[stylist] question

[Angela fowler]

John,
	To my knowledge, we don't have a term for a blind person who refuses
to accept their blindness or have anything to do with the blindness
community. As to the belief that blind people are inferior to sighted, just
plain old discrimination; we don't have an ism word for that either. Someone
correct me if I'm wrong.
Angela 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of John Lee Clark
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 4:32 PM
To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] question

Yo, blinks:

Just read my first issue of the Monitor.  The Ved Mahta piece reminded me to
ask you all two questions.  I am wondering if you have a term that you use
for two concepts I am sure that very much exists.

The definition of the first one would have a picture of Ved Mahta himself or
someone else more notorious in your community for this type.  The text
definition would be something like "a blind person who is in denial or
refuses to embrace blind identity and in fact takes pains to avoid blind
people or being associated with the blind community."  The black community
has its own version, called Uncle Tom or Oreo--dark on the outside but white
inside.  The Deaf community has this type, too, called hearing-headed, with
a special sign that implies the person is hearing in his head, obsessed with
trying to be hearing.  The most notorious hearing-head is probably Heather
Weatherstone, who was Miss America but is a graduate of the much-hated
Clarke oralist school and doesn't sign or anything.

So what do you call a blind person like that?

Now, I'd like to learn what you call something else.  Blacks have to deal
with racism, which is the belief that blacks are a lower class.  Women often
encounter sexism, which is the belief in the inferiority of one gender under
another.  Young people and old people sometimes suffer from ageism, which is
discrimination against someone because of that person's age.  The signing
community has to work against audism.  Our most villainous audist figure is
Alexander Graham Bell, and he is the subject of many works of Deaf art,
taking the role of a monster, a dread ghost, and in a famous poem he is the
Pilate who crucifixes Laurent Clerc, the most beloved Deaf historical
figure, the first Deaf teacher in America.

So what do you call bigotry targeting the blind?

Thanks!

John
   

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