[stylist] Off-topic: Please read my blog

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Neil,

I believe what you are referring to about the term handicap is, "The
white cane is often viewed as a tool of the handicapped, but it is
actually a badge of independence."  I do not use the term "handicap,"
nor do I like it, and I wish our government and the rest of society
would stop using the term.

What I mean when I use it here is to demonstrate how society views
blindness and the tools we use.  Because society still uses the term,
and because the long white cane is often viewed as a sad thing because
it means a person is unfortunate, I use handicap, which, to me, is a
term implying a sad and unfortunate circumstance.  However, I then
follow this up ending the sentence by stating it is not in fact a symbol
of something sad and unfortunate, but a symbol of independence.

So I think the context of how I used handicap was not clear.  I dislike
this term and never use it myself.  If you also note, I never refer to
disability as handicap in the rest of my blog either.  I've never liked
the term even before I discovered its origins, which I learned about
during my training at the Iowa Department for the Blind.

Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Editor, Slate & Style
Publication of the National Federation of the Blind
NFB-Writers division website:
 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.> http://www.nfb-writers-division.net



Message: 1
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 14:42:19 -0400
From: <neil.butters at sympatico.ca>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Please read my blog
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	reply-type=original

Hi Bridgit,

Good article. I use sighted guide almost all the time, but I know how to
use 
my cane, and it is always with me.

One thing: I think you should avoid using the term "handicap." Today,
many 
people with disabilities find the term derogatory. The term refers to
"hand 
in cap," a reference to begging. I only learned of this recently myself
and, 
here in Canada, the Government actually discourages use of the word.


Neil