[nagdu] Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfi

[Buddy Brannan]

On Mar 8, 2009, at 7:29 PM, helene ryles wrote:

> I don't like this parting quote:
>
> "I hope you never go blind and need a dog."

I quite agree. Apart from my issue with the "needing" a dog, it sounds  
a bit like a curse. After all, is blindness that bad? Sure, it's a  
right royal pain in the ass sometimes, and I'm sure it would be hard  
to adjust to after not being blind, but such a statement only  
perpetuates the stereotypes that we already struggle with; that  
blindness is necessarily a terrible, horrible fate, and you'd never  
wish such a tragedy on anyone. No, of course I don't wish for people  
to go blind, but I don't really wish for people to go sighted or deaf  
or short, either. If we really believe that blindness is respectable,  
and indeed if we want others to believe this as well, I think we'd do  
well to be mindful of how we ourselves discuss blindness. Furthering  
our cause might be better accomplished if we don't give people reason  
to strengthen their already well entrenched negative attitudes.