[Nfb-editors] article feedback

[Mike Freeman]

Chris:

Let 'er rip!!!  You need not apologize for telling it like it is!


Mike Freeman
sent from my iPhone


On May 2, 2011, at 12:07, "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net> wrote:

> 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.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-editors mailing list
> Nfb-editors at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-editors_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfb-editors:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-editors_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com