[nabs-l] Blind Verses Legally Blind

[Marissa]

First off, if you don't mind my asking, how much can you see? 
Then, maybe I can help as best I can with
this question, because my classmates, (I'm in 9th grade) ask me 
questions like that too and I get tired of answering after a 
while.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Elizabeth Mohnke" <lizmohnke at hotmail.com
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 6 Dec 2013 15:17:10 -0500
Subject: [nabs-l] Blind Verses Legally Blind

Hello All,

Recently it seems as though I have been getting a lot of 
questions from
people who ask me if I am blind or legally blind as if there is 
some huge
difference between these two things.  Since I see these two 
things as being
two sides of the same coin, I have started to respond by saying 
that anyone
who is blind is legally blind and anyone who is legally Blind is 
blind as
there are really no distinctions between these two things.

it just seems to me like people who ask this question somehow 
believe the
more eyesight a person has the better off they are as a person 
even though
they may be blind.  Hence, it feels as though what the person is 
really
asking about is how much I can still see even though I am blind.  
Personally,
I feel as though I should not be obligated to share such personal
information with a mere stranger I will most likely never see 
again.

I guess I just feel as though I am at a point in my life where I 
no longer
wish to describe what I can and cannot see to other people.  
however, I am
also not quite sure what to say when people ask me this question.  
I feel as
though what I can and cannot see should not really matter all 
that much.  But
it seems as though I never really know what to say to those who 
believe that
it does really matter.

Do you have any thoughts or ideas about how to deal with these 
kinds of
questions without revealing any personal information about 
yourself? how do
you go about answering these kinds of questions in your own life? 
Any
thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth


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