Fucking hell, why are people like this all the time?

Let's break this down: a white cane is an aid. It's there to make life easier. If your life quality is worse without it, then you *should* be using it. I could even use something stronger than just should.

"it helps me and I'm able to function more freely and easily in the world" There we go. It makes your life easier. It fills a disability-based need you have.

You're using the cane because you're supposed to be using it. You're not a fraud. Not unless you use your cane as an excuse for not paying your taxes.

There's no blindy police. There is no Lady of the Lake that will give you the cane only if you are worthy. Honestly, even if completely sighted people were to use a cane because it helps them somehow I bet most of us wouldn't give a shit.

You're not cosplaying as visually impaired. You *are* visually impaired. You're one of us (ONE OF US! ONE Of US!), whether you like it or not. So go on, grab that cane, give it a swing, and if anyone gives you shit (nobody will), bonk them on the head with it!
... or don't. People thinking canes are weapons is enoug hof a problem as it is. Besides, they really aren't; you might bend it.

I sometimes worry that other people might think that I am, but screw them, last time tripped over something on my blindside I broke my ankle.

And I can spot my kid 1/2 a block away, ie with glasses I can see 20/20, except on my blindside where I have at best s vague sense of movement.

Your intentions are what matter here. Clearly you want to use it to help you navigate, so that's perfectly fine. You're not a fraud for wanting to keep from running into things and/or getting yourself into embarrassing situations. There's nothing wrong with that.

Even as a kid when I first was using my cane it felt a bit odd and I sometimes let the social pressure get to me to leave it behind. The more you work with your cane the less you'll feel this way, especially as you start to see just how much of a positive difference it makes. Best of luck!

This is normal. It gets better. You're not a fraud.

Sometimes I still let social anxiety get the best of me and I leave my cane at home, but more and more when I do, I find that I wish I'd brought it with me. My town has grown a lot in recent years and places are just more crowded than they used to be and it's getting hard to navigate those crowds without my cane.

Not a fraud! As others have said, if it helps you navigate safely, use it!

I only had an ID cane that I barely used until I was in my early twenties. I didn’t know using a travel cane was an option, because while I’d had basic cane training, I had enough sight to get around without one. However, when I started using one full-time, it made a world of difference. I can use my remaining vision to pay attention to what’s around me; I have more situational awareness. Before, I had to practically look at my feet to see where I was going.

I don’t use my cane in familiar places, like my house or the office, because I know where stuff is and can make good use of my vision. However, the other week, we had an open house at the office, and about 20 guests. We had chairs scattered about the room in clumps instead of the group of tables that are normally there. I pulled out my cane for that to avoid the risk of tripping over a chair leg, or bumping into a person. And, because I was in a place where I normally don’t need my cane (and probably would have been fine without it), I did feel a little like a fraud or a fake. I did it anyway, though, because in the end, despite what my anxiety was saying, I knew having my cane out would help me more than not having it.

I think it will get easier, the more you practice and become comfortable using your cane, the more you become accustomed to how helpful it is. Then you’ll miss it when it’s not there. In the end, the only important thing is that the white cane helps you navigate more safely, independently and confidently. Randomers’ opinions on the matter are irrelevant.

Yeah, actually. I've been legally blind my whole life, and in high school I went through this phase where I didn't want to use my cane even though it helped me. Hated screen readers too. It all made me feel so abnormal. Just know that you're valid, just because some people don't understand that blindness isn't always as black-and-white as they think it is, doesn't mean you have to feel weird about it. Blindness is a spectrum, and if using a cane is helpful for you then use it. People will give you weird comments sometimes, yeah, but honestly? They shouldn't be in control of your independence.

Honestly this wouldn't be a problem if accessibility devices were more common than they are


Like what if we lived in a world where good canes were actually mass produced and everyone person who needed one could have one and they could also be a fashion statement the white glasses sometimes are like you never hear someone getting called faking because they're wearing sunglasses or something to look cool




But anyways it's really nobody else's business what device is people use or need

Like the fact that some wheelchair users can actually walk but still need wheelchairs but people say they don't just because they have the ability to stand sometimes when none of that if any of their business

Trust me you're not even the worst for fried treatment I have a friend who's just blind in one eye and therefore pretty much everyone at like camp for the blind or everything try to force him to not participate in things because he could use his sight to his advantage which is kind of the whole point but they treat him like he cited which he kind of is but only in one eye so he still has to learn how to adjust and only see out of the side one side

Smh

It's part of "the only true blind people are people born with 0% vision". Which is not true. It's some bullshit ableists use to put down the legally blind and attempt to make the legally blind feel lesser for their own selfish reasons. Screw them.

If it helps, I felt like a fraud, and I went from normal sight to no sight in a day.

Totally feel the same way sometimes. My vision varies during the day, if I’ve slept well the night prior, I’m quite good in the morning, but depending on other factors, it’s much much worse.

Don’t mind fuck yourself. Your entitled to the cane.

It’s frustrating to deal with other people’s misconceptions or feel like someone might ignorantly try to call you out, but it can be good to have some one-liners ready to go. I remember that an insulting meme went around making fun of a visually impaired woman who had a cane but was using her phone in public and looking at it’s screen. It’s stuff like that and also our own sometimes unfounded concerns that it might happen to us that can make us limit our lives unnecessarily.

I heard an interview with a hostage negotiator and he said that “how” questions are often the best way to throw people off. I figure that if people are rude to me, I’ll use a response like “How can I explain a complex vision problem to (someone like) you?” or “How can you not understand that vision loss can be a complicated issue?”

If people are really rude, you can ask “So I’m just wondering: Is ignorance actually bliss?”
Or if they are talking about you behind your back, you can say, “I have trouble seeing, but no trouble hearing you. If you want to understand something, just ask me.”

Usually though, you’ll probably have generally nice people, and probably won’t get any truly rude comments for the most part. I’ve been using my cane for a year and wish I’d started earlier

Just remember, if you use your cane even though people can’t tell that you need it, it helps normaalise things for all of us. It’s not fun to have to educate the world, but we all help each other out by doing it. We don’t have to act more blind than we are while using a cane. We can just potentially change the perspective of the public by using our remaining sight while using a cane.

I think everybody that experiences that progressive vision loss probably experiences the same questions. For me, it was never about feeling like a fraud. It was just more a question of feeling like I could still see well enough. However, when I did buy my first ID cane, and started using it regularly, mobility became so much less stressful. Not worrying about bumping into someone and having them look at you like you’re a clumsy idiot far outweighed any question or looks about how blind exactly was I

I'm right there with you and 100% understand how you feel. The fact is I need my cane when it's crowded/dark/bright//uneven/unfamiliar. But I have been "high functioning" for so long, owing to about 10% central vision and nothing else, that I constantly worry about the "fraud" thing.

I will say, reality hasn't justified my worry so far. People have been compassionate and respectful.

You are not!!!!! If it keeps you safer then use it. If it’s oh today I want to fake that I am blind so I can get all the benefits sure that’s wrong but that’s not your intentions.

And you’re not taking anything from a totally blind person like me.