OIL and WATER? Sighted and the Unsighted
Are we troglodytes?
I think there is a natural collision which makes it difficult for non-sighted people to join and work with sighted people.
The differences that need to be circumvented:
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travelling to a venue i.e. public transport plus walking or car
- Getting to a regional meeting locally when the bulk of the public transport links to a hub, like a star formation whereas by car anyone can go across in any direction
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counting out change
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recognising a face more than five feet away
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seeing a smile or a scowl, seeing a laugh
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reading the minutes, accounts, letters etc in a meeting
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making notes and diary entries
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finding the toilets
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pouring a glass of water, white wine or a gin and tonic or even milk into a white cup
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completing a form
- reading my debit / credit card details to key them in or to dictate them
- reading non-verbal signs and body language
- reading a noticeboard, a label, numberplate, bus tine-table
An endless list, all minor even un-noticeable and normally inconsequential..
Any one of these is taken for granted by the sighted and leaves the unsighted totally at a loss.
AND, my proposition, is that every instance gradually adds to the frustration until the pressure is too much or exhaustion takes over.
Either Explosion or Exhaustion.
……………………
September 2015
What a superb weekend, organised by the Macular Society. There were probably sixty ‘unmsighted’ people there.
Y you can relax in each others company because you largely have the same experiences and togther you can laugh about them. Also suddenly the ‘unsighted’ out-numbered the ‘sighted’.
Oh! The luxury of finding others who can read, but only three paragraphs. Then it’s trashed.
I hate the people who cannot write concisely, who pad everything out so it seems more important and the ones who write long inconsequential introductions.