[nabs-l] Blindness versus minority groups

[SA Mobile]

I feel horrified by your rather long list of recommendations. There is social sense, and there is madness. Saying that we should each be evaluated by a sighted person feels too invasive to me, and people don't need to wear dark glasses unless they wish to. I want to communicate with the sighted, not spend my time trying to replicate them in myself. I could see myself going crazy trying not to look like the long list of stereotypes listed below. 

Respectfully Submitted

Sent from my iPhone

On 18/11/2011, at 12:55 PM, Tara Annis <TAnnis at afb.net> wrote:

> Arielle, I do think totally blind from birth can improve on nonverbal communication.  I'm not sure if all could get as good as sighted, but I would  say like any skill, each blind person would achieve their own level of progress.  I do agree with stiffness--a lot of nonverbal communication is done very quickly and in a kind of lazy manner with the hands at a relaxed position.  I'm shocked at all that is communicated; I recently learned there is a hand movement  for so-so or all right, as in how was your work day and the person would use this gesture as they verbally say it was all right or okay or so-so.  
> 
> A blind person can still appear "normal" without knowing all of these movements.  It is more important for a blind person to get rid of strange movements than to learn "normal" body language.  It is absolutely necessary to  get rid of rocking, inappropriate facial expression for the  situation being experienced (smiling at a funeral), etc. A blind person can have stiff movements, but still  appear "normal"  
> What is really needed   is a sighted person to evaluate each blind person on an individual basis, and be honest enough to tell if there are any totally weird movements.  According to the comments on Youtube, Ken Jennings the  blind guy on Jeopardy, had weird facial expressions, so  this seems to be a common problem.
> 
> I think some blind people need to learn more about manners, as in move to the side of the aisle in a grocery store when another person with a cart walks by,  do not stop at the top of stairs or escalators, and do not stop when entering  the doorway  of a business.  Also, some tend to cut people off in  crowds or push people  out of the way.  While I know it is  almost impossible not to fix this completely, I've met people who do not even try and get better at their O&M. I've been around blind people that will shove people  out of their way at the mall, or push a door open when there are people standing on the other side of it.  They told me, "it is sighted people's responsibility to watch out for me and I don't have to do anything on my part cause I'm blind."  
> 
> Another area that some blind people   need to improve upon is dress.  It is better for blind to wear sunglasses if their eyes are  deformed--it will help  the general public be at ease when communicating.  Also, some blind wear clothes that are not in fashion.  I've seen parents give their children "simple" haircuts, buzz cut or shaved head for their son and a really short bob for girls, since they feel the  child cannot  learn to  take care of long hair.  (I hate when this  happens.)  I'd also like to see more blind kids dress for their peer group, such as emo or goth, hippie, skater, preppie, average person, etc.  
> 
> I'm not making fun of people with these traits, I just feel they need the truth.  While I think  people  should not be judged for their appearance, many people in the world do act this way, though sometimes it is subconscious.
> 
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