[stylist] NEW THOUGHT PROVOKER #145- Looking Blind

Mon May 4 16:51:37 UTC 2009

Judith,

Good come back!  I always just stare stupidly, thinking, "Huh???"  My first
impulse is to explain about RP, blindness, variances in persons and the bell
curve...  There's a reason I refer to myself as a geek!  /lol/  Of course,
the rest of the unsuspecting public finds geekiness to be about the most
annoying thing under the sun, so if they're too obnoxious about the issue, I
just start geeking at them, and they go away.  Problem solved!

That's just the kinda girl I am.  /evil grin/

The "you don't look blind" business actually amuses me quite a bit, unless
the other person is being actively obstructive.

It's the corollary, "that's not a guide dog!" that gets me hopping mad!  Say
whatever you want about me, but don't think about insulting or denigrating
my dog and her accomplishments!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Judith Bron
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 7:07 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] NEW THOUGHT PROVOKER #145- Looking Blind

Very good Robert!  I hav to admit that I don't look blind because all the 
damage is in my retina.  People comment all the time that I don't look 
blind.  My response is always, "If I looked blind would you feel better?" 
Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009 9:50 PM
Subject: [stylist] NEW THOUGHT PROVOKER #145- Looking Blind

> Writers
> RE: Looking Blind
>
> Here is my newest THOUGHT PROVOKER. (You know, my TP forum, the stories 
> and
> their solicitation of responses by others- I would say it is a type of
> BLOG.) If you have not read the PROVOKER, it follows.  Recall that I 
> collect
> responses and post them upon my web site for all the WWW to read and learn
> from and that URL is- Http://thoughtprovoker.info
> <http://thoughtprovoker.info/>   If you wish to receive THOUGHT PROVOKERS
> sent directly to you, just write me and ask, at-  newmanrl at cox.net
>
> THOUGHT PROVOKER 145
> Looking Blind
> "Do I look BLIND," the young man wearing dark glasses exploded.
>
> "sorry.ah, you.you all looked blind," the pedestrian said, releasing Bob's
> arm. Without an invitation, she had grabbed Bob as she offered to assist 
> the
> three friends to cross a busy downtown street. Apology said, she sped off.
>
> "Guys, what is this 'you look blind,' thing?" Bob addressed his two 
> friends,
> Jose (partially blind, a dog guide user) and Jamal (totally blind, a long
> white cane user). "And I'm sorry guys. I was.ah, shocked. That's never
> happened to me before. I mean --- I know it is respectable to be blind. 
> And
> hey, where was this sweeping generalization coming from --- all blind 
> people
> will need help to cross a simple not too busy street? But for real, when
> this woman came up to us, put the vice-grip on my arm, thinking we all
> 'looked blind,' I was just.flabbergasted. Guess I flipped-out, felt I had 
> to
> prove to her I wasn't blind. I lifted my shades, looked her in the eye, 
> even
> dangled my car keys in front of her nose and.said what I said. I've just
> never had that happen before and now I know what you guys mean about how
> sometimes you are treated."
>
> "Bobby boy, my fully sighted friend," answered Jose, his teasing tone
> stressing the Hispanic accent in his voice. "And ah." pointing first to
> himself and his dog, then over to Jamal and his cane, "you with your dark
> sunglasses and no travel tool, I'd say the lady saw three blind men and 
> you
> were the dude who really needed the help."
>
> "Huh," responded the now self-conscious Bob?
>
> "Yeah man, that was priceless!" Jamal chimed in. "Didn't your mama ever 
> warn
> you that you become who you hang with?" Chuckling, his tone slipping 
> deeper
> into the accented tones of the African American vernacular of the
> neighborhood of his birth. "With them shades, if we rub a little color 
> onto
> your lily white skin, next time, she'd be see'n you as a Brother."
>
> "Come on you guys, I'm serious," irritation was again showing in Bob's
> voice. "You can't always tell by just looking!"
>
> For a couple of beats the two blind guys said nothing, just staring at 
> their
> sighted friend. Then Jose spoke first. "Well.you are right and wrong. For
> example, take Jamal and me. You strip us of our obvious blindness related
> stuff," jiggling the handle of his dogs harness, "and look at us just
> standing here, then no. Like even if they come up and look us in the eye,
> then maybe. Hear what I'm saying? But sometimes, it pays off to be
> recognized as blind. Before I started using a dog guide, back when I was
> young and full of foolish pride, I wouldn't be caught dead with a cane. So
> man, I'd play it cool and fake it. Guess we might as well call a stereo 
> type
> a stereo type, I tried to look sighted. Then one day I finally had too 
> much.
> I was out here trying to cross a busy street with my little amount of
> screwed up sight, couldn't do it and couldn't get anyone to help me. I 
> mean
> get real, a good Samaritan like that woman would have looked at me and 
> seen
> this young Hispanic dude with the spiked up do, and she'd be think'n of
> newscasts about Mex gang-bangers."
>
>
> "Yeah," Jamal added, "Some times it pays to be looking blind. Remember 
> that
> Mac Donald's commercial I was in? They wanted a blind guy with a cane. I
> wasn't about to allow them to dress up a sighted guy."
>
> "Ya, Ya, YA," jumped back in Jose. "Like let's get real, dude! It's okay 
> or
> should be to look like what you are. It's not your look that is the 
> problem,
> it is how the guy doing the looking is thinking that is the problem." An
> expression which could only be labeled as "inner-examination" came over 
> his
> face, then he finished with an earlier impulse, "And get'in personal and
> real. The problem with this cause and reaction thing, also lies within the
> blind guy, too. So ah, Bobby Boy, we got to work with you on your response
> to the judgmental public."
>
>
>
> Robert Leslie Newman
> Email- newmanrl at cox.net
> THOUGHT PROVOKER Website-
> Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> stylist:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonline.n
et 

_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

stylist mailing list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comca
st.net