[nabs-l] Blindness vs. Other Minority Groups

Tue Nov 1 06:49:06 UTC 2011

Cortnie:
Welcome to the list!
I hope you enjoy your time here!
I agree with your statements.
I'll E-mail you offlist.
Blessings, Joshua

On 11/1/11, Cortnie Ryan <cortnie.ryan at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello, my name is Cortnie.
> This is an extremely interesting topic of discussion. One in which
> I've pondered multiple times. I'm relatively new on this mailing list,
> and haven't quite had the nerve to put my thoughts and opinions down
> for all to see. Shy? I don't know. Anyway, on with the show, I guess.
> First off, I should say that the way this was brought to the table was
> very well-said, and I could tell it's something that was thought about
> at great length. Yes, forgive me for stating the obvious, but a cause
> for controversy is definitely a possibility, but these issues need to
> be discussed in order to reach a potential and satisfactory
> resolution. Mind you, this is only my opinion, but it's an opinion I
> feel very strongly about. No, I don't feel that it's different at all.
> What you may feel as a compliment to another person, may, essentially,
> be a slap in their face. Saying that you do something well for a blind
> person is no different than if you were to, as previously stated, do
> well for being a woman. Quite frankly, that sounds sexist and
> degrading, no matter how well-meaning the comment was. It's all about
> the perception. What someone else may see as complimentary, you may
> see as an insult. There have been many times those types of statements
> have been made to me. For instance, "Wow, I'm impressed. You do really
> well with crossing the street... for a blind person." Yet, comments
> like that aren't made to any other minority. A more tactful approach
> is taken. I'm unsure why it's that way, but I'm inclined to believe
> that it's a lack of education as well as the fact that most people see
> blindness as a physical disability or, I really hate to use this word,
> but a handicap. We as blind people may be a small fraction of the
> population, but blindness has been around as long as gays have, or
> even unconventional religious practices and beliefs. Take it from
> someone who has struggled through a couple different situations. I
> found my experiences to be quite similar. Lots of stereotyping, but
> different approaches were made when dealing with it. We all just want
> to be accepted and cared about for who we are on the inside. That's
> all that should matter. Unfortunately, though, that's not what people
> see when they meet us. Our supposed disability overshadows our
> disposition and personality. It's the same with our success. We can't
> possibly make it in the fast-track world of the all-mighty sighted.
> Note the sarcasm.
> Well, there's so much more I could write about this subject, but then
> it would just become even more of a rant. I'm trying to avoid that.
> Once again, very well written.
>
> On 10/31/11, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
>> Wow!
>> Arielle, I've been waiting to say something about this issue!
>> I was listening to the National Quartet Convention, (Southern Gospel
>> music's largest event,) when legendary singer/songwriter Bill Gaither
>> made this comment, while introducing the next group.
>> Gordon Mote, is his pianist, and he happens to be blind, so bear this in
>> mind.
>> Bill Gaither said this, while introducing the Southern Gospel trio,
>> "Greater Vision."
>> "Now, we go from lesser vision, (refering to Gordon,) to Greater
>> Vision," (referring to the group.)
>> It's okay to make fun of blindness, but if I told a joke against
>> someone else, I'd be criticized.
>> There's a double standard in the politically correct world.
>> What's good for the goose is good for the gander!
>> Blessings, Joshua
>>
>> On 10/31/11, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Warning-this topic has the potential to start a heated debate, but I
>>> also think it is an interesting and important topic for us as blind
>>> people to think about.
>>> Lately I have been thinking a lot about how the problems faced by the
>>> blind are similar to or different from those faced by other minority
>>> groups in this country historically and in the present. More than
>>> that, I have been thinking about how the general public sees us as a
>>> group in comparison to how they view other minority groups. It has
>>> struck me that oftentimes members of the general public treat us in
>>> discriminatory ways or stereotype us without even considering that
>>> this kind of treatment resembles stereotyping and discrimination
>>> against other minority groups.
>>> Let me give a concrete example. In his book Freedom for the Blind, Jim
>>> Omvig writes of a time when he was directing a training center and a
>>> female staff member at the center commented, "You do your job so well,
>>> sometimes I forget you're blind!" Seeing the teachable moment, Mr.
>>> Omvig brought up this incident to his students during a philosophy
>>> class, and to illustrate his point he said to the woman, "You are such
>>> a good teacher, sometimes I forget you're a woman!" From what I
>>> recall, the staff member got a bit upset and insisted that "no, what I
>>> said about you being blind was very different from what you said about
>>> my being a woman. I was just trying to give you a compliment!"
>>> Now, as blind people most of us understand the problem with her
>>> comment-the implication that being blind must not be very good, so
>>> someone who does a good job isn't like other blind people. To me this
>>> sounds like the same problem as making the analogous comment to a
>>> woman-but she didn't see it that way. Why not? Is there a difference
>>> here?
>>> I have often been quite frustrated when people I know and
>>> trust-friends or family members, who have very liberal views about
>>> race, would never utter a racial slur or support discrimination
>>> against racial minorities, women, gays etc. who nonetheless have no
>>> qualms about saying negative things about blindness. Like saying blind
>>> people are all worse than the sighted at something, or that blind
>>> people are more dependent or less successful than the sighted, etc.
>>> They will sometimes say these things to my face and don't understand
>>> why I don't like to hear these things. Sometimes family members will
>>> make comments comparing me favorably to other blind people. They think
>>> they are giving me compliments, and fail to understand that I don't
>>> want to hear negative things spoken about the blind as a collective.
>>> Yet these same people would never tell an African American that they
>>> are "smart for a black person" etc. I remember during the protests
>>> against the Blindness film in 2008, I was perplexed by how many people
>>> just didn't get it, and didn't see what harm the film could do-and yet
>>> an analogous film where everyone developed black skin or female
>>> anatomy with such dire consequences would never be accepted in our
>>> modern society. And finally, in my research, I have observed that the
>>> college students in my experiments have no problem saying on a survey
>>> that the blind are much less competent than the sighted, yet would
>>> never say such things directly about another minority group-in fact,
>>> lots of fancy indirect measures have been developed to tap those
>>> attitudes because people nowadays are so unwilling to admit their
>>> prejudices, unless it's toward the blind.
>>> So, what's up? Are stereotypes about the blind somehow more accurate
>>> than stereotypes about ethnic minorities? Is discrimination against
>>> the blind somehow more justified? Or is it just that we are such a
>>> small group that we haven't developed the same history, had the same
>>> scale of civil rights activism, etc. to raise people's awareness? Do
>>> you guys think we deserve the same considerations as other minorities
>>> in this country? If not, am I missing something? If so, how do we get
>>> members of the public to see this?
>>> Also, as an aside, I'm curious to hear from those of you who are "dual
>>> minorities" being both blind and a member of a minority group in this
>>> country (ethnicity-wise, or a different group like GLBT, uncommon
>>> religious beliefs etc.) How do you think your two identities are
>>> similar? Different? Do you feel they interact with one another?
>>> I look forward to the discussion.
>>> Best,
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nabs-l:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%40students.pccua.edu
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/cortnie.ryan%40gmail.com
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%40students.pccua.edu
>