Category: the Rant Board
I'm partly being humorous when putting forth this thought, but mind you, only partly. Yeah, the "sighted world" card which I hear blind folks trot out to their fellow blind folks in order to, well, it doesn't sound all that encouraging, I tell you what. Damn phrase makes me cringe when I hear that, but I partially blame myself for that as I did write a rather ominous take on it in my "how to be an OK blind person" satire posted elsewhere on the Zone. I do not have the text in front of me to paste, but it goes a little something like this.
This is a sighted world. If you are blind, this means it is not and never will be your world and you really do not belong here.
Is this really and truly what people mean when they tell people the world is sighted? How about this. Accept your second or lower class status. Do not expect or ask for accomodations of any kind, you will not get them and if you do they are given grudgingly. People put up with you because murdering you would be messy, embarassing, and might run them afoul of the law. And other rather fatalistic and pessimistic statements to that effect. Ugh, people, ugh, is this what you're trying to tell people?
I understand where your coming from, but at the same time, we have to accept that not everything can be done for or handed to us. Yes, we have to fight for some accomidations, but do we really need everything to be perfectly tailored to our needs? The more we fight to be different, the more different we'll be. If we ever want to blend in with society, we have to stop acting like the world has to conform to us, and start conforming to the world.
Just my take, make of it what you will.
Silver lightning is absolutely correct. I think ther term "sighted world" just refers to the world.
Face facts, we are a minority and must wiggle our way into the...well...the sighted world.
good point to the above posters and yeah, it's not to degrade us or make us seem second class it just means life can't be handed to us, accomodations can be made, but living the blind way without minding sighted people's lifestyle and think they will do things like you is unexceptable.
I see where Godzilla's coming from.
How about the phrase "this is predominately a sighted world"? I think that that stresses the fact that most folks have sight, but still leaves room for us too.
Bob
I've used the expression myself many times and no, it isn't in any way offered in a self-pitying sense. It is simply a way of reminding oneself or others of why things are how they are. Almost everything that has ever been invented has been done so with the very basic assumption that somebody wishing to make use of it will have sight. Think about it, books, traffic lights, computers, cell phones, well really, the list is potentially endless. The point though is that these things have all subsequently been adapted for use by visually impaired people. That is all that is meant by it being a sighted World.
This isn't then to suggest that we are second class, or that we don't belong here, it simply serves to remind us that we probably aren't going to be priority number one for the majority of people when things are invented in the future.
Most people in the world have sight, most things are invented with that fact in mind. It is a sighted World. The expression is no more difficult to comprehend than that really.
Dan.
Yes Dan is right and so is silverlightning; couldn't have said it better myself. :)
I have always said this: This is a sighted, righthanded, white man's world.
As a person who only has one of those characteristics, I have three strikes against me and have faced discrimination for all three. By no means does it make me or anyone else a second class citizen, but it does mean that I sometimes have to fight or bite the bullet depending on the circumstance. It means people have more reasons (although seemingly invalid) to say no to me, and if I want something that others may obtain easily, it is likely I will have to work twice as hard and maybe put in some ass-kissing or back-biting to get what I want.
That is not to say that we shouldn't bother to fight for rights and so on.
Ah, but there's the rub. I have seen it used as justification for not fighting for our rights and accepting second class treatment. We are a minority indeed, and I think of us as the hidden minority. Just as no one should tell say, a black person or a Mexican to be happy with the crumbs they're thrown, not even another black person or Mexican, I don't feel blind people should be told that either.
As for being treated differently, it took me a long time to come to terms with this, and I've done some soul searching, and come to the conclusion that we are different. I'm not saying that being blind is good, and we're better than other people. Nor am I saying being blind is bad, although many blind and sighted people see it that way. Some people are different colors, some have different accents, we see things and do things a bit differently. The trick is not to make people see us the same way as everyone else, but accept us as different, but no less valueable, individuals. Just the way different cultures and religions are respected. No one would dare give a ham sandwich to a Jewish person and say, "That's all there is. Eat it or starve!" Yet this is the sort of thing we're just supposed to cheerfully deal with?
I know that this idea can and has been taken too far, leading to blind schools, camps, Etc. Those are a different discussion entirely. As they relate to this topic though, they are "separate but equal," which we know historically has never worked. Just give us equal, thanks, but while respecting our differences at the same time. A dificult balance, I know, but not impossible.
Sorry if this was a bit disjointed or hard to understand. That's what happens when my mind goes on a ramble, lol. I'm sure I had other stuff to say, which will come out eventually.
Ah but that's just it. Perhaps that is precisely what these people need: Eat it or starve. It's a sighted world? Fine. It's a diverse one, you have no rights to be offended because of your religion or anything else. After all, you can in fact physically do the task, you just don't want to. That's different from not being able to and not compensating.
If people knew when they raised me with the 'this is a sighted world' mentality knew what it would turn out, I don't know if that is how they would have done it or not. But as I get no sympathy (and expect none) when I can't read a sign, access images, or some other light-requisite task, sensitive religious people's beliefs get none of mine. I don't have a problem with things as they are for me: I understand everybody bar none acts in their own best interest, as do I. But we have all had people claim we weren't doing things 'because we didn't want to', when in fact vision was the barrier.
But think about it: religious and cultural breaches *are* because they just don't want to. There's not even the dignity of being able to say they were too lazy and nonresourceful to come up with a work around.
They don't need a work-around: they can, in most cases, they just are too religious or otherwise offended to have a boss that says the f word, or animal products in their vincinity, or see the 'Abort' command on their screen, or have to type the word 'man' for manual ... without an alias so they can feel gender-included. They have the necessary hardware to do those things. I say, give as we've been given, in full measure, as the saying goes. I don't have a problem with things as they are for us, for the most part: it's simple natural selection and up to us to survive. Sucks at times, but what you gonna do but make it?
But, I have a serious problem with people on the one hand making this claim about it being a 'sighed' or whatever world, then wanting a free wellfare pass for their religion, political views, gender studies views, vegan persuasion or whatever. Nope: those groups actually have the hardware to do all. So if we, missing a couple components are expected to compensate. I just don't like double-dippin free passes.
I was raised with said mentality and I was most put off by it. As I said in an earlier post, this is the world. That is all.
This is predominently a sighted world. In an era where the importance of sight is increasing, less and less attention is being paid to the other senses. It's good blind people exist because it "hopefully" reminds people of the importance of their other senses. The world needs to adapt to us, as we adapt to the world. And educating people in an open, honest and clear way as to who we are, what we're capable of and what we need to succeed is the first big step. I'm not sure about where you all come from, but my experience as a visually impaired adult has been more or less posative. Sure there are those who look down on me, but the majority of people who I talk to about my condition are quite receptive and understanding. Many of them are quite helpful and acomidating as well. But only when I explain to them clearly.
I know not all of us are so fortunate. Sometimes it's not our fault. Some societies don't really value blind people, or people with any other handicaps. Other times it might be in fact something we're doing. Surely the whole "put-me-on-a-pedistal-because-I'm-blind" or "anti-eyes" mentalities, coupled with much of the social awkwardness many blind people I've come in contact with exhibit doesn't help.
I'm not saying all blind people are socially awkward, nor am I saying all blind people have those mentalities. But I don't think anyone can argue that there are quite a few of us who do/are. We're just as wonderful, flaud, depraved, loving, kind, generous and selfish as any other member of our species. Some of us are stronger in certain traits than others.
In the end, we are people. We have handicaps imposed on us by circumstance - be it accident, birth or illness. But we are still just as reliable, capable and interesting as anyone in the "sighted world"
Thank you for that post. Yes, we are people. The goal is to slowly show others that fact.
I see where you're coming from, Godzilla, but I disagree. Cody, Margorp, Dan, and others have already said all that I would have, so I won't repeat it, except to say that it in no way means we shouldn't fight for our rights. Of course we should. As far as whether to say it's a sighted world, or a predominately sighted world, that's just being overly picky about words. I think most of us understand what is meant by the phrase. If it was an all-sighted world, there wouldn't be blind people, now would there?
I just don't like when they tell you "you know, it's a sighted world." It's as if I am not living up to some standards or something. Should I act more sighted somehow? lol.