[nabs-l] Blindness and other minorities
Chris Nusbaum
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Wed Nov 16 01:57:26 UTC 2011
Hi Alexander,
Yes, you are right about that. However, for other minority
groups, it's on a much smaller scale, as more people have been
taught to accept them as equals and to not discriminate against
them. Why? As I said in my original email, it is because these
beliefs are generally thought to be baseless and ridiculous, and
therefore are not widely believed. But we still have this
problem, and the misconceptions are very widely believed. Why?
Because to the public, their belief in these misconceptions is
not discrimination, but rather intellectual honesty. To them,
they're not discriminating; far from it. They're going out of
their way to help us! Now how could that be discrimination?
That's their thought process, in my opinion, and we know that it
is discrimination.
Chris
"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
exists. If a blind person has the proper training and
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind,
1968-1986
P.S. The I C.A.N. Foundation helps blind and visually impaired
youth in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through
providing assistive technology and scholarships to camps and
conventions which help them be equal with their sighted peers.
For more information about the Foundation and to support our
work, visit us online at www.icanfoundation.info!
Sent from my BrailleNote Apex
----- Original Message -----
From: Alexander Castillo <alexandera.castillo at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 23:20:44 -0500
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness and other minorities
Hi all, Chris wrote:
"It seems to me that
these misconceptions are passed down through the generations;
from one generation to their children, then passed on to those
children's children, then to their children, and to their
children, and so on. When these beliefs are taught for a long
time and are handed down through the generations, it becomes
easier for people to believe them and they mostly do. These
misconceptions, which are widely believed by a vast majority of
the public, are the beliefs from which the stereotyping and
discrimination stem. Then, the misconceptions of the public
directly effect us, as we then become the object of
discrimination and stereotypes. To me, other minority groups
don't have this problem. "
These are exactly the causes of discrimination against gender,
religion, ethnicity or race.... And, they are still being fought
against by other minority groups as well. People do believe that
ethnicity or race has to do with intelligence, they do
discriminate
against sex and gender based on beliefs which are false.
We are no diferent as a minority group than any other. This
might be a
dificult concept to grasp for those of us who's only
identification
with discrimination has come from blindness. But what we deal
with on
a daily basis is what many minority groups in the past have dealt
with. The difference now is that for those other minority
groups, it
has become taboo to stereotype and discriminate even in positive
ways, for example, saying that all Asians are good in math, or
that
all Hispanics are good at baseball, or that one should treat
their
female co-workers gentler then male coworkers.
What we face is discrimination which to the sighted public isn't
visible as discrimination. It is seen as charity, as grace, as
good
will, as good intent, and quite often as a necessary part of
"dealing
with the blind."
Thanks for reading,
Alex
On 11/7/11, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> wrote:
Perhaps, but there are "cross-platform" techniques that other
minorities are using that might help us out just as well.
Respectfully Submitted
Original message:
Julie,
No, the discrimination faced by people of different races and
ethnicities, or gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc., is a
different type of discrimination that what people with
disabilities
face. It also stems from different sources- usually this type
of
discrimination grows out of hate as well as ignorance and fear
of
differences. Disability is feared too, but the general idea, as
you
state, is that many believe disabled people require constant
assistance,
and disabled people are owed a debt by society because we lack
equality.
It's not processed this way, but it stems from the perception
that
disability equates to not being capable, less fortunate,
inferior.
We can't place discriminatory behavior side by side when it
comes to
disability and other issues like race or sexual orientation, but
we do
share the fact that ignorance and antiquated perceptions
perpetuate
ideas about people who are different. We can't try to make the
issues
exactly the same and hold the same measurements, but we can
understand
how ignorance cultivates an environment lacking education and
infromation providing people with the concept of true equality.
Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
"History is not what happened; history is what was written
down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 23:40:03 -0600
From: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness vs. Other Minority Groups
Message-ID:
<CAHox4D+p6XefJkLCiWDb+f0VnjH5W2ZQeVu+NXaku=HYJmY7Jg at mail.gmail.c
om
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Hi all.
I know this was mentioned a bit in previous messages, but I
think the
big difference is the fact that sighted people believe that we
are
always in need of help. They take it as a matter of course that
we are
helpless and can't do whatever it is by ourselves. Now I am
speaking
generally; I do not mean all sighted people.
I don't believe that other minority groups deal with this
problem. White
people don't try to help African Americans with simple tasks
without
asking them if they need it as sighted people often do to the
blind.
When blind people refuse help or get annoyed when they are
treated
differently, then the sighted people are offended when the blind
speak
and advocate for themselves.
I actually think that educating complete strangers is easier
than
educating people I know. I have been called angry and prideful
because
I refuse to allow people to grab my arm and propell me along,
and I get
very frustrated with people who will not talk to me in favor of
speaking
to my sighted friends. It was said to me by a friend that I
should just
deal with it and accept the help because it is easier that way.
I don't
even know if this person even understood how offensive that
comment was
to me.
When I am in the middle of a situation where in I have to
educate
someone, I try to handle it with firm politeness. It helps to
keep a
smile in place and explain it as though these things happen all
the
time, which they do. You can complain and rant to your friends
later.
:)
The other problem is that there really is a time and a place for
advocacy and education. I am a performer, so I must walk on
stage. I
prefer to do this independently. I am a singer, and I work with
an
accompanist. We have been working together for about five
years. She
knows that I will walk on stage on my own. This weekend at a
singing
competition I had to work with another accompanist. This one
thought it
necessary to grab my arm and stop me at my place in front of the
piano
and try to turn me around to face the audience. I was stuck. I
could
not give her a speach then and there of course, but I was afraid
that it
would look bad that she was litterally trying to turn me around
like I
didn't know which way to face on my own.
Unfortunately, even when I tried to explain it to her later, she
did not
understand. I have also taught my guide dog to stop when people
grab my
arm. This is actually quite fun. The person trying to pull me
along
will get annoyed and inquire as to why I am not moving. When I
explain
calmly that my dog stops when people try to guide me because it
is her
job to guide me, and she does not need to compete with others,
they
understand and don't get too offended.
This is a very interesting thread, and I've been enjoying
reading about
all your thoughts and experiences.
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