They don't like me because I'm blind...
Person A is blind. Person B is sighted. Person A is upset because Person B doesn't like Person A because Person A is blind. Person A goes onto say that they wish they were sighted so they could have more friends or be more welcomed among others, or, at the very least, be friends with Person B.
I've heard some form of this frequently over the years. I've been rattling it around in my head for so long now. About three years ago, I've been lead to this question: if somebody doesn't like you because you're blind, are they an indecent human being? Is their disapproval of your blindness indicative of a general lack of compassion and closed-mindedness?
This is where the conversation gets fun. Blindness can be a tricky thing when discussing interactions with sighted people. I also believe it depends on the paradigm of the relationship. Friendship and romantic intimacy are two completely different subtypes of relationships, and I feel that eye contact, or lackthereof in our case, can be a big obstacle for some people when it comes to intimacy. So what? Big whoop, it's just eye contact...
Well, as it turns out, people like what they like and need what they need.
Many would argue that because blindness isn't something within our control, we shouldn't be judged for it. Sadly, the inevitable truth is that we are.
But more to the point, what if you were of a particular race Person B didn't like? What if you practiced a religion that Person B didn't like? What if you just exhibited some type of behavior or were of some undesirably physical body type Person B didn't like? What this comes down to is "hey, if that person doesn't like you, move along and find people who do." Blindness, race, physical traits, etc, they're all the same.
It seems to me that disabilities are often thought of as exclusive to this concept, probably due to the "out of my control" thing. Perhaps it's also impart from the mentality that peoples with disabilities are fragile, hypersensitive, etc.
I suppose my answer to the question of "are they assholes because they don't like the fact my eyeballs don't work" is, don't bother answering this question. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what kind of person Person B is on a general level. Person B doesn't like you for one reason or another, and you shouldn't waste your time worrying about them. There's nearly 8 billion people in this world, and we are sure to find at least ONE person who will be our friend.
Now hold on, shouldn't we at least try to help the Person B's of the world by reasoning to them why the Person A's of the world are cool and could be good friends? To each their own. I've had my fair share of ignorant sighted people in the nace of my blindness, and have found that there's a difference between being ignorant and being uneducated. The difference is that the uneducated folks don't want to offend you, and the ignorant ones don't care if they offend you. My point here is that those who are ignorant, standoffish, or just plain indecent human beings are not the types of people I want in my life. It doesn't make sense to me that somebody can be a generally good person and highly stubborn about changing their mind about the way they view a person or group of people. This can open up a whole different can of worms, though...
Let's say Person B is generally accepting of others lifestyles, traits, etc. What if Person B straight up didn't like blind people? What if Person B got joy out of tripping Person A on the sidewalk? Moral dilemmas often lead to people taking sides since there are no right or wrong answers. Take Captain America: Civil War as a prime example. Do we hold Person B accountable in general for their treatment of blind people, or, because it's just blind people, we take the utilitarian perspective and let it slip because it's only this one thing Person B disapproves of.
Where do you stand on this topic?
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