Re: Think this will get sighted people's interest?
It depends from what angle.
How the blind relate to sighted has got closer in some ways and further in others.
We essentually use the same technology.
take away our screen readers and magnification apps and some priparitry speech synths and we use basically the same thing computer wise.
we use windows for example.
we can use linux.
we use android devices and apple devices.
Bar some newer win mobile stuff there is little that we don't use.
While its true we don't use graphics and are heavily audio orientated in that respect its quite simple.
Navigation with a cane and guide dog is also accepted.
Braille is a hard thing.
I don't know but I know that at least for some of those I have spoken to its harder for a sighted person to learn braille than it is for us for some reason.
Maybe it is because they need to see rather than feel the dots or do both.
In the cases where we use spaciffic blindness devices,
there is a hitch because of no relation to sighted.
In the early days 1980s-90s and earlier the only thing we did use was unix or dos on either a system with a box that did speech or an internal speech card.
However commands for using our systems were different from what the sighted used and also because we didn't need screens even now some readers turn them off.
Then there is this sound only vs graphics.
A few friends I have like to use their ears but quite a few wander where the fun is without graphics.
Then the disabled = poor helpless and other such things still exists, maybe not as much but there are still some things.
For a while media were either at super blind people that could climb mountains to well the blind doing blindy things.
They have since tried at least locally to become more inclusive.
There was a story a couple years ago on local news where it was put that the media was putting all brain dammaged or th
ose with a mental dissability as being retarded, violent and other such things that may still exist to.
Another misconception is that blind people see black because sighted people are trying to put a colour to darkness when in fact darkness really has no colour at all.
So the sighted will assume a lot of things.
It will also depend where you are.
I have been in various camps unis, etc where dissability is known.
Any disabled person is treated as normals would you would get assistance, etc but even so.
I have been in places where not only were the stereotypes were put that the blind were poor, helpless and unable to do anything to the point where you physically couldn't do anything without someone helping you.
Another issue I had at school was that braille devices at least the manual ones were vary noisy.
I never had this but the teacher made one student that used a brailler go to another room I think it was the toilets to braille on
account of the noise.
I never had that happen but still.
I am not sure what has changed now especially with new tech, but I'd bet some of the negitiveness towards disabled in general still exists.
Maybe not as much as was in my time, I was getting towards the moderate era.
previously disabled people were put in instatutions and ended up nowhere.
in fact in some of the islands in the pacifffic like tonga I have been told the blind are helpless, they can't get educated, unless they come here and are poor in the literal sence.
When they finnish here, they have no futures because the blind are still viewed as helpless and not able to do anything.
So I think there is still a bumpy road for us.
And don't get me started on the copywrites of various materials.
I don't mean to depress you but be ready for some attacks.
The easiest way if you ever get asked sertain questions is to not answer at all.
There are still no
rmal people out there that should themselves be in the nuthouse.
I have met a great deal but also a good deal that are in fact the newer type.
There is still a lot of ignorance around what I call from now on normals, what else is there to call them.
With all that cautionary advice out the way, here are some possitives.
You have entered into the age of mainstreaming and acceptance.
The blind and others are being mainstreamed to normal society.
Though that sometimes hits a few snags we are almost on a level with the sighted.
A lot more is accepted and a lot more is being done to educate both sides.
Vary few are against us and those that are probably have other interests or simply against for other reasons.
Stereotypes still exist but are not as open as were over the last 10-20 years.
Our tech and some of what we do at least has huge relationships with sighted and others.
We are almost equal though there will ofcause be
a small gap, as we can never be as fast as normals because of methods we use.
We can use gps to so whatever.
The only time I ever had to represent myself was because I was leaving school for a blind sport event, I forget how I did it I think I did a speech on myself and my sport and that was it.
URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=155394#p155394
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