When an person gets blind, he faces two (2) major hurdles:
The first of these problems
is far easier to solve than the second. For it is no longer theory but
established fact that,
with proper training and opportunity, the average blind person can do the
average job in the
average place of business and do it as well as his sighted neighbor. The
blind
can function as scientists,
farmers, electricians, factory workers, and skilled technicians. They
can perform as housewives,
lawyers, teachers, or laborers. The skills of independent mobility,
communication, and
the activities of daily living are known, available, and acquirable. Likewise,
the achievement of
vocational competence poses no insurmountable barrier.
In other words the real problem of blindness is not the blindness itself
not the acquisition
of skills or techniques
or competence. The real problem is the lack of understanding and the
misconceptions which
exist. It is no accident that the word blind carries with it connotations
of
inferiority and helplessness.
In earlier times, Eyesight and the power to see were equated with
light, and light (whether
daylight or firelight) meant security and safety. Blindness was equated
with darkness, and
darkness meant danger and evil. The blind person could not hunt effectively
or dodge a spear. In
our day, society and social values have changed. In civilized countries
there
is now no great premium
on dodging a spear, and hunting has dwindled to the status of an
occasional pastime.
The blind are able to
compete on terms of equality in the full current of active life. The primitive
conditions of jungle
and cave are gone, but the primitive attitudes about blindness remain.
The
blind are thought to
live in a world of darkness, and darkness is equated with evil, stupidity,
sin,
and inferiority.
Do I exaggerate? I would that it were so. Consider the very definition
of the word blind, the
reflection of what
it means in the language, its subtle shades and connotations. The 1962
printing of
the World Publishing
Company's college edition of Webster's New World Dictionary of the American
Language defines blind
as follows: without the power of sight; sightless; eyeless; lacking insight
or
understanding; done
without adequate directions or knowledge; as, blind search. Reckless; unreasonable;
not controlled by intelligence;
as, blind destiny; insensible; drunk; illegible; indistinct. In architecture,
false, walled up, as,
a blind window.
The 1960 edition of
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary says: blind. Sightless. Lacking discernment;
unable or unwilling
to understand or judge; as, a blind choice. Apart from intelligent direction
or control;
as, blind chance. Insensible;
as, a blind stupor; hence, drunk. For sightless persons; as, a blind asylum.
Unintelligible; illegible;
as, blind writing.
There are a number of reasons why it is extremely difficult to change public
attitudes about
blindness. For one
thing, despite the fact that many achievements are being made by the blind
and
that a good deal of
constructive publicity is being given to these achievements, there are
strong counter
currents of uninformed
and regressive publicity and propaganda. It is hard to realize, for instance,
that
anyone still exists
who actually believes the blind are especially gifted in music or that
they are particularly
suited to weaving or
wickerwork. It is hard to realize that any well-educated person today believes
that
blind people are compensated
for their loss of sight by special gifts and talents. Yet, I call your
attention
to a section on blindness
appearing in a book on government and citizenship which is in current use
in many
public high schools
throughout our country. Not in some bygone generation, but today, hundreds
of thousands
of ninth-grade students
will study this passage:
Many blind, deaf, and crippled people can do a considerable amount of work.
The blind have
remarkable talent in
piano tuning, weaving, wickerwork, and the like. The deaf and dumb are
still less
handicapped because
they can engage in anything that does not require taking or giving orders
by voice.
I confess to being surprised when I learned that the book containing the
foregoing passage was in
general use. It occurred
to me to wonder whether the text was unique or whether its enlightened
views were
held by other authors
in the field. The results of this investigation were not reassuring. I
call your attention to
the selection on blindness
appearing in another text in common use throughout the high schools of
our nation.
The blind may receive aid from the states and the federal government, if
their families are not able
to keep them from want.
There are over one hundred institutions for the blind in the United States,
many
of which are supported
wholly or partly by taxes. Sometimes it seems as if blind people are partly
compensated
for their misfortune
by having some of their other talents developed with exceptional keenness.
Blind people
can play musical instruments
as well as most of those who can see, and many activities where a keen
touch
of the fingers is needed
can be done by blind people wonderfully well. Schools for the blind teach
their pupils
music and encourage
them to take part in some of the outdoor sports that other pupils enjoy.
In attempting to change public attitudes, not only must we overcome the
effects of Webster's dictionary
and a host of textbooks,
but we must take into account another factor as well. Several years ago
the agency
that I head was attempting
to help a young woman find employment as a secretary. She was a good typist,
could fill out forms,
handle erasures, take dictation, and otherwise perform competently. She
was neat in her
person and could travel
independently anywhere she wanted to go. She was also totally blind. I
called the
manager of a firm which
I knew had a secretarial opening and asked him if he would consider interviewing
the
blind person in question.
He told me that he knew of the wonderful work which blind persons were
doing and
that he was most sympathetic
to our cause but that his particular setup would not be suitable. As he
put it, Our
work is very demanding.
Carbons must be used and forms must be filled out. Speed is at a premium,
and a great
deal of work must be
done each day. Then, there is the fact that our typewriters are quite a
ways from the bathroom, and we cannot afford to use the time of another
girl to take the blind person to the toilet.
If you are interested
in reading more with relation to this topic please feel free to 
me.