Today, blindness can be scientifically defined in many different conditions from partial blindness to complete blindness (nlm.nih.gov). Despite the fact blindness is medically defined, society continues to enforce creative and limitless metaphors with the condition in forms of stereotypes that goes beyond the medical knowledge. In the novel illness as Metaphor, the American author Susan Sontag critiqued how speaking of a disease like blindness metaphorically has many negative consequences to people’s afflicted with the condition. Sontag notices that, “Subjects of deepest dreads (corruption, decay, weakness) are identified with the disease and leads to the transformation of people afflicted with the disease in a punitive way” (58). Such
…show more content…
According to NIB study,which analyzed potential reasons why walloping 70 percent of blind people are not employed by hiring managers, they found that “ 54 percent of the managers felt there were few jobs at their company that blind employees could perform,...42 percent of hiring managers believe blind employees need someone to assist them on the job;.. 34 percent said blind workers are more likely to have work-related accidents.” These statistics show us the people afflicted with blindness are labeled as being incapable, dependent upon others, and clumsy in the workforce. These stereotypes that pervaded in the workforce have put people afflicted with blindness at a disadvantage of being hired even before they get the chance to demonstrate their capability. Having these stigmatizations of the condition can potentially ignore the possibility that a person afflicted with blindness can be associated with none of these stereotypes. The way society stigmatizes an illness highlights how society is counterproductive in understanding the reality. The reality is blind people are capable individual who can carry out any job by just incorporating some technological tools such as “ that involves a computer through using portable scanners to re“ to assist with their condition. This reality is often hidden from managers by …show more content…
In a blog on Quora, Cristina Hartmann expresses her experience with retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome that has led her to have a gradual vision loss. Hartmann points out, “Some blind people have acuity issues; others have blind spots, but…what I see is unique to me and my condition”. Hartman tells us that the reality is that there are many different scientific conditions of blindness, yet society’s perception is not always scientifically based. Hartmann also shares that “When a blind person like she uses a cane or a seeing-eye animal, people treat her differently by either staring or backing away from her as if she is infectious because people think she don't see them, but she do”. The stereotype people hold with a person afflicted with blindness is someone who is always visionless is a clear indication of how society becomes counterproductive in learning the reality that blindness can come in different conditions. Rather than productively discover the scientific truth behind blindness, people often enforce the stereotypes as presented in the NIB study or stereotypes of their own. As a results, we see how society continues to treat people afflicted with blindness like Hartmann as if she is abnormal, which can potentially give the afflicted a dehumanizing feeling
According to NIB study,which analyzed potential reasons why walloping 70 percent of blind people are not employed by hiring managers, they found that “ 54 percent of the managers felt there were few jobs at their company that blind employees could perform,...42 percent of hiring managers believe blind employees need someone to assist them on the job;.. 34 percent said blind workers are more likely to have work-related accidents.” These statistics show us the people afflicted with blindness are labeled as being incapable, dependent upon others, and clumsy in the workforce. These stereotypes that pervaded in the workforce have put people afflicted with blindness at a disadvantage of being hired even before they get the chance to demonstrate their capability. Having these stigmatizations of the condition can potentially ignore the possibility that a person afflicted with blindness can be associated with none of these stereotypes. The way society stigmatizes an illness highlights how society is counterproductive in understanding the reality. The reality is blind people are capable individual who can carry out any job by just incorporating some technological tools such as “ that involves a computer through using portable scanners to re“ to assist with their condition. This reality is often hidden from managers by …show more content…
In a blog on Quora, Cristina Hartmann expresses her experience with retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome that has led her to have a gradual vision loss. Hartmann points out, “Some blind people have acuity issues; others have blind spots, but…what I see is unique to me and my condition”. Hartman tells us that the reality is that there are many different scientific conditions of blindness, yet society’s perception is not always scientifically based. Hartmann also shares that “When a blind person like she uses a cane or a seeing-eye animal, people treat her differently by either staring or backing away from her as if she is infectious because people think she don't see them, but she do”. The stereotype people hold with a person afflicted with blindness is someone who is always visionless is a clear indication of how society becomes counterproductive in learning the reality that blindness can come in different conditions. Rather than productively discover the scientific truth behind blindness, people often enforce the stereotypes as presented in the NIB study or stereotypes of their own. As a results, we see how society continues to treat people afflicted with blindness like Hartmann as if she is abnormal, which can potentially give the afflicted a dehumanizing feeling