Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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What is your reactions when sighted people using the word "blind" for something negative? (self.Blind)
submitted by Ooker777
bscross32 27 points 3y ago
I couldn't possibly care less lol.
Ooker777 [OP] 3 points 3y ago
so do you use 'are you blind?" to another person? Even to a blind person?
bscross32 17 points 3y ago
I would if it fit the situation. What's so wrong about it? I think this stems from two things. First is this need to appear politically correct at all times. I won't even address that since I feel it's totally ridiculous. The second thing though, is a need to defend the defenseless. Now, if that's your stance, it's a poor one to have.
Wanting to be an ally or accessibility advocate means that you you realize all the things we're capable of. It doesn't mean you try to overshadow us or speak for us. If you do that, you're not helping at all.
Wanting to be an ally or accessibility advocate means that you you realize all the things we're capable of. It doesn't mean you try to overshadow us or speak for us. If you do that, you're not helping at all.
Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
I'm not sure why defending the defenseless is a poor stance/not helping at all. Can you elaborate?
bscross32 2 points 3y ago
We're not defenseless. We've been speaking up for our needs for a long time now. Things are starting to come together for us in some circles, but there is still much work to be done. Because we are a small group as compared to the total population of the earth, we do need allies. These should be people who are willing to learn about us and be willing to cast aside their own misconceptions about us. They should also want to stand with us, not in front of us. In addition, we don't need people who will use us to springboard off our message to push their own agendas.
[deleted] 1 points 3y ago
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ratadeacero 6 points 3y ago
Oh. I've used that on multiple blind people. They never saw it coming.
Tsuchikuzurezawa 6 points 3y ago
It relates to them not being able to see an object. I likely can't either, so I wouldn't say such a thing lol.
OutWestTexas 4 points 3y ago
Yes! We make blind jokes all the time like that in my family. One time I was visiting my sister’s house and I couldn’t find something. She says, “ Are you blind or something?!” We laughed our heads off.
[deleted] 13 points 3y ago
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Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
wait, why does referee or umpire have anything to do here?
DariusA92 10 points 3y ago
Not really. There are more important problems for me to deal with to get offended over something like this. I generally try not to get offended over every little thing, it makes your peace of mind dependent on the whims of others.
sooperdooperboi 7 points 3y ago
My gf is blind and we joke all the time about people who get uptight with those sorts of phrases.
Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
lol. But isn't that there many people in the sub haven't accepted that they are blind?
sooperdooperboi 1 points 3y ago
I don’t know how many of them there are, but if they don’t appreciate those sorts of things I’d probably just avoid joking about it in front of them.
Duriello 6 points 3y ago
I simply don't mind it. Blindness really does suck, so I can understand that people wouldn't want to be like me.
Ooker777 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
but you don't feel hurt when people use it as a stigma?
NutGoblin2 6 points 3y ago
Why are you trying to get offended on behalf of other people?
Ooker777 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
that's called $1 I would say
Duriello 2 points 3y ago
No, because I have already accepted my inferiority. I'm an ableist disabled person.
Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
what does that mean?
Duriello 1 points 3y ago
Google [defines ableism as "discrimination in favour of able-bodied people". I do that a lot, but only to myself.
Real_Space_Captain 5 points 3y ago
When I'm training someone or bringing my friends someplace new I always joke "it's the blind leading the blind."
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I'm the only one laughing but still. I think it's fine but I really love the sensitivity from someone outside the community.
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I'm the only one laughing but still. I think it's fine but I really love the sensitivity from someone outside the community.
pterofly 5 points 3y ago
Really don't care tbh. Especially if I'm blind drunk.
ratadeacero 5 points 3y ago
Disclaimer: I see fine.
Doesn't bother us in the least. My wife is blind. We have a sense of humor and make inappropriate jokes all the time. Someone using a word doesn't bother us. In the right context, it could even be hilarious. People are too touchy.
Doesn't bother us in the least. My wife is blind. We have a sense of humor and make inappropriate jokes all the time. Someone using a word doesn't bother us. In the right context, it could even be hilarious. People are too touchy.
Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
>i see fine
Do you mean that your vision is fine, or you see the phrases fine?
Do you mean that your vision is fine, or you see the phrases fine?
taversham 4 points 3y ago
While one can discuss at length whether the medical model or the social model of disability is most appropriate when describing the experience of being blind (i.e., is being blind inherently a disability because part of the body isn't functioning, or is being blind only disabling because we live in a society built around visual input and if society were made truly accessible then being blind would not be a hindrance), the fact is that right now, in the modern world that we live in, being blind is a limitation. It is a negative thing. It's not an insurmountable thing, and it doesn't mean blind *people* are negative/bad, but it is still advantageous to be able to see things.
So I don't mind when people use turns of phrase like "blind faith" or "are you blind" when the comparison is apt, that's not something I consider offensive in the slightest.
So I don't mind when people use turns of phrase like "blind faith" or "are you blind" when the comparison is apt, that's not something I consider offensive in the slightest.
Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
is it because you have accepted your blindness, and you don't find being blindness is really... blind? I see that many people would be sensitive about the word. Like a black person will be sensitive for their skin
E-Wrecka 4 points 3y ago
I’m not blind, but this is something I study, actually. The trope of using blindness as a metaphor has a super long history and is typically very ableist to the point where I’m surprised it’s still used as much as it is. I saw a play for my research about a year ago that was a sensory-friendly performance and it was supposed to be a play about inclusivity. In the show, one character pretends to be blind the whole time and regains his sight at the end of the show when he found value in his friends. I thought, especially for a show supposedly about inclusivity, this was a super insensitive and clumsy metaphor. Using something like blindness as an analogy for “missing things” or “lacking” perpetuates a lot of negative stigma.
Again, though, I’m sighted, so while I can look at this from an outsiders perspective and be critical, I have no concept of what it would feel like to watch something like that as a blind person. I’m very interested to read some responses here.
Edit: my little brother is blind and he went with me to see the play and was just irritated when the boy got his sight back because he’d been excited about a blind kid in the show.
Again, though, I’m sighted, so while I can look at this from an outsiders perspective and be critical, I have no concept of what it would feel like to watch something like that as a blind person. I’m very interested to read some responses here.
Edit: my little brother is blind and he went with me to see the play and was just irritated when the boy got his sight back because he’d been excited about a blind kid in the show.
Fange_Strellow 4 points 3y ago
Yes, the story of this play you mentioned does have a bit of an ablest ending. To those who ask what ablest means, in this context the act of regaining one site to show that the character has become complete or whole is what is ablest. This is so because it implies lacking site equates to not being a whole or complete person. Well a blind person may lack sight and not have all the same visual functionality as a sighted person, it is wrong to say that a blind person cannot be a whole and complete person. However, this is a piece of writing and therefore falls to a much lower level of able Lizum then I am concerned with. The far greater form of able ism comes when the vast majority of performances on stage do not contain a quality described narrative or do not enable people with different visual and sensory capabilities to participate in the show. Another even greater form of able ism is the fact that architecture city design, and most forms of public space are still highly in accessible due to a lack of attention paid by the designers that a blind person, a deaf person, or an otherwise different person might utilize that space. Now, does everything need to cater to everyone? No, but public spaces can be designed in a way that enable all individuals to have access. And it is always much easier to do this before construction, rather than after the fact. This is why design and architecture programs should have knowledge thought about various disabilities by people with those disabilities to get an idea of how design can evolve.
E-Wrecka 1 points 3y ago
Totally. I thought it was interesting that this was kind of an intersection of literary ableism in the metaphor, but also it was a “sensory friendly” performance but they didn’t have any ramps, quiet spaces, regulations, and they didn’t change anything about lighting and sound. It was as if they waved a magic wand and called it “sensory friendly.” I agree practical, actionable ableism is far more concerning.
Ooker777 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
> it was a “sensory friendly” performance but they didn’t have any ramps, quiet spaces, regulations, and they didn’t change anything about lighting and sound
Are they good or bad for a blind?
Are they good or bad for a blind?
DrillInstructorJan 1 points 3y ago
I really would love to understand what "ableist" means in that situation.
E-Wrecka 1 points 3y ago
The way i interpreted it was the metaphor of conflating blindness with being “less than” or “lacking” was ableist. With the big fat caveat that, I didn’t come up with this, I study it. I can speak all day long about why it is or isn’t ableist and problematic based on what I’ve read, but I have no tangible experience with dealing with things like this in my life so I only know what I’ve studied. Do you disagree that it’s ableist? If so, I’m very interested to hear why
DrillInstructorJan 0 points 3y ago
Being blind is lacking something and you can't really get away from that. It's lacking quite a big thing.
People have different attitudes to this stuff but if I had the option I would take sight any day, if that wasn't pretty obvious. That doesn't mean I am totally consumed and ruined as a human being by being blind, but I will never sugar coat the situation.
I tend to find that when people start using the word "problematic" then they're often looking for a reason to cause an argument and often it's quite hard to pin down exactly what problem they're worried will happen.
People have different attitudes to this stuff but if I had the option I would take sight any day, if that wasn't pretty obvious. That doesn't mean I am totally consumed and ruined as a human being by being blind, but I will never sugar coat the situation.
I tend to find that when people start using the word "problematic" then they're often looking for a reason to cause an argument and often it's quite hard to pin down exactly what problem they're worried will happen.
E-Wrecka 1 points 3y ago
So for one, I totally agree. But I think lacking a thing is different than lacking as a person, and I think that’s the idea with the message being an issue.
As for the word “problematic” again, totally agree. I hear that word tossed around all the time and it’s super easy to label something as “problematic” and use that as a meaningless glittering generality to spark something. However, I also think the word has its place when you’re using it for what it actually means, which is a thing that perpetuates or instigates a problem. And I think, in this case, what I was trying to say is the idea of being blind making someone lesser being a problem, and this thing perpetuating that
As for the word “problematic” again, totally agree. I hear that word tossed around all the time and it’s super easy to label something as “problematic” and use that as a meaningless glittering generality to spark something. However, I also think the word has its place when you’re using it for what it actually means, which is a thing that perpetuates or instigates a problem. And I think, in this case, what I was trying to say is the idea of being blind making someone lesser being a problem, and this thing perpetuating that
glittertechnic 2 points 3y ago
It's always really embarrassing whenever a disabled character on TV gets upset about people using certain sayings or idioms. It tells me that the writers don't know anything about disabled people.
danbarrabergercomedy 2 points 3y ago
I don't mind it one bit. There are useful parts of language which help drive points home. If there's no vindictive intent, no harm done. If something is said with hurtful intentions, then there's an issue.
I say this as a blind standup comic, so maybe I'm more pro-language in that way.
Edit: reread the post, noticed you're sighted. You don't have to worry about offending us by using common turns of phrase. We deal with far worse shit on the daily, and it's often worse when someone is dancing around the obvious term. Don't assume you know what's best for us, and if you're unsure, just ask.
I say this as a blind standup comic, so maybe I'm more pro-language in that way.
Edit: reread the post, noticed you're sighted. You don't have to worry about offending us by using common turns of phrase. We deal with far worse shit on the daily, and it's often worse when someone is dancing around the obvious term. Don't assume you know what's best for us, and if you're unsure, just ask.
GodOfEmus 2 points 3y ago
If we're talking about the use of blind idiomatically, it doesn't bother me. Language is emergent, and any one individual doesn't choose the particular syntactic manifestations of culturally relevant conveyances i.e. blind faith.
The cessation of this kind of usage is, in my view, a bit of a utopian project (although not one I'm necessarily opposed to). Changing language is a slow process, so it's not something worth worrying about in the day-to-day. Which is to say, if someone chooses to actively avoid this type of usage, that's cool. But in the same way, I don't view someone who does use these colloquialisms as any less of an advocate for the disabled, or whatever your metric is.
Now if we're talking about slurs or people just being assholes, those ofc irritate me. When you reach adulthood and there are still people who can't mind their own business, prompting them to say such choice things like "Wow, you really didn't see that?" even if I'm holding a cane, you just can't help but cringe hard.
Of course, this is not the overwhelming majority of people, but I thought I'd at least respond with the type of shit that does have the potential to irritate me.
The cessation of this kind of usage is, in my view, a bit of a utopian project (although not one I'm necessarily opposed to). Changing language is a slow process, so it's not something worth worrying about in the day-to-day. Which is to say, if someone chooses to actively avoid this type of usage, that's cool. But in the same way, I don't view someone who does use these colloquialisms as any less of an advocate for the disabled, or whatever your metric is.
Now if we're talking about slurs or people just being assholes, those ofc irritate me. When you reach adulthood and there are still people who can't mind their own business, prompting them to say such choice things like "Wow, you really didn't see that?" even if I'm holding a cane, you just can't help but cringe hard.
Of course, this is not the overwhelming majority of people, but I thought I'd at least respond with the type of shit that does have the potential to irritate me.
[deleted] 2 points 3y ago
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bradley22 1 points 3y ago
It doesn’t bother me.
OliverKennett 1 points 3y ago
To me, blindness is a negative thing, it's certainly not improved my life. The thing is, blindness is something you have, not what you are, so it's fine to express the condition in a derogatory way to my mind... It's a dick.
bradley22 2 points 3y ago
It can be.
RybcS 1 points 3y ago
Visually impaired myself. Generally I’d be the one making slightly politically incorrect statements about blindness myself; they’re r/suicidebywords style funny usually. I’d only get pissed or offended if people actually treated me like a cripple...
JynxBJJ 1 points 3y ago
Don’t care. It’s an idioM. Also, every time I’m drunk, I’m blind drunk.
FedUPSEx 1 points 3y ago
I really don't care about it.
[deleted] 1 points 3y ago
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