These
> >
> > people willl be the new representation of the blind. They will be seen
> > as active and intergrated members of society.
> >
> > and the more that we strive to pull ourselves and others out of
> > conditions of being a  minority group, the more
> >
> > force our new perspective on disability and in our case blindness will
> >   be absorbed into the fabric of society.
> >
> > This was a long post, so thanks for reading,
> > Alex
> >
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