[stylist] question

[Barbara Hammel]

And yet society would rather our kids learn Spanish or some other language 
in school.  Now I know if you want to travel abroad you must learn to speak 
another's language.  But this is America!  We speak English and those folks 
who don't can learn it.  We blind folks can't learn to read print.  The deaf 
can't learn to hear.  So why don't the children learn a Braille and sign 
language instead.  Those are two "languages" that would help us all "get on 
an even playing ground".
When will their history books tell them about how the handicapped were 
opressed?  LOL.  I realy don't think anyone but the handicapped are opressed 
in this country.
I'm stepping down off my soap box.  Oops!  It must have gotten wet because 
it practically slid out from under me.  I guess that's what you get for 
leaving it out in the rain.
Barbara

If wisdom's ways you wisely seek, five things observe with care:  of whom 
you speak, to whom you speak, and how and when and where.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:56 PM
To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] question

> Lori:
>
> I love the words blind and deaf.  I abhor anything with impaired in it.
>
> Although the definition of blind may say one who cannot see, and that's a
> negative description, we still have the opportunity to neutralize the word
> itself and have it convey something else entirely, into something that's
> cool.  Same with deaf.  We can take it and turn it around, and associate 
> it
> with culture, pride, ASL, all sorts of great and positive things.
>
> But you can't neutralize and turn around a term like sight impaired. 
> Tthat
> term does two very bad, bad, bad things.  First, it implies that sight is
> the ideal, that it's right, and what we SHOULD have, and that if we don't
> have it, we SHOULD want it.  This is society talking, "Sight is better."
>
> Second, the term implies that we're broken or we're short of the ideal, or
> we've fallen from the grace of what society says is normal.  This is very
> bad, bad, bad.
>
> Does NFB merely "prefer" the word blind?  It shouldn't.  it should embrace
> it absolutely.
>
> John
>
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