[nabs-l] Blindness versus other minority groups

Fri Nov 18 13:40:16 UTC 2011

Good morning, Arielle,

I know I tend to use such gestures as a quick shrug of the shoulders 
to express nonchalantness since such a nonverbal expression seems to 
come naturally to me so I hope is somewhat believable. How can facial 
expressions and other body language convey meaning if they are not 
naturally, ocuring? For this reason I don't see a reason to sort of 
put on nonverbal, expression if, behind it there is little, meaning? 
What's the point? I Tara and all,
>You make a good point about nonverbal communication. I agree that it
>behooves us as blind people to actively use nonverbal communication to
>express ourselves. However, I wonder how skilled someone can become at
>this who has been totally blind since birth, even with practice. In
>particular, I am thinking about deliberately using nonverbal signals
>in emotional or stressful situations, like eye-rolling or looking
>annoyed when a stranger says or does something obnoxious. I imagine we
>can practice certain gestures or facial expressions, but would they
>ever become automatic enough to appear without much conscious effort,
>as they do for sighted people? Of course some things, like facing a
>conversation partner, are easy and don't require much thought, but
>other expressions are a lot more nuanced. I'm curious if any of you
>who have always been blind really feel like you have developed good
>control over your facial and body expressions, or if any of you have
>made attempts to get better. I really do think that focused lessons
>about body language should be taught to young blind children, but I
>think that realistically, the task of getting someone who has always
>been blind to adopt culturally shared facial expressions and gestures
>routinely is a lot harder than just a simple explanation. Then again,
>if this kind of education were treated like a dance or acting class,
>with as much discipline and structure, maybe it could work.
>Incidentally, I have noticed that if I find myself thinking about
>something funny, I will pop a big smile and people will ask me what's
>so funny. I'm curious if this happens to anyone else? I get the
>impression that this doesn't happen to sighted people and I assume
>that sighted people find themselves thinking about funny things too,
>but that they just hide it better. Often I am so distracted by the
>funny thought that I don't even realize I am grinning until my
>attention is called to it. This is often quite awkward and
>embarrassing, especially since most of the time, the funny thing I am
>thinking about is just a stupid joke or something from a TV show and I
>don't really feel like explaining it out loud. Can you think of a
>graceful way to handle this, or to prevent it?
>Best,
>Arielle
>
>On 11/15/11, Andi <adrianne.dempsey at gmail.com> wrote:
> >      I agree nonverbal comunication is so very important and I think it
> > should be included in the curriculum that VI's and training 
> centers use, not
> > only what we want to say but also avoiding the nonverbals that say what we
> > do not want to say.  I use to work at a summer camp and I notice a big
> > difference in the social lives of the blind kids and teens who had an
> > understanding of nonverbal comunication versis the blind kids and teens who
> > were not taught nonverbal comunication.  Part of the reason sighted people
> > think so badly and incorrectly about the blind is because sometimes blind
> > people do not allways look compatent even though they are.  I am not saying
> > that all blind people look this way, nor am I saying that blind people who
> > look compatent are never faulsly judged.  I know that the sighted are
> > largely ignorent to the truthe about blind people, but I think blind people
> > also need to present themselves in a way that portrays them how 
> they want to
> > be seen.  I know that you shouldn't care to much what other people think of
> > you, because you can not please everyone, and you should always be true to
> > yourself; however all people especially people who are already dealing with
> > stigmas such as the blind should care to a sertain extent.
> >      Many blind people have atrophy in the muscles in their face.  This
> > means that many facial expressions are hard or in some cases impossible to
> > make.  When people have a blank look on their face it looks to the sighted
> > like there is nothing going on upstairs.  Even other sighted 
> people get this
> > blank look on their face sometimes but it is usually when they are dazing
> > off or falling asleep.  When a person has that look all the time 
> it looks to
> > sighted people that the blind can not have an intelligent conversation
> > because you can not talk to someone who is off in space.  Some Blind people
> > go to physical tharipy to remedy this, but that is not necessary just some
> > exercises at home can fix it.  Also eye contact is a big part of nonverbal
> > comunication.  Many blind people keep their eyes closed, or look at the
> > floor, or look up in the sky.  That to a sighted person shows disinterest,
> > bordom, or again the off in space thing depending on the rest of your body
> > language accompanying the lack of eye contact.  Even though we can not see
> > the person we are talking to we should make eye contact.  Isms such as
> > rocking, poking, spinning, or flicking, are not exceptable ever as this
> > looks like a cognitive impairment.  At the camp their were blind kids with
> > no other disability, and blind kids who also had cognitive impairments.  I
> > had my sighted sister come to the camp and help teach a weekend dance camp
> > as she is a very skilld dancer.  One teenager who is very smart by the way
> > and has no other disabilities was rocking and poking while 
> singing loudly at
> > dinner.  My sister had not yet met him and asked me how old he 
> was mentally.
> > Once she met him and realized he was mentally a normal teen she 
> felt bad for
> > asking the question, but that is how the sighted world looks at isms. The
> > placement of your hands is a simple but often socially faital thing if
> > placed oddly.  Also the way a person stands or walks is importaint.  Many
> > blind people move stiffly, I am not talking a robot, but still stif
> > movements can tell a sighted person something you are not trying to say.
> > Depending on what you are doing with the stiff movement you can look either
> > angry, nervous, or mocking.  This is just the tip of the nonverbal icebirg,
> > and it can make a huge difference in the way we as blind people are viewed.
> >      Also you are right about understanding the body language of 
> others, and
> > even though we can not see it there are ways of telling what is being said
> > silently.  Some actions make noise, while others have a different energy
> > feel.  I was told that only 7 percent of all comunication is what a person
> > says, 32 percent of all comunication is tone, and 61 percent of all
> > comunication is nonverbal.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tara Annis
> > Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 10:20 AM
> > To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> > Subject: [nabs-l] Blindness versus other minority groups
> >
> > I think the first step in helping blind people to get their feelings across
> > to the sighted is  to understand what is considered ignorance and what is
> > considered outright teasing and cruelty in public.  Many of the meanest
> > things are just said with one word    and a lot of body language.  Many
> > people who hate blind people speak in a nice manner, but  exhibit 
> cruelty in
> > their body language. I do think a lot of blind people, not all, 
> but some, do
> > lack discernment in this area, especially if they are blind from 
> birth and a
> > sighted person  does not take the time to explain nonverbal communication.
> > I think the first step would be for an honest sighted person to follow a
> > blind person around and interpret the visual elements to the blind person,
> > so that the entire picture can be analyzed for both parties.  I 
> think one of
> > the best ways to respond to those who are ignorant, who are not attempting
> > to be mean, but make offensive remarks is through body language, like
> > rolling one's eyes.  Most sighted people use   nonverbal communication to
> > show  when they are irritated by another person.  If the person 
> continues to
> > be annoying, the person will then use verbal communication.  That is why
> > sighted people think blind are mean for actually verbally stating their
> > anger, instead of visually displaying it.  I would like to see a 
> class where
> > advanced nonverbal communication is explained, since    currently it seems
> > there are just the basics  taught, like  facing the person you are talking
> > to and shaking hands. There is not a class in how to display   the various
> > ways of shooing levels of discomfort, from   annoyed, slightly irritated,
> > somewhat irritated, to angry. Blind people need to know that 
> sometimes it is
> > necessary to actively create facial expressions and body movements, as
> > opposed to letting one's body language depict their true feelings.
> > Personally, I was surprised at the amount of communication that 
> is displayed
> > nonverbally, that sighted people watch me from across a large college
> > campus, or from way down the street, and are making judgments about me from
> > my appearance. Once this was explained to me, I do feel that I am more
> > comfortable around sighted people, and am  in   control of  getting my
> > feelings across.  The great thing about learning all this stuff is that I
> > have seen the amount of ignorance I faced by sighted people diminish
> > significantly.  It is a 50/50 situation: blind people need to do their half
> > of    helping get rid of ignorance  and sighted people need to be 
> willing to
> > do their half.
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