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From: William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (William Wilson)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: ON PUBLIC RELATIONS
Message-ID: <16120@handicap.news>
Date: 17 Jun 91 20:32:42 GMT
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Index Number: 16120

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

To: mgflax@phoenix.princeton.edu (Marshall G. Flax)

 MG> 1) I believe that it is common, when one is making sarcastic
 MG> comments, to include the characters :-) in the text.  (The
 MG> punctuation marks approximate a smiling face on its side.)

Marshall,
        Actually, the use of the punctuation marks :-) to denote a
smiley face, is considered by many on this side of the gate to be not
only demeaning, signifying that the poster of the message considers the
audience incapable of recognizing sarcasim when it hits them in the face,
but in a situation where most of the people are using speech synthesis,
and thus probably have the pronounciation of punctuation marks off, a
waste of 3 columns in a message!

 MG> relationship between the two groups is different. The sighted
 MG> have tried to define and control the lives of blind people for
 MG> centuries.  The blind have not tried to do the reverse to the
 MG> sighted.  It's not a symmetric power relation; it is
 MG> oversimplifying and naive to assume that the two words should
 MG> be treated the same.

Marshall, and I find it ironic that you, who has posted in many of your
messages a disclaimer saying that you are "Not Handicapped", are now
telling me what a blind person has the right to say or assume, or even
how the sighted world treats us as blind people!

     You can justify Christine Marie's use of the word Sightee and her
disapproval of the word blink by bringing up the fact that she has been
blind for sooo long, and I won't even say a word about how some of us
blinks might find that condesending, and I'll even allow you to call me
naive ane and accuse me of over simplifying the comparison of the two
terms, but I do suggest you go back to putting your disclaimer on the
top of your messages, cause I don't want anyone mistaking your opinion
as being one from this side of the visual fence!
Justifying the use of a pejorative term by some people because they are
handicapped is definately not something with which many of us want to be
associated, I assure you!
                                                        Willie

... BlinkTalk, Dr. Deb and Silver in Pittsburgh!

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