[stylist] NEW THOUGHT PROVOKER #145- Looking Blind

Mon May 4 17:28:50 UTC 2009

Aziza, There are those who constantly confuse one black for another, one 
blond for another and one guy for another.  Being blind, I confuse everyone. 
We can't spend our lives trying to educate those who refuse to be educated. 
In their ignorance, there are no differences between one person in a group 
and the other.  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Aziza C" <daydreamingncolor at gmail.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] NEW THOUGHT PROVOKER #145- Looking Blind


> Hi guys,
> Well, I've been confused for other blind students on campus, but when
> NFB supporters have been at school with me for meetings, I have often
> spent the following days telling people that the blind individual
> walking beside me was not my father It seems the common thought is
> that blind people are interchangeable by looking blind, or that we are
> all directly related.
>
> I think people jump to conclusions way to soon... Two weeks ago I went
> to Catalina Island with a blind student group I am apart of. The four
> girls, including myself were allowed to explore the island
> independently as long as we met up with the adults at a certain time.
> We wanted to go to the gardens to take some pictures and walk around,
> so we asked for directions from a woman running a booth. Three of us
> were holding canes, and the youngest was not. She has the most vission
> out of all of us, and hasn't been introduced to using a cane yet. She
> is ten years old, and the rest of us  are in the age range of 15-17.
> Yet, the woman chose to address the youngest because she tought she
> could see, when reality after a few minutes of being amused I had to
> step forward and ask her to address the rest of us as our youngest
> member was becoming quite confused. The woman was shocked to find that
> the ten year old she was talking to was also  visually impaired.
>
> So, I think that people look for cues, guide dogs, and canes and the
> like. People judge to quickly whether one is blind or not based on
> appearance. Things that are associated with blindness are often
> overannalized. However, I do agree with the TP that blind, and sighted
> people alike who are approached with this kind of mentality have a
> responsibility to react in an educating and appropriate way.
> A.C.
>
> On 5/3/09, James Canaday M.A.  N6YR <n6yr at sunflower.com> wrote:
>> Robert,
>> first I want to compliment the writing in this one, it particularly
>> stands out.
>> looking blind or looking helpless.  your scenario certainly
>> highlights the distinction.
>> blindness as a personal trait compared to race as a personal trait,
>> that's woven in here too.
>> two professors worked at kansas university when I was a
>> student.  these two were completely blind.  One tall thin, a
>> WASP.   the other short, broad, and argentinian.  the argentinian
>> taught very advanced topics in mathematics.  the tall thin white guy
>> was in the clinical and then the cognitive psychology teaching
>> staffs.  their buildings were across campus from each
>> other.  frequently, people were confusing the two.  it was common for
>> one to be addressed by the other's name!
>> blind men all look alike it seems to many sighted people!  I am
>> sometimes confused for a blind guy here in town who has never worn a
>> beard, same phenomenon.  for some sighted people, all they see is
>> that we're blind.
>> jc
>>
>> At 08:50 PM 5/3/2009, you wrote:
>>>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
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
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>>>http://www.nfb-writers-division.org 
>>><http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
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>>
>>
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>
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