William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (William Wilson) (06/20/91)
Index Number: 16259
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
MD> Thanks! Okay, now, there are folks like you and Willie and
MD> maybe others who were sighted and lost sight later in life.
MD> What I'd like to know as far as information/learning is: If
MD> you think that losing sight later might make it seem to you
MD> that traveling as a sighted person is superior because you've
MD> known about sight, versus the individual who has been blind
MD> since birth and who hasn't known aboug sight--such as myself
Margo,
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak out on this to you,
cause frankly, I think you know me pretty well by now, and although I
already responded to Beth about this, I'm going to kill it now, as she
might not know me quite as well as you.
Margo, you and Beth are constantly using words like "superior" and
"better" in your messages when you describe what those of us who
disagree with you on certain issues said, but I have not seen one
message from us using those terms! We have said on occasion how in
certain situations sight can be a benefit, and we have even insinuated
at times I suppose that not having sight can put us at a disadvantage,
but none of us has used such overall judgemental terms as "superior" or
"better", you and Beth have judge falsely attributed them to us!
Likewise, you seem to be saying that this is divided along the lines of
congenital versus adventitious blindness, but that simply isn't the
case! I can honestly say that even in this issue, opinions are not that
clearly divided between those of us who have had sight and those of us
who have not, as even some of the people you used as examples of people
who have never had sight lie closer to the position you are attributing
to adventiously blind people than they do to yours and Beth's!
Here's the way I figure it Margo...4 is in no way intrinsically
better than 5, it is simply 1 less! If, for example we multiply the 4
by an intelligence value of 6, it comes out to 24, but if we multiply
the 5 by an intelligence value of 3, we only get a 15! This, in fact,
seems to be the multiples that both you and Beth use when leaving your
"I'm as good as a wink" messages, and that is ok, except we don't
compare individuals in the statistical world when discussing issues, we
discuss averages on both sides of the fence!
How important one ranks the presence of a 4 or a 5 in the basic
equation varies for several reasons, including accuracy of imagination
in the case of a never sighted person, and accuracy of memory in the
case of someone who once had sight! I have honestly met people who
never had sight that I thought had a more accurate imagination of what
sight was than many people I've met who lost their sight had an accurate
memory, and that is no bull! Perhaps this is because some people do
lose their sight are never able to deal with the loss, and this is the
saddest thing I have ever seen!
Ok, so what I am saying is, admitting that having a fifth sense can
be an advantage in certain situations doesn't at all mean that a blind
person lacks confidence in their own abilities, or that they feel
inadequate in any way, or that in fact they, as an individual, arn't
more competant than the average sighted person in many if not most
situations! It means simply that they are playing the game with a 4
rather than a 5, and in some situations they have to add to the
multiplier to come out even! Personally speaking, that is one of the
reasons I am proud of my citizenship in Blinkdom! At least in this
echo, I see a bunch of blinks who have such a higher multiplier than the
typical citizen of the world at large, I am still impressed every day I
participate here!
Now then, does that sound like someone who thinks sight is
superior?
Willie
... BlinkTalk, Dr. Deb and Silver in Pittsburgh!
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!William.Wilson
Internet: William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.orgPaul.Guido@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Guido) (06/22/91)
Index Number: 16370
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
MD>> traveling as a sighted person is superior
WW> "superior" and "better"
WW> have said on occasion how in certain situations sight can be a
WW> benefit, and we have even insinuated at times I suppose that
WW> not having sight can put us at a disadvantage, but
just to add my 2 cents worth. since part of the issue deals with sight
vs non-sight and traveling. when i was getting my guide dog there were
two sisters. one was totally blind and the other was sighted to where
she did not require a cane. the trainer told me that the totally blind
sister traveled better with her dog than did the sister with a lot of
sight. the bottom line is sight vs non-sight is not an issue but what
and how you use your ability with what you have. i can only speak from
a person not blind from birth and i think it has helped me a lot. i
won't even talk about blind from birth because i have no idea how it
is.
.... Paul
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Internet: Paul.Guido@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.orgNancy.Feldman@p0.f605.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Nancy Feldman) (06/25/91)
Index Number: 16431
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Having been blind since birth, I sometimes find myself falling into the:
"Well, maybe if he had been blind since birth he'd "see" things
differently" attitude, but after reading your message I realize that you
are probably right.
I can admit that sight would be advantageous once in awhile. It can
range from something as simple as walking into a crowded room and
wishing you knewwhere there was an empty chair to complexities such as
wishing you could read your personal mail without assistance. In both
cases sight would be an advantage, but we must find ways to adapt.
The blind people I respect most are those who quietly adapt to new
problems instead of complaining about them.
But there are times when I am equal (or perhaps better off than) a
sighted person. Moving around in a totally darkened room I am at no
disadvantage, and I can work around in the innards of a computer without
needing light.
Anyway, one of the best ways to get through life is to keep an
optimistic attitude, laugh at one's own mistakes (and then correct
them).
Take care.
* SLMR 2.0 * A teacher should teach how to think, not what to think!
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