Assuming blind means fully blind, only 10% of blind people are fully blind, most have some form of sight, light perception, movement, etc

I've seen people claim blind people aren't really blind cos they're not using a cane, or are using a phone.

Assuming that I’m “inspirational” for living my life.
Dudes, I’m literally just trying to survive- not doing anything different!

Also people who say stuff like “if I was blind I’d die!” (I can let it slide if the person doesn’t know I’m visually impaired but I’ve heard “friends” say it and it’s a real drag)

Assuming it is okay to come into the subreddit and ask all sorts of stupid questions, or pitch their idea for an app/product that either is unnecessary or already exists, or attempt to use our community as guinea pigs for their school project.

Isn't there any sUrGeRy ?

This one is infuriating

What do you see ?

I don't know what people see normally so I see what I see.

Why don't you get glasses? Worse than that is telling me how well Lasik worked for you or some you know. Or some other treatment that you should try next. Anyone who has gone through this has tried everything medically possible to save their sight, people assuming that somehow they know more about your condition than you do.

Like I just let myself loose my vision.

Maybe I'm just too new at this but none of the things mentioned in the comments bother me.

Sure, people don't understand why I can walk through a sunny parking lot without a cane, avoiding the parked cars and stepping up on the curb when I reach it, then deploy my cane as soon as I step inside the darkness of the store. I don't see that as a hassle, I see it as an opportunity to teach.

Same with the stoopid questions we get here. They're stoopid to us because we've lived through it, but if I got on a subreddit for professional tennis players they'd all think my questions were stoopid, too. I just see it as an opportunity to tell my story and to replace ignorance with empathy.

Being an inspiration? That's a title I'll gladly accept. I've been inspired by many, many people, ordinary people who kick ass and show me how much potential I have if I put my mind to something and don't give up. Their examples have led me to change my life for the better. Why wouldn't I want to do the same for someone else? I don't know your struggle, I don't know how hard it is for you to get out of bed and face another day without slitting your wrists, but if seeing me lean my cane against the wall and dance to some New Wave music helps you see the strength you forgot you had, then I'm glad I came dancing tonight.

There's a lot of ignorance and misinformation about blindness out there, but very little maliciousness. I could take offense where none was intended, but doing so would ruin my mood. It's just as easy to break the ice with a joke and spread some education instead.

I hate the assumption That after losing one of our senses we have super powers.

People assuming I can’t go up and downstairs. I think you got your disabilities confused again, my friend!

"Can I pray for you?" or "Jesus will heal you." from total strangers. It's one thing if you're in church and someone asks to pray for you, because that's a thing you do at church. It's another thing entirely if it's just someone on the street. Please stop assuming that I am suffering terribly, and let me run my errands in peace.

“Are you really blind?” No. I just carry this cane around because I think it’s fashionable. Come on!

I get a bit tired of people saying that because I wear glasses I'm not "really" blind.

My whole family seems to think I live in the dark and can't see. I have vision, I use my phone close to my face, they question me every time I'm on it, if I'm blind why/how can I use my phone with no trouble. I also don't know, I mean I use a long cane and I feel safer with it but I'm always wondering if I have too much vision to need to be using it, how would I know the answer to something like that?

"Is it like Daredevil"

No.

Are you like Iron Man or Hawkeye?

Assuming that any person with me is my caregiver and talking about me as if I can’t hear them. Guy in an antique store decided I couldn’t get around myself and started talking to my (much deafer than me) friend telling her to watch me and stuff. I wanted to scream “she is not my chaperone!” But I was trying to be polite.

That I can’t run unassisted.

Background: I’m a track & field athlete who also has Cerebral Palsy. My CP affects me more than my vision (still pretty severe but enough to stay in my lane) so therefore I’m classified under my physical classification.

So Sydney (Australia) held the Invictus Games back in 2018, and I was invited as part of a demonstration relay with a whole bunch of CP athletes. I’m pretty familiar with the venue as it’s my home track and has held almost every major state and national meet since I’ve been in the sport. But I used my white cane to escort myself to the start line because the layout was very different to smaller comps (also it was run in reverse down the 100m straight🤢. Now the whole event is basically centered around disabled veterans, so surely the organisers/volunteers would know how to deal with somebody with if not one, but multiple disabilities. The buzzer went off (wasn’t a starting gun because of PTSD concerns) and I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t running until the third leg so I had to think for a while. Ended up throwing my cane onto the side of the track and bolting up to tag the 4th runner in frustration.

Now I know the organisers didn’t know my circumstances entirely, but surely there would be some common sense?

The assumption that one blind person is like ALL blind people ... We are individuals who have different experiences. We are not the same and we don't know this other blind person you were talking to the other day, nor will we instantly become best friends if we are introduced just because we both happen to be blind.

I hate all the questions asking us how we know when we are done wiping after going to the bathroom. Blah!!! Or assuming we feel faces.