[nabs-l] Blind Verses Legally Blind

[Greg Aikens]

You’re right that people generally think they have a reason for asking and so maybe it is best to try and get at the heart of that reason with a question of your own.  Could you say something like, “I can see a little, but its not useful for most tasks.  Why do you ask?”  This is brief, true, but vague enough that it doesn’t share a lot of personal info.  Their response will then clue you in as to whether or not you want to share more.  

If someone is just curious I may be less likely to share details with them than I would share with someone trying to give me directions and wondering if I can see the bright red sign at the end of the block.  

This also gives you an opportunity to challenge patronizing attitudes if you like or ignore them.  You could always respond with something simple like, “Oh, I don’t believe how successful someone is has anything to do with how much they can see,” and then be on your way.  Sometimes we feel the obligation to educate, which can be good, but we don’t always have to take up that role.  

Hope these thoughts are helpful as you decide what works best for you.

-Greg



On Dec 6, 2013, at 5:57 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke <lizmohnke at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello All,
> 
> Thank you for the responses thus far. However, how do I
> even answer a question that I really do not know how to answer myself? Why should I spend five minutes trying to stumble through some sort of answer with a stranger I am most likely never going to see again? I do not know why strangers are asking me if I am blind or legally blind except to figure out how much I can see or not see.
> 
> But I am just wondering what difference that really makes when the NFB teaches that blind people are really no different than sighted people, and with the right tools and attitudes, we can do pretty much anything that a sighted person can do. If these beliefs are true, then what difference does it make as to how much I can see or not see.
> 
> It just seems to me that when people ask me these questions they are trying to imply that I must have some sight because how could a person be able to function without any sight. It is almost like people are trying to tell me that the more eyesight a person has the better off they are in life. How exactly am I suppose to deal with these kinds of questions when my encounter with these people is rather brief, and I would rather not deal with what seems to me like some form of idiotic line of thinking?
> 
> What exactly should I say to these people if what I am saying is the wrong thing, and I really do not know how to briefly describe what I can and cannot see, or even wish to describe it in the first place? I would give a specific example of how I encountered this situation from the other day, but I am afraid it would only spear the conversation away from the real heart of the issue.
> 
> Again, this is just something I have been struggling with lately.  So I was just interested in how other people deal with these kinds of questions from other people in their lives.
> 
> Elizabeth 
> 
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