[Oabs] Blind culture

[Kaiti Shelton via Oabs]

Hi all,

If you've already read the thread on Ohio Talk, you will have seen my
comments.  However, I will post them here again so that those who are
not on both lists can see them.

The definition of culture from the Webster dictionary online is:
: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group,
place, or time

: a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.

: a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or
organization (such as a business)

I think, that based on this definition, we can say that we have a sort
of blind culture.  I know that, especially when I was a teenager, I
had a group of friends who were blind, and that group of friends was
really important to me.  We also did things that no sighted kid our
age would have understood, like write weird sounds into our
BrailleNote documents so that when Keynote Gold read them out loud
they would sound funny.  We did this with Jaws as well.  WE had a
different way of socializing from what most groups of teens our age
did too, not to mention that most teenagers form friends primarily
with people they go to school with, and not with people who may be in
another state and who can talk via Skype.

I also think that our beliefs about blindness and independence fall
into the beliefs part of the definition.  Most sighted people follow
the stereotypes, so we have a sort of counterculture belief that these
stereotypes are assumptions.  Whether or not our views are better than
the ignorance of the majority is another topic entirely, but we do
have different beliefs.  We also like to associate ourselves with
others through the NFB and other organizations or events for blind
people, and we always talk about how important it is for kids to have
strong role models who are blind.  There is a sense of organization
and loyalty to that, I think, that puts us into a sort of different
way of doing things than most people.  Sure, a lot of people join
professional organizations and such, but you never hear of people
going to conventions and working year-round for organizations devoted
to another trait.  These organizations are probably out there for all
I know, but I don't think they do what the NFB does, or have a similar
effect on their members.

Now, I don't think we can realistically say that we have a
full-fledged culture.  What we have going on in the blind social
circles is pretty well balanced between associating with like-minded
people, but also branching out to be a part of communities outside the
organization.  I don't think it is as consuming as deaf culture is for
the hearing impaired.  I have seen what deaf culture is like through
meeting deaf people here and there, as well as learned about it in a
sign-singing choir I was a part of in my freshman year at UD.  They
have a very intricate culture, and we only share some similarities
with their's.

Just my thoughts.  What do you all think?

On 5/21/14, Lillie Pennington via Oabs <oabs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi everyone
> I wanted to bring a discussion from the aphiliate list over here. So I have
> several open ended questions for you all.
> Do you think that blind people have a blind culture?
> What sort of stuff makes up this culture if it exists.
> If not, why do you feel we do not have one.
>
> This is just a start. I have feelings on this and further questions but want
> to see where this goes.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma