I am convinced if most sighted people I have met over the years would just stop and think, most of what I do would made sense. Unfortunately, most people just figure they couldn't do everyday normal things if they went blind, so I must be amazing or something. These people never think that if they were blind for their entire lives, the blindness would be normal, and they would have the learned the same skills I did.

I don't know how to fix this. I suspect this is part of the reason why more blind people don't have jobs. Humans in general aren't very good at understanding what they fear. Going blind I think, is a big fear for most people. I think if we could get people to look past the blindness, I think many of the employment issues would start to go away.

I think you need to be a bit careful of generalising about "society." I meet people who are fine. I meet people who are weird. It's as bad as someone making some sweeping statement about blind people in general. The last thing anyone wants is to piss off the people who have a good attitude or give them reason to doubt themselves. I take it on a case by case basis. Very rarely I find someone who needs a good educating and I give them that education but honestly that's what, once a year? And I work freelance so (when there is no virus) I meet a lot of new people all the time.

Yes, repeatedly answering the same question is boring and I have no problem telling people I'd happily discuss it when we have more time. Mostly that's just a way to not explain yourself because you really aren't required to explain yourself to everyone all the time. Sometimes, though, if it's someone I like and want to know, we then go and have lunch or something and we have the conversation. What you then do is draw the conversation away from the disability and toward other stuff you're into and I find at the end of a carefully managed hour, you can have a new buddy who gets it.

Sorry to any of my recent acquaintances who read this. If it felt like you were being managed, you were, sorry.

Obviously that leaves many people with the brush off but you can't spend your life giving chapter and verse to every waitress and ticket inspector you meet and nor can you really change them, so that's my approach.

I feel this post on a visceral level. Those kinds of interactions make me feel so stupid and ashamed. It's easier to pretend to be sighted and dumb as a rock rather than out myself as blind (despite the fact that I travel with a white cane or my guide dog at all times, people ... don't get it? Do I have to wear a sign that says "I'M BLIND, YOU CLOD"??). Or suddenly, everything you are able to do for yourself is proof you're *not* blind. I think that most sighted people conceptualize being blind as "now I walk around doing everything with my eyes closed. This is impossible. I can't do anything!!" I've been doing this for 30 years; it's reasonable to conclude I'll have picked up a few tricks by this point to get along (off-topic, but this issue reminds me of my experience as being autistic with a lifetime of masking skills. I don't "act autistic"? okay Karen.)

Thanks for putting up with my mashed-together ramblings. tldr I feel you, and I don't appreciate that the burden is largely on the blind to educate the sighted.

I think maybe a PSA, or a charity ad campaign just stating that VI is a spectrum. A bit of public education is vital

Although I agree we shouldn’t be treated too differently there are still accommodations people can make. We dont need to be seen as exactly like sighted people but we need to be understood for what we are.

Members of my own family often forget I’m blind or that maybe I might have difficulty with some things and not others. I often have to remind them to use their words instead of point at things, and if they want to point something out stop referring to it as ‘that’ and ‘it’ if they want me to know what it actually is they are talking about. If theres no contextual clues because they are all visual I don’t know they just pointed out a nice dress or a table I hate. It’s when we let them just do this over and over and ignore it that we become isolated from them and perpetuate the stereotype.

Yes. I especially love when my husband can't see someone pointing at a thing ten feet away and decide he must be stupid because it's \_right there!!\_

I have to point out the pun. Society needs to see us differently.


I see what you did there.

There a lot of people out there who will treat us like we're supposed to be different, some will be ignorant until they meet someone who breaks their stereotype, or they'll just keep their opinion on a certain group of people. It works for most disabilities, and most of the people I've encountered have fallen into one of those catagories.

However, there are many people out there as well who will treat me the same as any other person but help when it's needed. Though i find most of the time this happens when I don't have my symbol cane.

In my opinion, it comes down to education. From my experience, we never learnt about different types of disabilities, and there were constantly bad streotypes of disabled people being thrown around. I know this is different per school though, as I've met people who's children are educated on the subject and taught that we shouldn't be treated differently from others.

I don't know how to conclude this, as I am deeply troubled by some of the interactions that I've had with people who have treated me like a preschool child. We can only hope that stereotypes will change as people are educated more about how we lead normal lives just the same as anyone else.

It's something I'd like to make a movie or documentary on at some point, as a movie can change and touch people in positive ways, and I'd like a way to channel all the things that have happened to me so far in life.

**see** hah

Until you see some of the community you will .be surprised. There’s a lot of sheltered blind people too. I don’t act blind either. I’ve seen a lot of dependent behaviors in a lot of the community and sort of get what they mean. But yeah.

I find being Blind or VI amazing coz ye can flex to ppl that you can play games way better and do difficult things way better than normal ppl with great eyesight.

You can be proud and say "I am blind/VI, but I can do things/play games better than you!"

An ironic choice of words

Just how it is.
At this point in my life, I really could care less about society. If people want to educate themselves, cool. If people want to think less of me, I can't change them.

Nah, just get a high paying job so you can make bank and really blow their socks off lol