[nabs-l] Blindness vs. Other Minority Groups

Chris Nusbaum dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Sun Nov 20 03:20:19 UTC 2011


Absolutely right! Good luck, Joshua!

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: Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:02:19 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness vs.  Other Minority Groups

Cool!
I'm going to start this same program, in the schools!
If we're going to educate people about blindness, we need to 
start
with the children.
Blessings, Joshua

On 11/13/11, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
 Hi Joshua and everyone,

 I am in 8th grade and am mainstreamed in the public school 
system
 here in Carroll County, Maryland.  I'm also an anchor on my
 school's TV-LIKE morning announcements program.  So, one day
 during Meet the Blind Month when I was on the program as an
 anchor, I made an announcement on the air regarding Meet the
 Blind Month and its purpose, to "educate the sighted public 
about
 the truth about blindness, and our real capabilities." I also
 encouraged them to ask me any questions they had about 
blindness,
 no matter what it was.  I wouldn't be offended.  I closed the
 announcement with a slogan that my TVI thought up; "I encourage
 all of you to open your mind and meet the blind!" This has
 started a great opportunity for me to educate my peers, and for
 them to openly ask me questions.  My family and I also do a
 program for my teachers each year, in which we do a blindness
 simulations where the teachers have to make a peanut butter and
 jelly sandwich blindfolded.  This also helps them get an glimpse
 into my world, if you will.  I'd love to hear what you guys did
 for Meet the Blind Month, if anything!

 Chris

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Fri, 4 Nov 2011 17:59:21 -0500
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness vs.  Other Minority Groups

 I actually did a presentation at my college, for "Meet the
 Blind,"
 month where I showed everyone how to guide a blind person, and I
 taught them the blindness courtesy rules, from the NFB.
 I'd encourage all students here, to ask if you can do the same
 thing,
 at your colleges.
 Blessings, Joshua

 On 11/4/11, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
  Hi all,
  These are all great points.  Thanks for humoring me with this
  discussion.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it
 important.
  As some of you may know, there was a time not too long ago when
  African Americans were perceived to be less intelligent than
 white
  Americans.  In fact, there was a brief scientific movement
 called "race
  science" to try and quantify this intelligence difference and
 link it
  to racial differences in brain structure.  Of course, this
 belief has
  been heavily challenged and is no longer popular.  
Additionally,
  psychologists have identified specific factors in the social
  environment that can lead to racial differences in performance
 on
  standardized tests that were once mistaken for differences in
  intelligence.  For example, questions on IQ tests are sometimes
 worded
  in a biased fashion to favor people from white American
 backgrounds,
  and sometimes fears about being stereotyped can cause people to
  perform worse on tests than they are actually capable of.
 Because
  African Americans were stereotyped as less intelligent, this
  stereotype itself can lead to poor test performance.
  As we all know, there are lots of beliefs out there, among the
 sighted
  public, blindness professionals and blind people ourselves,
 about the
  inferiority of blindness and the many deficits and lack of
 ability we
  have.  We know that a big part of our inequality comes from the
 social
  environment-parents and teachers who have low expectations, 
lack
 of
  instruction in Braille and other blindness skills, and lack of
  accessibility-and only a small part of it comes directly from
 the
  condition of blindness.  I dream that in time, hopefully in our
  lifetime, this will become the widely accepted view, and the
 majority
  of the sighted public will understand that we can be equally
  successful as our sighted counterparts under the right social
  conditions, just like most people (at least most educated
 people) now
  understand that African Americans are just as intellectually
 capable
  as whites if the social environment supports their success.
  We definitely have a long way to go in this regard and it will
 be
  difficult to drive this point home.  As others have said, some
 sighted
  people just don't know what our capabilities are.  I think that
 in our
  culture there is a lot of focus on vision as a major sense, and
 people
  assume that vision loss is invariably a deficit.  It explains
 why
  literature geared toward parents of blind children often
 highlights
  the fact that 80% of what sighted children learn is learned
 visually,
  and it explains why blindness professionals are often so
 unwilling to
  teach Braille and prefer to focus on vision-based literacy.
 People
  have trouble believing that all the other senses combined plus
 some
  mental effort can make up for loss of vision.  People's beliefs
 about
  the primacy of vision for functioning are powerful, often
 unconscious,
  and are rarely challenged-because we are a minority, and 
because
 these
  beliefs are difficult to challenge.  Truly understanding how
 blind
  people function requires some creative thinking and mental
  flexibility-something I frankly don't think some people possess
 or are
  willing to engage.  And unfortunately, it is hard to get people
 on
  board for the environmental modifications we need to be
  equal-accessibility etc.-unless they truly believe that these
 changes
  will give us equal opportunity.
  Jedi, you make some interesting points about how we should 
start
  standing up to the sighted.  I agree that we are often
 conditioned to
  accept treatment we shouldn't be accepting, and that the errant
  behavior of the sighted so often goes unchallenged.  The 
problem
 is
  that I fear that attempts to stand up for ourselves will be
  misinterpreted.  The treatment we get differs from treatment to
 other
  minority groups in that we are rarely treated with violence or
  outright hostility, but so often discriminated against under an
  illusion of kindness.  Too often, an honest response to this
 kindness
  is simply shrugged off as rudeness or ingratitude instead of
 really
  being given proper attention.  For example, when I was a
 teenager, I
  often refused offers of "help" from people I didn't know well
 and
  would let people know I didn't like it when they grabbed or
 manhandled
  me around.  I am told that several of my schoolmates thought of
 me as a
  b**.  I don't think they ever actually thought about changing
 their
  behavior toward me, but just wrote me off as a rude person.  So
 I
  definitely think we should make an effort to communicate 
frankly
 and
  directly with the sighted, but I'm unsure of how to do it in a
 way
  that is accepted in dialogue rather than just dismissed.  I
 would be
  interested in learning more about the dialogue strategies you
 mention.
  Best,
  Arielle

  On 11/4/11, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> wrote:
  David,

  With all due respect, I think that's exactly the logic that
 rewards us
  for keeping our mouths shut thus maintaining the status quo.
 When we
  say to ourselves "Sighted people don't mean to be malicious," 
we
  somehow send ourselves, and each other, the second half of the
 message
  which ultimately says "So lay off," "No need to worry about 
it,"
 or
  ""It's no big deal." If that works for you, great.  But what
 about those
  of us whom such logic doesn't work for?

  I tried to soothe myself with the notion that the sighted just
 don't
  know better.  And for me, that made the problem all the worse
 because I
  started to think that there was something wrong with me for
 feeling
  upset by what the sighted person had said or done to begin 
with.
 I
  started questioning the validity of my own experience as the
 person to
  whom ignorant comments are made and ignorant actions are 
pressed
 upon.
  Like I said in a previous post, I had to rearrange my thinking
 or else
  go nuts.  *grin*

  Yes, the sighted don't intend to be malicious, but the fact is
 that
  what they say and do is still harmful.  Humans never meant to 
be
  malicious toward Earth, but our actions over the last hundred
 years or
  so have badly depleted our natural resources and will continue
 to do so
  until we realize that, despite our lack of bad intensions, 
we're
  harming something that's as much a part of ourselves as
 anything.  I
  hope the analogy is not too remote.

  My bottom line is this.  I think it's time to stop excusing the
 sighted
  when they treat us in ways that they themselves would never 
wish
 to be
  treated.  I think it's time we start alerting ourselves and the
 rest of
  the world to the fact that our interpersonal relationships with
 the
  sighted public haven't changed as much as we would like them 
to,
 and
  that these interpersonal (and intercultural) relationships are,
 to a
  large extent, a huge part of why we have such a high
 unemployment rate,
  why we experience discrimination in our recreational and
 personal
  lives, and why the public still largely considers us a
 non-entity in a
  lot of ways (I think internet accessibility is a great example
 of this).

  Yes, what i'm suggesting is, i suppose, quite radical.  But I
 think we
  can have our cake and eat it, too.  I think it's possible to
 develop
  excellent interpersonal and intercultural relations with the
 sighted
  thereby getting our basic societal needs met.  But the first
 step is
  realizing that nothing is going to change unless we intend that
 change
  to happen and take the steps to start it.

  Here's what I think we could do to get the ball rolling.  I
 think we
  need to start publishing another round of Kernel books.  I
 realize we
  still have a bunch left over from the last set we did, but they
 are out
  of date in that they don't address some of the newer issues 
that
 have
  cropped up in the last ten years or so.  And frankly, we need
 fresher
  faces in these stories.  we need more stories from the current
  generation because that's who will be reading these stories on
 the
  sighted end of things.  I'm willing to write for the kernel
 books.
  anyone with me?

  The second thing we need to do is to formally teach ourselves
 how to
  communicate more effectively with the sighted.  Last time, i
 talked
  about educating through dialogue rather than dialoguing through
  education.  How is that done, anyway? Well, there are a few 
ways
 of
  going about it and there are some amazing groups and
 institutions who
  specialize in teaching people how to communicate based on their
  experience.  I immediately think of the Swil Kanim Foundation,
 the
  Institute of Cultural Affairs, and the Center for studies of 
the
  Person.  All of these entities have trained facilitators who 
can
 help
  groups of us learn how to communicate our experiences more
 effectively;
  we could potentially hold encounter groups during our next NFB
  convention in Dallas.  The groups would be small to start out
 with;
  maybe twenty to fifty in each.  But it's a start.
 Alternatively, the
  Federation could start a project wherein some of us volunteer 
to
 train
  as facilitators through one of these entities and then go 
around
 from
  affiliate to affiliate, chapter to chapter, and have these
 encounter
  groups locally.  What would come out of either approach is a
 group of
  people who are more willing to be truthful with the sighted and
 can do
  so in a way that's honoring to everyone concerned.

  Anyway, these are some thoughts I've been playing with for some
 time,
  and I'm willing to participate in a project like this, but i'm
 going to
  need some help.I've said it before, but I'm interested in
 hearing from
  anyone who's also interested in this kind of thing and who 
think
 we
  could come up with some crazy way to get it going.

  Respectfully,
  Jedi

  Original message:
  Arielle:

  I think that it is in part that we are a small minority, but 
the
  biggest factor is people's ignorance about the capabilities of
 the
  blind.  When someone shuts their eyes, they don't see how they
 could
  do anything, (pun partially intended.)  Without training --
 which
  they don't have, they can't imagine how we get around etc.

  I don't think their statements are malicious, just ignorant!

  Dave

  At 10:09 PM 10/31/2011, you wrote:
  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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