[nabs-l] Blindness versus other minority groups

Sun Nov 20 05:12:37 UTC 2011

Hi everyone.

This line of discussion is very interesting to me because I am only
beginning to work on these things.  I am a vocal performance major,
which means I must be expressive when I sing.  The "performance" part
of my major is the part I have the most difficulties with.  :)

Last year I did my candidacy for the department, and I was told
everything was wonderful, except for my ability to move and act on
stage.  I have been working hard ever since to improve in this area.
My vocal coach and I are working very hard.  She is one of the only
teachers I have who will be honest about the way I look.

It's amazing the things we take for granted as blind people.  For
example, until a couple weeks ago, I didn't know that when I cast my
eyes down even slightly, it looks like they are closed.  This amazed
me.  I know that my eyes look like this naturally, but I didn't
realize it was this bad.  I feel like this and other honest points
about my appearance will make me a better performer.

I know that as a blind person and a guide dog user, people are
watching me.  People are looking at the way I work my dog, and they
are watching how I walk around and navigate.  I am used to this.  it
is a way of life, but I believe that people will leave me alone if I
act confident and look like I know what I'm doing.  I've been told
this, and yes, it doesn't always work for us because we are blind, but
it's somewhere to start.  If I act and look lost and/or confused, the
sighted people around me will easily perceive that and act
accordingly.

If you want to play a game to see how effective eye contact and body
language really are, sit by a door or on a seat in a hall that is
moderately or highly populated.  When people walk past you, turn in
their direction and smile like you are going to say something.  I
promise that the person in question will say hi 9 times out of ten.
I've never tried this off campus though, so I don't know how well it
would work somewhere where people don't me as well.  I used this game
to practice my eye contact.  I have enough vision to look up at people
in their face, but I cannot make eye contact.  Just a little idea...
This is a great discussion.

On 11/19/11, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Tara,
>
> That's a good point.  However, I'm not sure if the class is
> needed.  I say this because, especially in the case of those of
> us (like myself) who are totally blind or only have light
> perception, we would only get one side of the body language; that
> is, the body language that we display to sighted people.  While
> this is important, especially in how we present ourselves for
> things like job interviews and such, we'll have no way of knowing
> what body language sighted people are conveying to us, no matter
> what classes on the subject we take.  This is because, simply, we
> can't see the body language! So, in short, by taking the
> suggested body language course, we'd only get to use half of the
> information taught, because we can't discern what sighted people
> are conveying to us via body language, and therefore can't react
> to it.
>
> 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: Tara Annis <TAnnis at afb.net
> To: "nabs-l at nfbnet.org" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:20:31 -0500
> 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.
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
> for nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbau
> m%40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Julie McG
 Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
Eyes for the Blind

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16