Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!nih-csl!lhc!ncifcrf!haven!udel!wuarchive!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!sun-barr!olivea!oliveb!bunker!hcap!hnews!396!5.18!Walter.Siren From: Walter.Siren@p18.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Walter Siren) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Re: BLINDNESS AND THE BLINDFOLD Message-ID: <15196@bunker.UUCP> Date: 26 Oct 90 03:29:14 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP Reply-To: Walter.Siren@p18.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org Distribution: misc Organization: FidoNet node 1:396/5.18 - Pontchippi, New Orleans LA Lines: 45 Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP Index Number: 11318 [This is from the Blink Talk Conference] WW> reread my message, I didn't think it worth killing. No leave the message alive, and we will kill you. WW> Nevertheless, I do think we have a double edged sword with WW> this one. WW> Although the temporary blindfolding of a person may teach them a WW> few WW> things about us, I think it would likewise mislead them in many WW> ways and WW> in many circumstances. WW> Ok, ok, so I'm a little ambivolent on this one! Well, I think that you don't blindfold someONE unless you are trying to prove a point. Naturally they won't appreciate all our problems, because they know that they can remove it anytime, and resume living again as a sighted person. I think that the one time that it would come in handy, is when a sighted person is trying to teach blind people some things that they cannot appreciate our problem with accomplishing that particular situation. This case in point. When my wife was teaching at a local project indipendence which was primarily teaching newly blinded people how to function in the blind world, the sighted teachers there wanted to tell the blind people that they could go to a bouffet, and serve themselves. Now, that bouffet first was in a public place, and it would not be familiar to them. Now, at home we can serve ourselves, and we know where everything is, but in a public place, you can't go around putting your hands in the food to find out what it is, etc. She recommended to them that they should try putting on a blindfold to see how they could accomplish such before trying to tell these people that they could do that. That would be to teach them just how impractical such a thing was. btw, there reply was, that they would not do that. Walter -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!396!5.18!Walter.Siren Internet: Walter.Siren@p18.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org