[nabs-l] Microaggression and unconscious biases towards blind people and people with disabilities

Sun Apr 17 04:38:41 UTC 2016

Hi, James,

I also appreciate your pointing to cultural factors (I.E.) lending a 
helping hand to people whom the culture might view as feeble.
08:15 AM 4/16/2016, James Alan Boehm via nabs-l wrote:
>I think we have all encountered the restaurant situation or the 
>setting where someone  continues to ask to help us. As far as that 
>is concerned, I agree it can be very frustrating. But we also need 
>to look at why some people act the way they act. Is it because of 
>the stereotypes only? Are there any other factors? As being someone 
>who used to be sighted, and knowing sighted individuals, the way 
>some were raised is when you see someone who is old, looks like they 
>are struggling, have their hands full of groceries, whether blind or 
>not, it is polite and thoughtful to lend a helping hand.We talk 
>about society and how thoughtless they are and how selfish they are. 
>But when a person lends a helping hand, we then want to "slap them 
>in the face. It is ture that sometimes a person , once told we do 
>not need their help, is insistent on helping. This is definitely 
>frustrating.I have been there. BUt this is usually not becasue of 
>ill intentions. They just need to be educated. How we respondto such 
>individuals will either confirm their stereotypes( such as these 
>blind people sure are rude and arrogant or I appreciate the  person 
>who is blind educating me and helping me to see things from their 
>perspective in a respectful manner).
>         As a student in psychology, we must not only look at what 
> the person does, but why and what influenced the person to act in a 
> certain way. We must look at the big picture before we can 
> understand and then find ways to successfully educate the ill-informed.
>
>James Alan Boehm
>Phone: 901-483-1515
>Personal Email: jimmydagerman80 at gmail.com
>Refer NFB correspondences to:
>secretary at nfb-tn.org
>
>"Blindness never limits- Low expectations do! Live the life you want!"
>
> > On Apr 16, 2016, at 10:00 AM, STOMBERG, KENNEDY via nabs-l 
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Agreeed! When I am in those situations, I will often look directly at the
> > waiter, and say, "I'm right here. My name is Kennedy, and if you would like
> > to know what I want, maybe you should ask me."
> >
> > Two aditional microagressions come to mind.
> > First, it really bothers me when people assume I need help. For example, I
> > could be walking somewhere uon campus, and someone might come up to me and
> > say, "Where do you want to go? I will help you." (This is often accompanied
> > by the person grabbing my arm, that same microagression that Joseph
> > mentionedff) I usually respond by saying, "I am going to such and such a
> > place, but I don't need help. Thank you." What makes the situation worse
> > though is that the person will often say, "Oh! Are you sure? Because I
> > don't mind. Really, I don't!" At that point, I respond more firmly, "No
> > thank you." And of course, by this time, I'm trying to resist the urge to
> > slap the person...
> >
> > The second microagression is when sighted people commit a microagression,
> > and then tell me to "please be patient"   when I correct them. I understand
> > that no one is perfect! Sometimes, I am going to have to explain things,
> > and that's all right. But if I am using microagressions and don't realize
> > it, I want to be corrected! I find it frustrating when my sighted piers
> > tell me that my correcting them is impatient.
> >
> > I am so glad we are having this conversation. I read somewhere that when
> > the steriotypes of any minority group are constantly brought to the
> > surface, it's very psychologically damaging, and can lead to
> > under-performance in many areas, which often perpetuates the steriotypes! I
> > think this is definitely true for me and other blind people, though of
> > course we almost always manage to rise above these ridiculous
> > microagressions and steriotypes!
> >
> > Honestly though, I was starting to think that the microagressions I was
> > noticing were just me being petty! So, I'm happy to know that others are
> > experiencing the same things, though it sucks that anyone has to!
> >
> > Kennedy Stomberg
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 8:05 AM, justin williams via nabs-l <
> > nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Yeap, and I don't tip them either.  I tell them why also.
> >> Justin
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jason
> >> Polansky
> >> via nabs-l
> >> Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2016 9:04 AM
> >> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> >>>
> >> Cc: Jason Polansky <jpolansky.nfb at gmail.com>
> >> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Microaggression and unconscious biases towards blind
> >> people and people with disabilities
> >>
> >> I agree with Phil and Joseph. Something at the top of my head is sometimes
> >> when we go to restaurants, the waiter or waitress will ask fy friends or
> >> family members and say "What does he want to eat?", like we can't talk for
> >> ourselves because we're blind.
> >>
> >> On Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 5:42 AM Joseph C. Lininger via nabs-l <
> >> nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Off the top of my head, there are two things that could be classified
> >>> in your words as microaggression that really get to me. The first is
> >>> unsolicited touching. Many people seem to think it's ok to touch a
> >>> blind person without asking permission or otherwise violate our
> >>> personal space in a way they would never dream of doing if the person
> >>> were sighted. The second one is when a person sees you as blind first,
> >>> and maybe something else second. I say maybe because blind may be all
> >>> you are to them. What I mean by this is that every time they talk to
> >>> you they always bring up the blindness in every conceivable situation.
> >>> If you try to address them normally for something like a work related
> >>> issue, they will change the subject to blindness. If they see you in
> >>> the hallway, they will make a comment about the blindness. You get the
> >>> idea. I understand curiosity, and I'm not offended by that. What I am
> >>> offended by though is when it is impossible to speak to a person
> >>> without them bringing that up. (I know one person who I have known for
> >>> almost 3 years, so at this point it's starting to get a bit
> >>> ridiculous)
> >>>
> >>> As for unconscious biases, it's interesting you bring that up because
> >>> I was just talking to a friend about that this last week. I was
> >>> telling him that it is often times hard for a blind person to find
> >>> employment, even when qualified because of biases held by the hiring
> >>> manager for instance. I told him the worst part of that, at least in
> >>> my opinion, is that it doesn't even have to be something that a person
> >>> does consciously. A person can be absolutely convinced they have no
> >>> negative thoughts about blindness, yet their behavior indicates
> >>> otherwise. You can't even address it in that case because they are
> >>> absolutely convinced it doesn't exist.
> >>>
> >>> I had an experience related to this just a couple of months ago. I was
> >>> talking to someone about the possibility of a future work opportunity.
> >>> This guy had said in the same conversation that he doesn't even notice
> >>> the blindness and that he treats me like everyone else. Then, a few
> >>> minutes later he said, "well, I'm assuming you wouldn't want to work
> >>> at this location because the layout of the area is weird." If you
> >>> bring it to his attention though, even with that comment, he'll deny
> >>> he has any such views. It's not a dishonesty thing either; he is
> >>> actually convinced he doesn't harbour opinions like that.
> >>> Joe
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> 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/jpolansky.nfb%40gm
> >>> ail.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/justin.williams2%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/kestomberg%40coe.edu
> >>
> > _______________________________________________
> > 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/jab2bs%40mtmail.mtsu.edu
>
>_______________________________________________
>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/carlymih%40comcast.net