Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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[rant] blind is not offensive! (self.Blind)
submitted 8y ago by fastfinge
So, this has come up in discussions I've been a part of recently, and the idea just makes me foamy and ranty and blarg! So forgive me for a moment. The opinions expressed are my own, not the other mods, and I don't represent anyone but myself.
Disclaimer: contains terms some may find offensive, but is still entirely PG. This is self-identified as a rant, and so is right on the edge of what can be reasonably allowed in postings. Let's try not to cross that line in the comments, K? Thanks! But I'd love to read a good counter-rant.
Seriously though, who got the idea that the word blind was offensive, and who's bottomless hole of fake-PC inanity did they rip it out of? Can we please, for once and all, stuff it back in there? Let's have a quick look at the list of organizations helping those with sight issues: The Royal National Institute of the _BLIND_, The Canadian National Institute of the _BLIND_, the National Federation of the _BLIND_, The American Council of the _BLIND_, The American Printing House for the _BLIND_, The Canadian _BLIND_ alliance, The World _BLIND_ Union...are you noticing a pattern? Are you? If you're one of the people trying to put across the idea that the word blind is offensive, then no, you're probably not. This is obviously because you're so deeply disengaged from the community of _BLIND_ people, and reality in general, I'm surprised you can still communicate with the rest of us from whatever planet you're living on.
If you're interested in getting re-connected with reality, think about it this way. Is The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons called "Cripples Canada"? No it isn't! Because that group of people decided they didn't appreciate being called cripples, so they don't call themselves that. Does an organization called "Spastics USA" exist? No! Because people with physical disabilities don't call themselves spastics. And there is no organization called "retards international", either! Same reason!
And yet, some people apparently think that we blind people are a group of helpless, hopeless, dis-empowered children. If we were offended by the word blind, we would make the organizations that we all participate in change it. But hey, look! See all those organizations above? None of them have been renamed! Nobody is even attempting to rename them, as far as I know! I wonder why? Can you guess? Can you? That's right! It's because we're not offended by the word blind!
So, when you say that the word blind is offensive, you're far more offensive than a hundred million uses of the word blind. Because what you're really saying is that I'm too helpless and stupid to get the organizations I belong to to change it myself, so you'd better stand up and do it for me. Well, *SIT THE HELL BACK DOWN!*
Do you disagree with me? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Seriously, it'd be nice to hear what your reasons for thinking this are, so I can respond to them. Because right now, I honestly don't understand what you're thought process must be, other than a need to protect a group of people you believe are too helpless to do it ourselves. Hey, it's always possible, but extremely unlikely, that you'll be so convincing that I'll be moved to try and rename this community to /r/visuallyimpaired. I wouldn't bet on it, though.
In closing, I have no problem with political correctness. I support and uphold the right of every community to call itself what it wishes, and I regularly change my speech patterns as I learn about the desires of different groups, as we all grow and change. I also uphold the right of every person to call herself or himself whatever she or he wants. If you call yourself visually impaired, good for you, and I'll stop calling you blind. But how dare you tell me what I'm allowed to call myself, and how dare you refuse to call me blind. That's the label I've picked for myself, and that's the label many other communities also desire. So use and accept it!
Disclaimer: contains terms some may find offensive, but is still entirely PG. This is self-identified as a rant, and so is right on the edge of what can be reasonably allowed in postings. Let's try not to cross that line in the comments, K? Thanks! But I'd love to read a good counter-rant.
Seriously though, who got the idea that the word blind was offensive, and who's bottomless hole of fake-PC inanity did they rip it out of? Can we please, for once and all, stuff it back in there? Let's have a quick look at the list of organizations helping those with sight issues: The Royal National Institute of the _BLIND_, The Canadian National Institute of the _BLIND_, the National Federation of the _BLIND_, The American Council of the _BLIND_, The American Printing House for the _BLIND_, The Canadian _BLIND_ alliance, The World _BLIND_ Union...are you noticing a pattern? Are you? If you're one of the people trying to put across the idea that the word blind is offensive, then no, you're probably not. This is obviously because you're so deeply disengaged from the community of _BLIND_ people, and reality in general, I'm surprised you can still communicate with the rest of us from whatever planet you're living on.
If you're interested in getting re-connected with reality, think about it this way. Is The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons called "Cripples Canada"? No it isn't! Because that group of people decided they didn't appreciate being called cripples, so they don't call themselves that. Does an organization called "Spastics USA" exist? No! Because people with physical disabilities don't call themselves spastics. And there is no organization called "retards international", either! Same reason!
And yet, some people apparently think that we blind people are a group of helpless, hopeless, dis-empowered children. If we were offended by the word blind, we would make the organizations that we all participate in change it. But hey, look! See all those organizations above? None of them have been renamed! Nobody is even attempting to rename them, as far as I know! I wonder why? Can you guess? Can you? That's right! It's because we're not offended by the word blind!
So, when you say that the word blind is offensive, you're far more offensive than a hundred million uses of the word blind. Because what you're really saying is that I'm too helpless and stupid to get the organizations I belong to to change it myself, so you'd better stand up and do it for me. Well, *SIT THE HELL BACK DOWN!*
Do you disagree with me? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Seriously, it'd be nice to hear what your reasons for thinking this are, so I can respond to them. Because right now, I honestly don't understand what you're thought process must be, other than a need to protect a group of people you believe are too helpless to do it ourselves. Hey, it's always possible, but extremely unlikely, that you'll be so convincing that I'll be moved to try and rename this community to /r/visuallyimpaired. I wouldn't bet on it, though.
In closing, I have no problem with political correctness. I support and uphold the right of every community to call itself what it wishes, and I regularly change my speech patterns as I learn about the desires of different groups, as we all grow and change. I also uphold the right of every person to call herself or himself whatever she or he wants. If you call yourself visually impaired, good for you, and I'll stop calling you blind. But how dare you tell me what I'm allowed to call myself, and how dare you refuse to call me blind. That's the label I've picked for myself, and that's the label many other communities also desire. So use and accept it!
impablomations 3 points
Sometimes political correctness can go to far. Quite often the 'xxxx word is offensive to people with yyyy' comes from people who don't have that bloody condition.
In an old job I was told that our weekly brainstorming sessions for client design ideas was offensive, as the word 'brainstorming' was offensive to epileptics.
As an epileptic this was the first time I, or anyone I knew with the condition had heard that we found it offensive. Turns out the dictat had come down from someone in HR who seemed to spend most of their day thinking up problematic terms. I honestly think they would have felt right at home in the novel 1984 thinking up new terms for Newspeak. "Brainstorming" is doubleplusungood!!
As well as my vision issues, I also have major mobility problems (4 heart attacks and a stroke really puts a cramp on your walking!) and had a social worker repeatedly tell me I wasn't disabled, but 'Handycapable'
I hate that word with the intensity of a thousand suns. It just drips of condescension!
Far too often political correctness is used to make those without a disability feel better about themselves without actually doing anything. 'If we change the name of the thing, then the thing doesn't really exist. If it doesn't exist, then we can feel better"
George Carlin did a wonderful piece on how PTSD used to be 'shell shock', then 'battle fatigue' then on through other terms. Each change taking it further away from what it actually was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSp8IyaKCs0
George says much it better than I can.
In an old job I was told that our weekly brainstorming sessions for client design ideas was offensive, as the word 'brainstorming' was offensive to epileptics.
As an epileptic this was the first time I, or anyone I knew with the condition had heard that we found it offensive. Turns out the dictat had come down from someone in HR who seemed to spend most of their day thinking up problematic terms. I honestly think they would have felt right at home in the novel 1984 thinking up new terms for Newspeak. "Brainstorming" is doubleplusungood!!
As well as my vision issues, I also have major mobility problems (4 heart attacks and a stroke really puts a cramp on your walking!) and had a social worker repeatedly tell me I wasn't disabled, but 'Handycapable'
I hate that word with the intensity of a thousand suns. It just drips of condescension!
Far too often political correctness is used to make those without a disability feel better about themselves without actually doing anything. 'If we change the name of the thing, then the thing doesn't really exist. If it doesn't exist, then we can feel better"
George Carlin did a wonderful piece on how PTSD used to be 'shell shock', then 'battle fatigue' then on through other terms. Each change taking it further away from what it actually was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSp8IyaKCs0
George says much it better than I can.
[deleted] 1 points
[deleted]
Brothdw 2 points
What??? Who the hell has been saying that "blind" is offensive? I'm technically "visually impaired" but I've been called the entire gamut of terms for a blind person over my lifetime. Blind, visually impaired, blind as a bat (which is really just an insult to bats), low vision, four eyes (which was definitely derogatory, but it was high school, so who the hell cares) and probably several other things I'm forgetting. Back when my vision wasn't quite as bad as it is now, I used the handle "white cane" when playing online games, which in hindsight was a hilarious, albeit ill conceived idea. Where the hell does someone who doesn't even HAVE an issue with a medical condition that both myself and many others have suffered from for our entire lives, get off saying that a widespread term we all use, is offensive?
I call bs...
I call bs...
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
Just a quick Google finds $1 who lumps blind in as a term of oppression. So it's pretty darn widespread.
But what triggered the rant was a pm I got from someone saying I should resign as a mod of /r/blind because the term was offensive, and they hoped the sub would get banned just like /r/fatpeoplehate. They didn't even bother to visit the sub; they just saw it on my profile after clicking my username from...a comment on fanfic I made, or something.
Also, I know /u/rumster frequently gets pressure to stop using the word blind in the course of marketing for the business he works for, but I don't know all the details of that.
And it happens once every few months or so that I call myself "blind", and then someone else changes it to "visually impaired" to be PC. So this has been building up for a while.
But what triggered the rant was a pm I got from someone saying I should resign as a mod of /r/blind because the term was offensive, and they hoped the sub would get banned just like /r/fatpeoplehate. They didn't even bother to visit the sub; they just saw it on my profile after clicking my username from...a comment on fanfic I made, or something.
Also, I know /u/rumster frequently gets pressure to stop using the word blind in the course of marketing for the business he works for, but I don't know all the details of that.
And it happens once every few months or so that I call myself "blind", and then someone else changes it to "visually impaired" to be PC. So this has been building up for a while.
Brothdw 2 points
After going back and reading my comment, I think I may not have made my point clear. I wasn't commenting on the fact I didn't believe that either yourself or others weren't having an issue with this. I was merely commenting on the fact that people who have no concept of what it's like to be in our shoes, should probably keep their mouths shut, especially about what blind people do and don't consider offensive. In spite of what I commented before, I do still come across similar situations to what you describe from time to time, and share the anger you expressed in your original post when it happens. I apologize for not stating that clearly enough in my original comment, and any confusion it may have caused.
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
Oh, no problem. If I hadn't experienced that kind of thing directly myself, I would call BS on my rant, too! I could have explained what triggered the post in my original rant, but I wanted to be careful to avoid starting a witch hunt. That's why I still haven't posted much detail even when replying to you. When I'm explaining the issue to sighted folks who do find the word offensive, I'm usually much calmer and more professional. This was just some much-needed venting inside our little community. So I don't want to give people a target for the pitchforks. {grin}
Princess_Consuela_ 2 points
This is the first time I'm hearing that this is an issue and it's shocking. I'm not blind, but my dad is so I like to lurk in this sub to try to get a sense of how my dad feels, ways to help him, etc. My dad lost his vision to NAION 4 years ago and he's technically visually impaired since he can still see some contrast, but ***legally***, he is blind. He requires a cane or dog to get around and wouldn't be able to tell me apart from a stranger just by looking. He's never thought the word "blind" was offensive, but in fact, feels as though it's easier to refer to his condition as "blind." The definition of visual impairment is vision worse than 20/40 or 20/60 ($1), so saying blind is much more direct.
What I have heard is offensive from my journalism studies is when you refer to someone as a blind person. If you call someone a blind person, you're defining them by their disability. I've learned that it's much more PC to say "a person who is blind." I've asked my dad about this and he says he doesn't mind either way, but I'm interested in hearing what you all think. Thanks for sharing this post, it was interesting to read!
What I have heard is offensive from my journalism studies is when you refer to someone as a blind person. If you call someone a blind person, you're defining them by their disability. I've learned that it's much more PC to say "a person who is blind." I've asked my dad about this and he says he doesn't mind either way, but I'm interested in hearing what you all think. Thanks for sharing this post, it was interesting to read!
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
I don't care either way. The thing in journalism that gets me is the poor headlines that are used when writing about disability, IE "Blindness won't stop this woman!" Stop her from what? Journalists tend to believe that the story is "blind person exists", when it should really be "blindness won't stop this woman from climbing mount Everest" or whatever the story is. I've read this over and over and over again, where the lead paragraph is spent describing that someone is blind, and the actual story is buried three paragraphs down.
Allycat86 2 points
As a totally blind person myself, I prefer to be called what I am. Blind. To say that I'm visually impaired implies that I still have some, if not most of my vision.
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
I agree completely, and that's why I call myself blind. But it's happened multiple times where I've told someone I was blind, that person told their superiors I was "visually impaired" because they wanted to be politically correct, and then I get given large print that's totally useless to me. It drives me nuts!
[deleted] 1 points
[deleted]
angelcake 1 points
Awesome rant. I am not blind but my partner is low vision and well on his way to being fully blind unfortunately. I'm going to send this to him because he would love it.
romanj35 1 points
I've been called a 'white stick' and I think it's hiliarious. Blind is a medical term, meaning without vision. And before anyone jumps down my throat, retarded is a medical term as well, meaning slow or slowed.
I still use the words, as well as midgets. I don't care who gets offended on who's behalf.
Now this American Publishing for the Blind??? What's that?
I still use the words, as well as midgets. I don't care who gets offended on who's behalf.
Now this American Publishing for the Blind??? What's that?
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
The American Printing House for the blind is an organization that sells braille books. You can find them at http://www.aph.org
romanj35 1 points
Ahh, what a let-down lol. Sorry, I instantly thought it was something for blind authors to help them get published.
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
I avoid the use of the word retarded, because it's used too often as a slur ("hang on, my computer is being retarded."). I guess if I was a doctor, fair enough. But I'm not. Also, I can't point to any organization of people who call themselves "retards", so I won't call them that either.
fastfinge [OP] 1 points
Wow. Go and click /r/visuallyimpaired. Compare the subscriber numbers there to our subscriber numbers. Hmmm. I wonder if that means anything? And I didn't even know that sub existed when I was writing.
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