Category: the Rant Board
There was this news story a few days ago that made me wonder about this. It was about visually impaired people and how they listen to birds instead of watching them. I like to do that sometimes, but what really got to me about the story is how the one lady kept saying something like we do this so that we are better blind people. Why not just do it because you want to do it? This is why its so hard for me to be around a lot of other visually impaired people because I don't think like them. Not everything I do in my life has to revolve around my disability and I really don't get this mentality. Why can't we just be normal people doing activities because we want to do them. How some can in everything they do say something relates to their disability every single day is beyond me. I am a normal person and my disability rarely comes up in less its a certain situation like needing help at the airport or for school. It would be like sighted people saying I play sports to be a better sighted person. Who does that? Let's just be people for once, not blind people, just people!
Here is the video on CBS I am refering to:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57584486/blind-birdwatchers-learn-to-see-by-hearing-sounds/
It is a wise person that relizes they are blind and works to make that fact not so difficult as it relates to them.
Facing it makes you not decide you can drive a car un aided, for example.
In an article, the lady seems to be trying to shed good light and positive outlook on her situation.
If she were not blind, she'd not have been in the article, so their for couldn't say, she was just people.
I can understanding where you're coming from. I have this friend, who puts the blind pianist on his webpage, as if being blind were to make him a better pianist. I'm a pianist, but just because I'm blind, doesn't make me better. When I'd perform in theaters with an orchestra, What really got my goat, is when the conducter mentioned how admirable it is that I play piano because I'm blind, and I had to stop him from doing that. Also, it really bothers me, that people say things like "I feel less than you, because you can do more things than me, and I can see." Or when I've finished performing: "Oh, how do you do it? I can't even do that!" like if it were something miraculous just cause I'm blind! I guess it's because sighted people don't understand that being blind makes nou no better, smarter or tallented person. You do things the same, but in a different way. And why do you think she came about in the news repert? Because, she's, blind! I don't get it, I personally don't like to have people feel pitty, I'm proud of how I am, period.
No, pitty is not good, but it is a fact of our life. We can except it and try to teach others it isn't the worst, but we have to face it.
I am a birder who happens to be blind though I only have been into birds because I am into birds. In fact, I have nothing in common with the typical animal lovers even, I am just a guy who loves to observe birds. And birds are something we can observe merely by listening. I have often said that for us the blind perhaps the birds are what fish to many sighted people are, in terms of relaxing and that. But I got on here and found that not too many of the blind appear to be into birds, just like not too many sighted people are into birds.
It's its own hobby and people don't understand what it is we find so fascinating about their calls, their flight patterns, even feeding, and even their migration patterns being good indicators of changes in climate.
So what, so what if a particular birder who is also a woman and is also blind brings that out. Are you going to get mad if she says something gender-specific too? Hell I had a black dude tell me birding was a white guy hobby once, but I see no reason for race being a factor. Since it's not a factor, if someone black wanted to talk about bringing the birding to the African-American community I'm not going to get all upset. So why would the blind be any les?
I like that.
I'd just like to point out that the overwhelming majority of the OP's board posts have been about the same subject. So I'd like to play the part of the kettle for a moment and call the pot black. Why's everything in your life gotta be about unions? Can't you just be a normal person? I mean really.
First, that story just gave me kind of a Captin Obvious feeling when I saw the link elsewhere. OK, of course blind folks are going to learn to identify birds by ear, how else did you think it was going to be done? Slow news day, I reckon.
Next, so according to our original poster, the person in the story in question says they want to do it to be a better blind person. Better than what, and are we being rated on some scale? I'm kind of interested in birding myself, would love to be able to identify local birds and such, but I'm doing it because it interests me, not because I expect to win approval from the rest of the known universe, blind or sighted or indifferent for doing so.
Exactly, I hate how the lady just got in the news because she was blind. Why can't she just be happy for doing it? Why does she have to get recognition for being blind? And I agree with the fellow musician. I am not a better musician because I am blind. And I will answer the question, union organizing is my job, so we try to organize where we can but I have hobbies too.
Then this is a good question for the media. I think most people live their lives never expecting to meet anyone who isn't like themselves, even in this diverse society. Even people from other countries are considered alien and exotic, especially if the culture is markedly different. Throw blindness or disability in the mix and all of a sudden the mythology injects magic and spiritual things into the mix, so we're not just aliens but magic aliens who have been compensated by forces from outside of earth with certain talents, abilities and powers unknown and unknowable by mere common slob mortals. LOL!
First off, thank you Cody. Couldn't have said it better.
However, in this case, I will concede that the OP is right. Only my most recent example of this came about when talking to someone about other disabilities besides blindness. My Mom was watching American Idol last night, and it's where it's down to two people. She brought up Season 10 where Scotty McCreery had won. I said that finale should have included James Durbin. She asked who that was. I didn't blame her for not remembering, it was several seasons ago, and Idol is pretty forgettable most of the time. But she remembered a lot of the other contestants from that same season by their musical genre, or at what point they got eliminated, or some other characteristic. so I said he was the rocker, the heavy metal guy, got eliminated in top 4, had a two-year-old son. She still didn't get it, but the second I said he was the contestant who has both Tourette's and Asperger's syndrome, she placed him immediately. That annoyed me. Just as it annoyed me when the season aired in 2011. Everyone else was called Scotty, or Lauren, or whoever. But James was usually referred to on social networks or by most people I knew as, "The guy with Tourette's," or, "The guy with Asperger's." Never mind that his singing kicked ass in my opinion. Even if one didn't like his music, I'm sure there were other memorable characteristics than that. I'm usually not over sensitive about that type of thing, but it annoyed me then and now.
Why are you annoyed? Its a characteristic. Would you feel better if she remembered him as the blonde guy, or as the tall guy?
as for the blindness thing, I'd like to point out one thing I would think would be obvious but I guess isn't. Without the blindness there is no story here. Articles are not written about birdwatchers. Birdwatchers who cannot see the birds, those get articles written about them. Its just like normal drivers don't get articles written about them, drunk drivers do. That is why the blindness in this article is so important, it makes the article. I really don't see what the problem is.
As a blind person, I want to be known for what I do, not what disability I have. Not the blind girl, or the white girl, or what ever, just a girl.
I can see both sides of this one. Without the blindness you have no story, but you don't want to be known for your blindness.
Unfortunately, to at least some extent, you have no choice in the matter. It's like being recognizable for bright red hair, or a loud voice, or your height. If you've got it, someone's going to be able to recognize you by it. And if you're blind, then decide to do anything noteworthy...well, it's one particular trait, unlike a loud voice or height or red hair, that the majority doesn't have, so simple psychology if nothing else will lead us to it.
I don't wantto be recognized as a better anything because I'm blind, but I do accept that I'm going to get a little unwanted recognition. Comes with the territory, and it's best to just get used to it. You and those dearest to you know why you're good at something, and that's really what counts...unless you're trying to sell someone something or convince someone of a cause, in which case it's a different story. This blind birder in the original post is predictable, if nothing else...predictable in that she's being recognized for something most of us would just as soon do without being remarked upon.
Well, I'm a black man. Then I'm a man. Then I'm a fit person. Then well, I'm blind. And well.
It is just how it goes.
Shepherdwolf is right. If you're going to be recognized, the media will pick up on anything that happens to be unique about you. It makes for a better story, after all. Maybe it isn't right, but they're just doing their jobs. So, either don't grab any media attention, which is simple enough for the average person who's just living their life, or take what happens with good grace if you do happen to get noticed. Media images are never flattering. If I were a sighted person, and I ended up on the news for any reason, I guarantee my friends and family would make comments about the expressions I had on my face while speaking to the anchorpeople, or how my hair looked, or any number of other things. If you have a claim to fame, no matter how brief or how locally contained, you're going to get scrutinized for it.
I don't have a problem with people identifying me with my blindness. I certainly can't pretend it isn't a part of my life, or I probably wouldn't have found or stuck with this site as long as I have. :) I do get frustrated when it's over-emphasized at times, but I know that's just going to happen from time to time. One time my mother and I were in a fast-food place, and it had been some years since I'd spent much time with her. She said, "I'd forgotten how much people stare when you're with me." That's the breaks, guys. The important folks will get to know me as a person, and the unimportant ones will never be able to get past the disability. Life's too short to worry about that. As for birding, I was under the general impression that most of it involves listening, anyway, whether the observer is blind or sighted.
From what I understanding, birding is part observation, part listening. Sighted people often recognize birds both by their appearance and by their calls and songs, while blind people are mostly stuck with the autitory components only. What knowledge they may have, or obtain, about how a bird looks is usually rather secondary.
Ugh...even though I preach the "get used to it" motto, I do understand. I can't think of how many times I've been spoken to by a sighted person in such a way as to cast some everyday thing as fairly remarkable. My dad's new wife (well, new as of almost five years now, but I can't help thinking of her that way) took quite awhile to get used to the fact that I could cook, clean and go places on my own. She didn't exactly disbelieve, I think she just expected it to be a bigger deal than it is, and sometimes she overdid it. At its worst, I just had a little chat with her and explained how it was making me feel, how things actually worked, and she was lovely about it...apologized (which I didn't strictly seek) and said she'd try to think before speaking (which, again, I wasn't seeking but hugely appreciated). We get on rather well now.
The only time that I sympathize with people blowing things out of shape in cases like these is when a blind person does something particularly remarkable. I don't mean washing the floor or taking the dog out either; I mean something like competing in a marathon or getting into a field that generally presents us unsighted folks with a hell of a lot of natural hurdles to jump. If the blindness really and truly gets in the way, and if a person is then recognized for overcoming that difficulty, then I can sympathize. It's the fairly everyday stuff that'll get annoying in a hurry.
Oh, you talking about the whole bit about being amazing? That makes me laugh anymore these days. It's a shame that those who say such things will never understand my mirth though. Amongst my friends, recently, I've started in with this bit about if I'm so amazing, where is my flock of five fabulous fawning fangirls. Sad how people will make us out to be such heroic figures but the admiration stays at a distance and they will not come up with even one or two fabulous fangirls. Life, it is unending tragedy, aye, so it is. LOL!
Here's another little thought. I think the reason why we get the attention we do get is that for a huge chunk of the majority of the time, we and other disabled folks and the homeless and anyone else people don't think they can relate to go right straight under the radar. That's out of sight, out of mind. People aren't thinking of us most of the time, they've got lives to live and jobs to do and bread and milk to be bought and laundry to be done. If 50 pairs of eyes were watching me as I navigated down a street to find the McDonald's, for example, I wouldn't know it unless somebody told me a bunch of geeks were gawking at me, and even then what could I do? Might as well just act as if I'm invisible unless people directly have to deal with me and relax and just get on with life just like all the other slobs whether they're staring or not.
Blindness is a part of who we are. I wouldn't be me without it. It doesn't have to be every part of every day, however, in order to get to that point you should first embrace your blindness. If you don't get that statement even a little, you may never get it.
I didn't see this topic, and all of you beat me in saying all the great points. I'd really like to emphasize a couple points. First, I agree with those of you that blindness is a trait, just like the fact that I have a big nose, blond hair, fair skin, and many others. I think a lot of people who see might think the same thing, but they seem to believe that there is more to it than just being a characteristic. Like it's been said they see it as amazing. I've had people say to my face that they would rather be deaf or unable to walk versus being blind. I've also heard people say they would probably kill themselves if they were to ever go blind. Shocking isn't it? I bet I'm not the only one though.
As far as disabilities go, I think that's how many people who don't have it themselves see it, that unless you are born with it it is next to impossible to adapt to, and those that do are something like super human.
I think part of why people think we're amazing is because people do not understand that we had to be taught certain adaptive skills in order to do what we do. We did not go blind or be born blind and were gifted superpowers or super coping skills by the supernatural or cosmic rays or fairy dust. We had to be taught by professional blind or sighted people who are able to teach such skills so that we can get along in the world using our remaining senses and certain tools and technology.
And you can't fault them for their ignorance. I was in the doctor's office last week and I headed right for the table. He was amazed because he didn't realize a blind person can do that--just go right for something without seeing it. I explained to him that it's no different then finding your way in the dark. The point is, he didn't think about it. That's why news stories like the one the author posted anger me. We work so hard to educate and some idiot shoots their mouth off.