Page 13 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

while opening right-handed doors. Going back to blindness though,
there is only a few major limitations: blind people cannot aim at or
dodge long-distance or fast-moving targets, cannot read only-print
materials, or access most pictures. Therefore, driving, working jobs
with fast-moving, heavy equipment, and military jobs are not
practical. However, with Google's self-driving car coming soon,
opportunities for blind people to drive are becoming greater. Also,
with more and more written words moving to electronic medias, blind
people have more access than ever to written word. For pictures, even
though access is low right now, new technology involving two-
dimensional tactual screens is being developed. In short, there are
very few limitations to blind people and even fewer as time goes on.

Finally, what tips can help both blind and sighted people see each
other for who they really are? Numerous websites will tell a sighted
person to be calm and not to make sudden movements or noises
around blind people. However, there are a lot better approaches than
this. The best advice is to treat blind people as equals rather than a
stray dog. Blind people are just as intelligent, knowledgeable, and
capable in most areas as a sighted person. Asking a blind person how
you look is probably not a wise choice unless you're willing to accept
any answer. It is also important to remember that most blind people
are not isolated from mainstream culture and therefore are not
offended by terms such as see, watch, view, stare, and look. Going
back to the fact that humans evolved to rely heavily on vision, it was
only logical that our language would reflect our tendency towards
sight. On a slightly different note though, it is equally critical that
blind people do their part to demonstrate that they should be
considered equals by society. It is one thing for a person to say they
should be considered equals, but another for them to prove it. On
numerous occasions at National Federation of the Blind conferences,
a speaker will give an angry speech about “sightees” helping them too
much when they are traveling; at the next break, the same person will
be wandering the hotel, obviously lost. Therefore, the blind
community needs to practice what it preaches in order to gain the
respect of sighted people. In short, if sighted and blind people follow
these tips, there would be fewer awkward situations like the one I
experienced in the deli.

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