It describes a blind woman’s frustration with being the
constant receiver of “help” from the sighted public, and the intricacies of
navigating a world which expects gratitude and praise from people with
disabilities for providing assistance, even when that assistance is unnecessary
and unrequested. Erin Isn’t ungrateful in her post, she is understanding of the
able bodied person’s dilemma when encountering someone with a disability and
their immediate reaction to want to jump in and be of assistance, and at the
same time, she encourages those who wish to be helpful to use common sense and
not to grab, drag, and treat people with disabilities as inferior.
There is so much going on when these interactions take place
that it is difficult to really get a handle on the root of the problem. And,
while much has to do with society’s expectations for people with disabilities,
which are not very high, I suspect that it has to do in greater part with how
the brain processes information.
Not too long ago, we were wowed by the discovery of Mirror Neurons
(check out the clip)
These neurons fire up when an animal watches another animal
perform a task, but more importantly, they also fire up when an animal performs
the task itself. Observations led scientists to the belief that for these
neurons, there was no difference in the animal performing an action, and the
animal watching another animal perform the same action. Studies led to
investigations into empathy, consciousness, and how we perceive, understand,
and interact with others around us. After all, why is it that if you see me hit
my finger with a hammer, you wince at my pain, or why is it that if you had
tears in your eyes, and are sniffling, I’d probably ask if you were ok and
assume you were crying? Our interactions however, are more complex than reading
into others pain and emotions.
Imagine you’re watching a street performer. She begins to
break dance and you can understand the movement, as it relates to the music,
and you are amazed by the skill and flexibility of the performance. But you’re
not a dancer. All you see is amazing athletic ability, and feel that the dancer
is doing something with their body which you cannot do.
In the three minutes of the performance, are you thinking
about how many months or years she has spent developing her skill? Do you
consider the exercise and physics which allow her to spin on her head? How
about the fact that the head spin is one of the most recognizable moves in that
style of dancing, and that while mastering takes much practice, the basics can
be grasped by most beginners, which makes it impressive, but not
extraordinary. Most of us would
not. We just see something pretty
awesome which is recognizable and complex.
Of course, if you were a break dancer watching the same performance,
there might be different things on your mind. You would relate not only to the
movement and music, but you would know in much greater detail, how it would
physically feel to have performed. You would know which moves take more power,
which ones take more skill, which ones take a long time to master, and for you,
amazing would have a very different definition. You are experiencing the
performance differently, both physically and psychologically than the
non-dancer would.
When that sighted person sees someone blind walking across a
street, they might as well have covered their own eyes and have attempted to
find a bench, or a car, or to cross themselves. Of course they cannot do it, so
it’s obvious that you could not do it either; not unless they themselves have
some experience or exposure to blind people and how they navigate the
environment without sight. They’re reaction will probably be panic, immediate
assistance, wonder, and basically a lack of true empathy. It’s like asking
someone with two left feet to do a head spin on their first try.
Most able bodied persons have little or no way to relate to
people with disabilities. Unlike break dancers, we are not on TV, we are not in
the workforce, and we many times hide from disclosure, acceptance and
solidarity out of fear that we will face discrimination.
However, here is the societal twist: now imagine that you
are watching a street performance of a man dressed in full ninja gear. I mean
the works, he’s got a sword, the hoodie, and even those cool ninja boots. He
places a blindfold over his eyes, picks up his sword and begins to chop
watermelons, walk around and interact with the public, cross a busy
intersection, block objects thrown in his direction, fight off attackers, climb
a tree, ride a bike, shoot arrows at a target… Are you amazed? Is this an
awesome and mystical street performance?
Is the point too subtle? What is it about the performance of
this ninja mentioned above, which makes it extraordinary? He is using
non-visual techniques to enhance his perception of the environment while his
eyes are not being used. In other words, he is using techniques in his
performance which most blind people use on a day-to-day basis to accomplish
extremely ordinary things. All he has done is made a spectacle out of something
which for many people is typical.
Yet we don’t see it that way. The man in ninja gear is a
martial arts master, he has extra sensory perception, and he has reached this
incredible state of being through the knowledge of forbidden ancient secrets.
The societal twist is this: while we are positively amazed
at the martial artist for covering his eyes and giving us a great performance,
we are filled with pity and unrequired sympathy for the blind person.
And as envision the
martial arts master as someone who has reached such a level of expertise that
he can apply his skill with his eyes closed,
the general public imagines a blind person to be clumsy, feeble and in a
constant state of helplessness.
We can’t read each other’s minds. This is the problem. Non-visual
techniques are an every day thing for me, but for someone who is sighted, these
techniques do not exist, they just perceive darkness and confusion. While these
mirror neurons might be responsible for empathy, the feeling is a projection of
our own understanding of the other person’s world. We recognize that when
someone else eats, we are not the ones that are eating, but we understand the
relationship that the other person has to food, through our relationship to
food, our society’s relationship to food, and our openness to new experiences.
So, will that able bodied person ever stop hounding us to
use their assistance? Not as long as we are not visible in society. The mechanisms
are inherently in us for true understanding and communication among ourselves. Now, we just have to work at becoming nothing
out of the ordinary.
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