Category: Let's talk
I posted this question in my Livejournal, but thought I'd put it out here, too. Have you ever heard blind people say something like, "I'm sorry if this makes me a bad blind person" or perhaps "maybe I'm not a good blind person." So, what do you think people mean when they refer to specifically a good or bad blind person. Does it have to do with being typical or atypical, or is it about living up to people's expectations, or what?
Can you be an overall good human being, but a bad blind person? LOL!
This is rather ambiguous and I think the correct answer is that:
Some blind people when they refer to good blind people and bad blind people mean good ambasadors or bad ambasadors for "the blind community" which I don't recognise.
Other blind people when referring to good and bad blind people are referring to how typical of other blind people the blind person is, and the more typical the person is, the worse the person is according to that definition.
Using this second definition, it is not only possible to be a good human being while being a bad blind person, but it is easier.
lol, I've been guilty of describing myself as a "bad blind person" before, on the basis of my lack of knowledge of the latest blind-related news and things like that.
Becky
I think different people mean different things by it. I've said it of myself in regards to my mobility skills. I've also said it about a person I used to work with in regards to her attitude. She thought she was the "perfect" blind person and that everyone should be just like her. This was particularly bad since she was a teacher at a rehab center and had absolutely no understanding of or compassion for people who struggled to adjust to their blindness. She was blind from birth and thought everyone should be well adjusted. And heaven forbid she should have a client who once had sight and was losing it or had already lost it and just needed a little compassion. She was really rough on them. But I digress...
I've heard this statement to mean different things, too. I think the way I would take it is the way Senior mentioned. Does the, "good or bad," action reflect well or poorly on the blind at large? Or sometimes, I've met it based on my own standards. Like when I know damned well I can do something myself, and probably should, but I'm lazy about it. Then I joke that I'm a bad blind person, but it's based on my own expectations of myself, not others.