[nfb-talk] Wanting to See

Fri Jan 6 15:06:36 UTC 2017

The lovely thing about being a human being is that we're adaptable and flexible. When you say that"
> But human beings aren't built to do without sight.

By extension, you're saying that any human being who is "built" some other way, without sight, or hearing, or movement let's say, is therefore defective, a notion that I soundly reject. 

What makes me human is much more. 

--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name

> On Jan 6, 2017, at 9:18 AM, John Heim via nfb-talk <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> There may be people who were blind from birth who honestly mean it when they say they don't want to see. But human beings aren't built to do without sight. It takes an enormous amount of compensating to do without it. There are times when you come out ahead though. I honestly think rock climbing is a better experience if you are blind, not just blindfolded, than it is if you can see.
> 
> When I'm rock climbing, I'm using my blind sense of space to it's fullest. You know what I mean by blind sense of space? Even sighted people have a 3 dimensional map of the world in their heads. That's why they can reach out and shut off the alarm clock in the morning without turning on the light. But most blind people develop this 3D map to an extent that sighted people do not. Rock climbing is like doing a verticle obstacle course. You're building this map of the obstacle course in your mind and pushing yourself to the physical limit at the same time. And you're probably smelling the rock, hearing the call of a hawk on the wind, and feeling every little cleft in the rock. It is an awesome experience.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 01/06/2017 02:52 AM, Buddy Brannan via nfb-talk wrote:
>>> On Jan 5, 2017, at 9:09 PM, Munawar Bijani via nfb-talk <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> I'm sure everyone who says they never do are simply too afraid to admit it.
>> 
>> And I'm sure that you're wrong, because sweeping generalizations like this generally are.
>> 
>> Sure it's normal to want things we can't have sometimes, whether it's sight or something else. Personally, I don't really think, for my life anyway, sight is any more desirable than other things, and perhaps less desirable than some. That you may want it doesn't mean you're damaged, but that I, generally speaking, could take it or leave it, doesn't mean I'm hiding some deep seated fear of admitting I'm somehow imperfect (a thing that I admit at least daily).
>> 
>> Oh sure, I'd love some of the conveniences that sight would bring me, but that doesn't mean that I necessarily want sight, nor does it mean that I'm somehow in denial because I don't. When I was a kid, I would tell people, oh sure, I wish I could see, but I don't think I really understood what that meant. I understood that other people thought it was a desirable thing, and I probably got some sense that some people believed that I was somehow less fortunate, or damaged, or broken, or something. Who knows? I was a kid. As I got older though and became more comfortable in my skin, and gained more of an understanding of the world and my place in it, not that I have reached anything approaching perfect understanding of either, I also grew to understand that sight wasn't a huge deal. My life was, and is, fulfilling already, problems and difficulties notwithstanding. Everybody's got those. And I'm really not convinced that a sudden onset of sightedness would measurably improve my life; it might even be more trouble than blessing. That someone else feels differently doesn't mean s/he is a "bad blind person" or "maladjusted". That I feel the way I do doesn't mean I'm in denial.
>> --
>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>> Phone: 814-860-3194
>> Mobile: 814-431-0962
>> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jan 5, 2017, at 9:09 PM, Munawar Bijani via nfb-talk <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> You're human. It's normal to yearn for things. I'd give almost anything to see. And it's ok to feel sorry for yourself. I'm sure everyone who says they never do are simply too afraid to admit it. Being blind sucks ass, and just because we've adapted doesn't mean it sucks any less or that we have to like being blind.
>>> 
>>>> On Jan 5, 2017, at 8:30 PM, Jen via nfb-talk <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>> 
>>>> As I posted on my "driverless cars" thread, I'm totally blind from birth.
>>>> 
>>>> I have always been interested in visual things. They include
>>>> 
>>>> * pictures, especially pictures of pictures
>>>> * colors
>>>> * the sky
>>>> * videos
>>>> * light and the various ways it can be manipulated, like with shadows and
>>>> optical illusions
>>>> * rainbows
>>>> 
>>>> ... and so many others.
>>>> 
>>>> Now here's my question. I wish I could see sometimes. Is this normal for a
>>>> blind person? I'm not consumed by these feelings. I don't feel sorry for
>>>> myself for being blind, and I have incorporated alternative techniques into
>>>> my life. So personally, I consider myself as a well-adjusted blind person.
>>>> At the same time though, I wouldn't want my sight back because, since I've
>>>> never had it, everything would be too much clutter for me. Also, I have my
>>>> own pictures of visual things in my mind's eye, and I wouldn't want to ruin
>>>> them.
>>>> 
>>>> My family and friends, who are sighted, tell me it is normal to have these
>>>> feelings. But it would be great to get some feedback from my fellow
>>>> Federationists.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks!
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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