[Nfb-editors] article feedback

Chris Kuell ckuell at comcast.net
Mon May 2 19:07:08 UTC 2011


Hello, editors. Below is an article I drafted a week ago for our state 
newsletter. While I stand by every word, my gut is warning me that it may be 
too harsh, too judgemental. Any thoughts? All comments, suggestions, 
criticisms are welcome.

Thanks,

chris


Blindfolded

By   Ira Tating


You know what I hate? Granted, hate might be too strong a word, and my 
mother did warn me dozens of times never to use it, but 'dislike' or 'find 
irritating' or 'have an aversion to' just aren't powerful enough to convey 
how I feel about the following situation. You are at a place, and the time 
is perfect for a teaching opportunity. Maybe it's talking to a group of 
fourth graders, or a troop of boy scouts, or as happened with me recently, 
waiting to testify before the Appropriations Committee of the state's 
General Assembly. A well-meaning blind person uses this opportunity to 
influence the public by saying something like-I challenge you to wear a 
blindfold for 24 hours. Go ahead-I dare you. Put yourselves in our shoes and 
see what it's like to be blind, the challenges we face every single day, and 
so on.

We've all heard it done, maybe even done it ourselves. The speaker wants the 
listeners to appreciate what their life is like, to simulate blindness even 
if only for a few minutes, and gain the listener's sympathy. And it drives 
me nuts. Because while you may get their sympathy, what you are really going 
for, either consciously or subconsciously, is their pity. It is painfully 
revealing about the speakers attitude and acceptance of their vision loss. 
Whenever I hear the "wear a blindfold" speech, I think to myself-there's a 
person that's really saying, "Poor, pitiful, blind me. Feel sorry for me."

My reaction at this point is two-fold. First and foremost, it's a lie. Of 
course putting on a blindfold will make life difficult for a sighted person, 
just like taking away any sense would. But it's not a realistic portrayal of 
blindness. Very few people are struck instantly blind, and even when it 
happens, they can change their life paradigm and learn the skills that all 
successful blind people have. They can learn how to travel independently 
with a cane, to read Braille, to use technology, to do all the things they 
used to do but in new ways. Obviously that doesn't happen within the first 
24 hours-it takes time, practice and persistence.

The truth is, blindness is not a tragedy, and no pity is required or even 
desired. I know I sound like a broken record at times (do people even know 
what those are anymore? Maybe I should say a CD with a dust particle on it) 
but I know that with proper training, a positive attitude, and equal 
opportunity, nothing can get in the way of what a blind person can achieve.

Which brings me to the second reason I cringe when somebody talks about a 
blindfold. It is always done as a teaching tool, at what I think of as a 
learning moment, when the speaker has that rare opportunity to change the 
misconceptions held by the sighted public. When they could be saying that 
blind people can do anything, that we know blind doctors and lawyers and 
artists and computer programmers and teachers and trainers and scientists 
and writers, that blind people travel independently all over the world, have 
families, do volunteer work and contribute to their communities-they choose 
instead to say "It's so-o-o hard being blind. Pity me."

There are two major obstacles which face every blind person. The first is 
themselves-their attitude, their life philosophy, their determination and 
belief in what they can accomplish. The second is the sighted public who 
hasn't had positive interactions with a blind person before, and holds the 
common misconceptions that to be blind is equivalent to being completely 
helpless, lost, less capable than a child. Pitiful.

The first obstacle is best addressed by spending time with capable, 
competent blind people like those in the NFB. Learn from the things they say 
and do, and push yourself to reach further. With each success, you will gain 
confidence and start to believe.

Changing society's misconceptions is far more daunting. The only way to 
accomplish this is to take advantage of those teaching moments when they 
come your way. Throw away that useless blindfold and reach out with your 
cane. Put out your hand proudly and teach the truth about blindness. Make 
the listener rethink everything that movies and books and cartoons and 
comedians have impressed on them regarding blind people. Only then can we 
affect the change we want in the world.









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