Journalists: Some things to avoid when writing about people who are blind
Wow!!! I just came across this article,
Hollyoaks duo venture into the darkness, from the Liverpool Echo.co.uk
This is just awful! Starting with the title, "…Venture into the Darkness." Such an mis-used metaphor for blindness. First, the majority of people who are blind have some form of sight, whether limited light perception or the ability to distinguish shapes. Even as one of the "totals," I do not "see" darkness or just "black" as some say. I quoted see because as a person with no eyes, I still have images that consist of shapes and colors, but they are not real. (Read more on Charles Bonnet Syndrome.)
Second, the use of "darkness" also implies;
- Ignorance and barbarism as in "Dark Ages"
- Obscurity, gloom
- A state of distress or trouble
- Sin
[See the various definitions from Answers.com]
I guess I can only partly blame the writer. More than often they write what they are told, especially if they don’t have any familiarity with what it really means to be blind. When fed things like;
It is an amazing facility, but heartbreaking as you realize how much these children have to overcome and how much they miss out on.
Or…
Today has really made us both appreciate how lucky we are – and also how brave those with impaired vision have to be.
I guess you really can’t help but regurgitate when you’re fed crap!
The real issues with being visually impaired or blind are the lack of access to information, transportation etc., , the ignorant perceptions people have about what it means to be blind and those that feel a segment of the population isn’t important enough to include accessibility in their web site. See my previous post about Blog Carnival – "Blind people not allowed into the Carnival?"
(You know I had to mention that. We’re not done with them yet!)
I just read the article you linked to and wanted to share my thoughts. I understand the actors comments. They don’t know what else to think. Blindness scares them and they don’t know what they would do if they were ever in that situation permanently, not just temporarily, such as with the goggles.
Blindness is seen by the sighted public as one of the most serious of disabilities. Most people will tell you that they do not know how they would function if they were to wake up one day and find out that they were blind.
The same can probably be said about the reporter. He doesn’t even know what it was like wearing the goggles. He has to rely on the actor’s thoughts for commentary. Shallow as it might be, he probably thinks he has written a good human interest piece.
There is a lot to be said about perspective. I’ve been total for more than 14 years after an auto accident blinded me at age 31. While going through blind rehab, I met a young man who was 18 and had been total for all his life. During one of our many conversations, I told him that I felt sorry for him because he didn’t know just how beautiful a powder blue sky was with those wispy white clouds lazily floating by. He just smiled and replied, “I feel sorry for you, Ron. You know what you’re missing.”
Wow! Out of the mouths of babes. I promise you, I’ll never forget the wisdom he passed along in those few words.
One final thought about the AT blog carnival. I’ve written my letter and also encouraged others to do the same. Keep up the work on the blog carnival host server, but don’t shoot the messenger, as in the Assistive Technology blog carnival. That was begun with all good intentions and the founder of that, Lon Thornburg, is advocating for change at the blog carnival site as well. Lon is definitely on the side of people who use assistive technology. He uses some AT himself, so he can definitely understand the need for accessibility.
Ron, I definitely appreciate the insight you shared. You are right about the author, I am sure he thought he was doing good, probably trying to play on the feelings of readers to raise money for this organization.
I think journalists have a responsibility to present a realistic view of whatever subject they are writing about. It’s too often that all we hear is the same sad, sappystuff. All this does is perpetuate mis conceptions about blindness.
Regarding Blog Carnival, I definitely didn’t want to come across like I was saying anything against Lon, in fact I have used his proactive approach as a model for other BC hosts that I have asked to support our efforts.
Anyway, thanks for the input. I will continue reading your blog.
T.,
I agree with you on the issue of journalistic responsibility. While I said I can understand the comments, that doesn’t excuse them making the press. It is this type of media presentation of the blind as “those poor, blind people,” pulling at that emotional sadness that perpetuates the image that much of the sighted public holds of blind people.
It is only with active participation in society that we will work to break that image, to allow the public to see us as something more than one of only two kinds of people—either sad or amazing.
Can’t we just be normal people who happen to be blind?
And, thanks for both the note and reading my blog. Once I finish this post, I’m adding you to my blogroll as well. I’ve had you on my RSS feeds and have been reading your blog for the last couple of weeks. I like what you have to say.