Pagan morality

[promethean75]

"I also, incidentally, had an annoying habit of taking my eyes out in front of family guests to freak them out."

Wait a minute, you can take your eyeballs out of your head? Holy crap that's the hottest thing I've ever heard a girl say she can do.

This is a bit much, Maia. Neither my PN contemporaries nor myself were ready for that.

Okay, so if somebody said to you, "Hey Maia, keep an eye out for me", what would you say and/or do?

Also do you have novelty eyeballs of different colors and stuff? Can you get a Terminator (the movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger) eyeball with the little red light?

[Maia]

"I also, incidentally, had an annoying habit of taking my eyes out in front of family guests to freak them out."

Wait a minute, you can take your eyeballs out of your head? Holy crap that's the hottest thing I've ever heard a girl say she can do.

This is a bit much, Maia. Neither Biggs nor myself were ready for that.

Okay, so if somebody said to you, "Hey Maia, keep an eye out for me", what would you say and/or do?

Also do you have novelty eyeballs of different colors and stuff? Can you get a Terminator (the movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger) eyeball with the little red light?

I'm pretty sure I told Biggs a few years ago that I wear prostheses.

The way I see it, there are advantages and disadvantages. The prime advantage being, of course, that I get to choose my own eye colour. I'm always advised to choose green.

The removable part is not the same as the implant, incidentally, so I'm not sure if you could fit a light to it, though admittedly, I've never asked.

[promethean75]

Well, Halloween is coming up, so now's the time to come up with a plan. If you could get a set of really bizarre prostheses like cat eyes or demon eyes or something, you could go with friends to a pub and freak everyone out. You'd have to get a costume matching the theme, so if you go with cat eyes, you're gonna have to wear a black catwoman body suit, Maia, with knee-high leather boots.

[Maia]

Well, Halloween is coming up, so now's the time to come up with a plan. If you could get a set of really bizarre prostheses like cat eyes or demon eyes or something, you could go with friends to a pub and freak everyone out. You'd have to get a costume matching the theme, so if you go with cat eyes, you're gonna have to wear a black catwoman body suit, Maia, with knee-high leather boots.

Funny you should say that, because we do, indeed, have a Halloween event at work coming up. What I don't have, sadly, are any cats eyes or body suit, and the former, being a custom job, would be extremely expensive. I suppose going as a sexy beatnik spy wouldn't be out of the question, though, especially since I find it more comfortable to wear shades.

[iambiguous]

Yes, from time to time we all encounter turbulence in our lives. Personal relationships in particular can be tossed and turned every which way for many different reasons. I've always believed myself however that first and foremost we have to become our own best friend. I don't mean that in a narcissistic way though. It's just that for me, knowing I can always fall back on my own passions, my own interests, my own "thing", helps to put all the other stuff in perspective.

But, again, that's just me.

I think I'm exactly the same in that regard. I've always known how to rely on myself.

I would speculate, however, that any number of sighted people, in attempting to imagine themselves as having been blind from birth, would quickly be in way over their heads. Though, perhaps, less in over their heads than those who could see and then later in life had to suddenly deal with not being able to?

Imagine someone who was born blind befriending someone who was born deaf. He can't see her, she can't hear him. But both embody the same reality. In other words, the reality of having been born blind and deaf. And, thus, right from the start those around you are likely to prepare you for living in the world as a blind or a deaf person. You will have acquired any number of crucial skills to facilitate your interactions with others.

There's just something about "going blind" that seems more bewildering and frightening to me.

Sometimes I'll go back and forth, imagining myself being blind since birth or going blind in the future. I have more or less convinced myself "here and now" that I would prefer to have been born blind. On the other hand, the thought of going to grave never having been able to see anything...?

If you'll recall from an earlier exchange, I had hoped that one day you would go down a path that allowed you to utilize that intelligence of yours. A teacher, perhaps, or an author.

Only these things "in reality" can get really complicated really fast. I myself was a philosophy major in college. But my lower back imploded [a long story] in my junior year and eventually I had to drop out of college, get an operation, and take the job that I eventually had for 27 years. A job I really enjoyed, but no where near the job I wanted to pursue.

Yes, it's difficult. I really like my current job, and I know I'm doing a lot of good there, but who knows what might happen? At one point I wanted to go to uni and study archaeology, and even went on a few digs. As for teaching, well, my parents are both teachers, but I'm not sure if it's right for me.

Well, like some say, if you are doing something you really enjoy, something that truly fulfills you, why call it work at all?

Still, I hope someday you do take a stab at articulating yourself [as well as you do here] other places.

Just out of curiosity, what subjects do your parents teach?

I hear that. Though I suppose what is particularly crucial is the extent to which you have family and friends to fall back on if things start to unravel. But ultimately it still comes down to "whatever works" to fulfill ourselves without at the same time making life more difficult for others.

Family and friends are very important to me.

My own family and I were estranged. In fact, I don't even know if my mother, my brother and my three sisters are still alive. And all of my friends are now virtual. Still, there are few things in my life that I would change. I'm just not really sure what to actually make of that though.

Things working out for us. That'll always be the bottom line, right? Especially when they are working out really well. And again especially if things can work out for you without it involving things not working out for others.

I certainly wouldn't want to achieve anything at the expense of somebody else.

On the other hand, we live in a world bursting at the seams with winners and losers. Capitalism, we call it. Still, what if this really is the best of all possible worlds? What if capitalism really is the worst political economy...except for all the others.

Well, from my frame of mind, that can result in very different consequences for very different people in very different sets of circumstances. If it's a mishmash, then for all practical purposes each Pagan gets to basically sustain his or her own moral convictions derived from his or her understanding of Nature.

Here it always comes down [for me] to the extent to which someone either does or does not connect the dots between doing the right thing [spiritually, morally] on this side of the grave and the possibility of immorality and salvation on the other side.

If you're a Pagan who does believe in life after death then, as with other religious denominations, connections are often made between before and after the grave.

Pagans and Judgment Day? Most Pagans believe in reincarnation of some sort. But isn't that basically the same thing? If you want to come back as a "higher life form", aren't you expected to deserve to? But how is that determined? If there is such a thing as an Intrinsic Self and these Intrinsic Selves fall anywhere up and down the moral and political and spiritual spectrum...and there is no Judgment Day?

As with Pantheism and Buddhism, in other words, I just can't wrap my head around Paganism in regard to immortality, salvation and objective morality.

Pagan views on this sort of thing tend to be pretty diverse. A lot of Pagans, perhaps most, accept the idea of reincarnation, though I'm not sure how popular the idea of being punished in the next life for something you did in this life is. Wiccans, for example, often say they believe in something called the Threefold Law, by which, whatever you do, good or bad, comes back to you, with three times the force. But, as I understand it, this is generally thought to be the case within this life, rather than the next. And, in any case, I have my doubts that the majority of Wiccans believe it literally, anyway.

Well, there either is an important connection between what we do on this of the grave and the consequences for "I" on the other side, or there's not. And, if there is, some are on the right path and some are not. But what I always come back to is this: why the path that any particular individual is on and not another path altogether?

The stakes are so large here [for most of us] that being on a path we believe sustains "I" into eternity becomes a fundamental part on it. Yet given the hundreds and hundreds of paths that have already been embraced by mere mortals over the centuries, I suspect that what may be of most importance here is not what you believe but that you do believe it.

I know that if "somehow" I could believe it again, I would. I want to be "saved". But: what on Earth does that even mean?

Personally, I do indeed believe, from experience, that what you do comes back to you, but I wouldn't put a numerical value on it, and it's not a hard and fast rule, either, just a tendency. In other words, it's just common sense. Smile, and the whole world laughs at you, or something like that.

Again, I certainly do want to believe that again myself. And yes, given the fact that we are here "here and now", and that's all we know, it can certainly seem to be common sense that there must be something more "on the other side". It's just that death -- oblivion? -- is so frightening to so many of us, it can seem like common sense that antidotes would be invented in order to "comfort and console" those able to convince themselves that one or another rendition of salvation is our fate instead.

That is one way to go about it, of course. But this is only because, in my view, there is no "one size fits all" Scripture for Pagans to fall back on. So, it's all the easier to align what any particular individual believes that it is "in their head" with their own moral and political prejudices. It's just for those like me, either way, it's also the embodiment of dasein.

The lack of any authority, scriptural or otherwise, in Paganism is its greatest strength. And weakness.

Yes, if a Scripture is available, you fall back on it. If there is no Scripture, however? For those who believe that there is one, there's the consolation of being able to believe it. On the other hand, everything you think, feel, say and do must then be in accord with this Scripture.

Or else?

Whereas, if there is no Scripture, this provides you with the option to be far, far more imaginative in deciding what to choose on this side.

Either way, from my own truly cynical frame of mind, the thing about religious or spiritual faith is that all that's necessary is that you do believe it. It doesn't have to be true at all. But for those who do believe that it is true, all I can ask of them is to at least attempt to demonstrate how and why they were able to convince themselves.

Thus...

On the other hand, as with so many other things, most of us go about the business of living our lives simply accepting what we think we know about things...when in fact we know very little at all about some of them. That's why it's important [to me] to be around as many different kinds of people as possible. Especially in regard to something as important as the relationship we forge between how we perceive the world around us and our five senses. Seeing and hearing in particular.

Then the part where, within a particular community, who then gets to decide how we ought to think about them? It's just that for those who have always been able to see and those who have never been able to see, the communication is more likely to require more commitment. But that's a good thing, right?

Unless, of course, for all practical purposes, I really have no idea what I am talking about here. Never having been blind myself.

I can certainly relate to that because, after leaving school, I decided that I wanted to be around sighted people, having spent years being around blind people. Sighted people are far more interesting, in general.

On the other hand, I would imagine that there are blind men and women who might...disagree?

"Blind people can’t be friends with someone who is fully sighted" from: "The Stereotypes Surrounding Sight Loss https://myblurredworld.com/2017/10/04/s ... ight-loss/

Clearly, blind people can befriend sighted people. But all I can imagine "here and now" is that if I were to become blind, I would need to be around others who were blind as well. Not all the time, of course, but enough time to feel more comfortable in both worlds.

But: back again to the "for all practical purposes" reality of being blind from birth and "going blind". The woman above [Elin Williams] has "impaired vision". She lives in Wales by the way.

Have you ever considered writing about this? Perhaps putting your own experiences "out there" for others to ponder? Clarifying what you believe others might be misunderstanding regarding interactions between the sighted and the unsighted world?

This reminds me somewhat of the character Sarah Norman from the film Children of a Lessor God. She was born deaf. And because of how some in the hearing world treated her -- as, among other things, a sex object, a hole -- she imploded into her own little world. She worked as a janitor at the school for the deaf. But basically we learn that she really wants to be like the Marion Loessor character. She too was born deaf but she did whatever she had to do to get out into the world that intertwined silence and sound.

I've never really considered the idea of writing something like that. Most of it would probably be pretty boring, to be honest.

On the other hand, how many people here find you boring?

This is not to say that I've never considered the idea of writing something, though, because I very much have. Specifically, I'm currently thinking about a young adult fantasy novel, about an elf who gets lost in the woods, and a bunch of teenagers have to help her find her way home. It probably sounds a bit juvenile, described like that, but that's exactly the intended audience.

Every author will have an audience. And with that audience comes the chance of communicating with those who have read what you wrote and find it interesting enough to contact you.

But again, in not actually being you, in not having an intimate understanding of the life you've lived, there will always be things that I suggest to you only because I imagine suggesting them to myself.

More to the point, some anti-abortionists insist, it ought to be considered first degree murder. Why? Because, they argue, both the pregnant women who have an abortion and the doctors who perform them are deliberately killing an unborn human being. Even in the case of rape, the baby itself is always innocent, they say.

In other words, even in regard to whether a zygote or an embryo or a fetus is a human being, the battles rage on all up and down the moral spectrum.

Even now, my own views on this are evolving. I can certainly imagine situations where abortion is necessary.

Yes, that's how it seems to work. You live a particular life and then out of the blue "something happens". Sometimes it changes little or nothing. Other times, however, it changes lots and lots of things.

Still, from my frame of mind, it's one thing contemplating it philosophically, and another thing altogether dealing with an actual unwanted pregnancy "in reality". One day, perhaps, when your commitment with the Goddess to stay celibate is in the rear-view mirror there's the possibility that you may actually be confronted with the "real deal". And that's always the distinction I make. Sex and unwanted pregnancies and abortions explored here and then the part where, given any number of complex sets of circumstances, you are smack dab in the middle of this most ferocious of conflicting goods.

If I'm lucky enough to meet the right person to settle down with and raise a family, I'll know it.

And to the extent you are out in the world interacting with others [on your own memorable trips, for example], that increases the odds considerably. You will either meet this person or not. And they will either "know it" as well or not.

Wow, I'm trying to imagine what that must have been like. Which is ultimately futile? You're around now and they love you, but...but had they known you'd come into the world blind, you might not be around now? I suspect that some of us would handle that sort of "what if?" quandary considerably better than others.

The problem, of course, is that my parents knew almost nothing about blindness, or blind people. They certainly had no direct personal experience, anyway. So they were probably full of all the usual ignorance and prejudice that sighted people often have, whether they care to admit it or not.

On the other hand, if an individual does have little or no experience regarding blindness [or in being around blind people], he or she is that much more likely to be ignorant and prejudiced.

Like that scene from Scent of a Woman:

"Frank: Are you blind?
Charlie: Of course not.
Frank: Then why are you taking my goddamn arm? I take your arm.
Charlie: Sorry...
Frank: Don't be sorry, how would you know?"

I would imagine that any number of sighted people might be inundated with uncertainties the first time they are around someone who is blind. You are the first blind person I have ever had this much contact with [if only virtually], and I'm still grappling to figure out what I am ignorant of. On the other hand, everyone is going to be ignorant about some things.

And that wasn't the beginnings of a rant, by the way. One thing that I can't stand, and is just one of the many reasons why I don't like the blind community, is the unspoken assumption that the sighted world owes us something.

Maybe that last bit was the beginnings of a rant...

I suspect, however, that within the blind community, there will be conflicting reactions to that. It's not so much what is owed to any citizen as [perhaps] what is provided to them in the way of education and facilities that enable all men and women to be independent.

Unless, perhaps, not being religious was the factor that, uh, "saved" you? For some, when it does all come back to God, abortion is a sin. Have one or perform one and you're going to hell. Though it's still rather fuzzy what the fate of the aborted baby will be on "the other side". Not to mention all those millions of miscarriages and still births. Suppose your parents had been particularly devout Catholics?

Or am I still basically far removed from understanding this "as it really was"?

I'm no expert on Catholic theology, but they do seem to get themselves into quite a few muddles over questions like this.

Yes, and, in part, that is because Catholics do have a Scripture. And that Scripture often revolves around this: "be one of us...or else". At the same time, however, to the extent that you do embrace the Vatican's rendition of the One True Path, it seems that much more likely that you will be comforted and consoled on both sides of the grave.

My parents are lifelong agnostics. I suspect, though, on balance, that they would not have terminated me, but no one can say for certain, least of all them.

How then do they react to Paganism? Do you have discussions about that with them? And while there are any number things we can be reasonably certain about regarding our interactions with others, there are all those "value judgments" we come into conflict with.

I think what might concern me the most about being born blind is this: what if I did not have parents like yours? What if those who raised me were blind to many other things instead.

I recall you noting [at least I think I recall you noting] the first time they explained to you that you were blind. How upset you were attempting actually to grapple with what on Earth "for all practical purposes" that meant. But then, again, there's the part where you had no way of knowing what you were without because you had never not been without it.

Again, the part where there's no getting around how problematic something like this might be when you are trying to understand something about someone that you can only make a more or less educated guess regarding. Some things get nailed down easier than other things. And some things never do.

I definitely had quite a few temper tantrums about it when I was little. You know how kids are, with their very finely tuned sense of what's fair, and what isn't.

Of course, I can't imagine what that could possibly have been like. How on Earth does someone who has seen nothing at all, grasp what they are told about seeing? There are the things they can hear or touch or taste or smell. But never see.

On the other hand, had your parents been devout Catholics, they might have assured you that your blindness is just another manifestation of God's "mysterious ways" and that, what, in Heaven you would...what exactly?

Then this part: https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/ima ... 50205.html

"A child who is born blind does not know what it is like to see. Until he or she is old enough to begin to understand how other people do things, blindness seems normal. Therefore, a small child will not feel bad about blindness until someone teaches him or her (directly or indirectly) to feel bad."

Does this seem reasonable to you?

Especially when my brother, who's only a bit older than me (two and a half years), can see perfectly well and used this fact mercilessly to get the better of me in fights, for example. He's all apologetic about it now, of course, and we're very close.

So, basically, when you interact now, blindness is not something that comes up very often? You are a brother and a sister able to do what most other brothers and sisters do?

And I certainly don't wish to give the impression that I had an unhappy childhood, because I definitely didn't. I don't remember one specific first time, though, when my parents sat down and explained to me that I'm blind, because I always knew that I lacked something that everyone else had, though I do remember quite a few times when they told me that there's nothing that anyone can ever do about it, which was a bit upsetting, I must admit, and made me pretty furious. I also, incidentally, had an annoying habit of taking my eyes out in front of family guests, to freak them out. In short, I was a naughty, spoilt brat, and I'm very glad I grew out of all that.

Yes, that's another important factor, I would imagine. It's one thing to be blind and then be told there is the possibility that, with new medical advances, you might see one day. But having to accept that you never will...as a child?

This is from the Quora site:

"There is a critical time of brain plasticity in babies where they learn to interpret visual input.

For instance, when they crawl towards something, it gets larger in their visual field.

People who were blind as a baby and missed this critical period of development will never be able to fully interpret visual input.

So, is there absolutely no way that medical science might come up with something that allows you to see one day? After all, it's already come up with so many other astonishing "medical miracles".



FYI: on the National Geographic Channel, they are airing a 6-part series called Witches: The Truth Behind the Trials: https://www.dgepress.com/natgeo/shows/w ... /episodes/

1] Germany: The Witch Hunts Begin
2] America: Salem's Hunts and Hysteria
3] Scotland: The King and the Witches
4] England: The Witchfinders' Cruel Crusade
5] Sweden: The Legend of Blåkulla
6] Ireland: Possessed By the Devil

[promethean75]

"In short, I was a naughty, spoilt brat, and I'm very glad I grew out of all that."

Hmm. I think this is honest modesty and humility, but that might be a problem. As i see it - and i don't even have to know you to have this opinion - a blind person can never be called 'spoiled' in the sense that we mean it. That is to say, no matter what this blind person might receive and be undeserving of (so as to call them spoiled), they are missing a single critical privilege and gift of unparalleled value and importance that everyone else has; sight.

Even if you were a Veruca Salt when you were a kid. If somebody handed you a million dollars and you didn't even thank them, you still couldn't be a spoiled brat.

Really though, only a blind person is qualified for and has the authority to call another blind person 'spoiled'.

If anybody ever calls you 'spoiled', you cut them off and say "I'm blind, asshole. Come talk to me when you got real problems, pal" and then smile casually, pluck one of your eyes out, and say to them as they're slowly backing away "hey... I'll keep an eye out for you".

[accelafine]

"In short, I was a naughty, spoilt brat, and I'm very glad I grew out of all that."

Hmm. I think this is honest modesty and humility, but that might be a problem. As i see it - and i don't even have to know you to have this opinion - a blind person can never be called 'spoiled' in the sense that we mean it. That is to say, no matter what this blind person might receive and be undeserving of (so as to call them spoiled), they are missing a single critical privilege and gift of unparalleled value and importance that everyone else has; sight.

Even if you were a Veruca Salt when you were a kid. If somebody handed you a million dollars and you didn't even thank them, you still couldn't be a spoiled brat.

Really though, only a blind person is qualified for and has the authority to call another blind person 'spoiled'.

If anybody ever calls you 'spoiled', you cut them off and say "I'm blind, asshole. Come talk to me when you got real problems, pal" and then smile casually, pluck one of your eyes out, and say to them as they're slowly backing away "hey... I'll keep an eye out for you".

That is so patronising. How unusual for a wokist

[Maia]

+++I would speculate, however, that any number of sighted people, in attempting to imagine themselves as having been blind from birth, would quickly be in way over their heads. Though, perhaps, less in over their heads than those who could see and then later in life had to suddenly deal with not being able to?

Imagine someone who was born blind befriending someone who was born deaf. He can't see her, she can't hear him. But both embody the same reality. In other words, the reality of having been born blind and deaf. And, thus, right from the start those around you are likely to prepare you for living in the world as a blind or a deaf person. You will have acquired any number of crucial skills to facilitate your interactions with others.

There's just something about "going blind" that seems more bewildering and frightening to me.

Sometimes I'll go back and forth, imagining myself being blind since birth or going blind in the future. I have more or less convinced myself "here and now" that I would prefer to have been born blind. On the other hand, the thought of going to grave never having been able to see anything...?+++

And, likewise, I've spent my whole life trying to imagine what it's like to see. I can't really do it, though.

Here's an interesting misconception, by the way, since you talk about misconceptions further down, namely, that blind people see black all the time. This isn't true. I don't have any field of vision at all, and therefore don't see black. But that's only the case, of course, for people who have never had any sight. Those who lose their sight are prone to all sorts of visual hallucinations, apparently, though these tend to fade with time.

+++Well, like some say, if you are doing something you really enjoy, something that truly fulfills you, why call it work at all?

Still, I hope someday you do take a stab at articulating yourself [as well as you do here] other places.

Just out of curiosity, what subjects do your parents teach?+++

My dad's main subject is History, and my mom's is English, lit. and lang. Some of that has clearly rubbed off on me.

+++My own family and I were estranged. In fact, I don't even know if my mother, my brother and my three sisters are still alive. And all of my friends are now virtual. Still, there are few things in my life that I would change. I'm just not really sure what to actually make of that though.+++

I'm very sorry to hear that about your family. I can't imagine ever being in that situation.

+++On the other hand, we live in a world bursting at the seams with winners and losers. Capitalism, we call it. Still, what if this really is the best of all possible worlds? What if capitalism really is the worst political economy...except for all the others.+++

It seems to be the default system, if nothing else.

+++Well, there either is an important connection between what we do on this of the grave and the consequences for "I" on the other side, or there's not. And, if there is, some are on the right path and some are not. But what I always come back to is this: why the path that any particular individual is on and not another path altogether?

The stakes are so large here [for most of us] that being on a path we believe sustains "I" into eternity becomes a fundamental part on it. Yet given the hundreds and hundreds of paths that have already been embraced by mere mortals over the centuries, I suspect that what may be of most importance here is not what you believe but that you do believe it.

I know that if "somehow" I could believe it again, I would. I want to be "saved". But: what on Earth does that even mean?+++

I don't really know what saved means, either, and it's only relevant in a Christian context, anyway. Pagans certainly don't have any concept of original sin, that people need saving from.

+++Again, I certainly do want to believe that again myself. And yes, given the fact that we are here "here and now", and that's all we know, it can certainly seem to be common sense that there must be something more "on the other side". It's just that death -- oblivion? -- is so frightening to so many of us, it can seem like common sense that antidotes would be invented in order to "comfort and console" those able to convince themselves that one or another rendition of salvation is our fate instead.+++

My opinions on the existence of an afterlife are still very much at the uncertain stage. Perhaps it's more likely than not, I think, but what it might actually consist of is another matter, about which I have no idea.

+++Yes, if a Scripture is available, you fall back on it. If there is no Scripture, however? For those who believe that there is one, there's the consolation of being able to believe it. On the other hand, everything you think, feel, say and do must then be in accord with this Scripture.

Or else?

Whereas, if there is no Scripture, this provides you with the option to be far, far more imaginative in deciding what to choose on this side.

Either way, from my own truly cynical frame of mind, the thing about religious or spiritual faith is that all that's necessary is that you do believe it. It doesn't have to be true at all. But for those who do believe that it is true, all I can ask of them is to at least attempt to demonstrate how and why they were able to convince themselves.+++

I don't think I could ever be part of a religion with scriptures, handed down unchanged from thousands of years ago. They were, after all, written by people, as fallible as anyone else.

+++On the other hand, I would imagine that there are blind men and women who might...disagree?

"Blind people can’t be friends with someone who is fully sighted" from: "The Stereotypes Surrounding Sight Loss https://myblurredworld.com/2017/10/04/s ... ight-loss/

Clearly, blind people can befriend sighted people. But all I can imagine "here and now" is that if I were to become blind, I would need to be around others who were blind as well. Not all the time, of course, but enough time to feel more comfortable in both worlds.

But: back again to the "for all practical purposes" reality of being blind from birth and "going blind". The woman above [Elin Williams] has "impaired vision". She lives in Wales by the way.+++

I must admit I'd never heard of that particular misconception before, that blind people can't have sighted friends. It's a load of old tosh, of course, but if it exists as a stereotype, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a stereotype believed primarily by blind people, or at any rate, by a certain vocal minority. All the other stereotypes she mentions are all too familiar, though.

+++On the other hand, how many people here find you boring?+++

I couldn't possibly comment on that.

+++Every author will have an audience. And with that audience comes the chance of communicating with those who have read what you wrote and find it interesting enough to contact you.

But again, in not actually being you, in not having an intimate understanding of the life you've lived, there will always be things that I suggest to you only because I imagine suggesting them to myself.+++

Hopefully one day I'll actually write the thing.

+++Yes, that's how it seems to work. You live a particular life and then out of the blue "something happens". Sometimes it changes little or nothing. Other times, however, it changes lots and lots of things.+++

Yes, we evolve, thankfully.

+++And to the extent you are out in the world interacting with others [on your own memorable trips, for example], that increases the odds considerably. You will either meet this person or not. And they will either "know it" as well or not.+++

I'm glad you like my little travelogues. I'm starting to run out of interesting trips to write about, now, sadly. I've had various other camping trips, on my own, but they'd probably come across as a bit repetitive. There is, however, one other trip that I'll probably have to include, for the sake of completion.

+++On the other hand, if an individual does have little or no experience regarding blindness [or in being around blind people], he or she is that much more likely to be ignorant and prejudiced.

Like that scene from Scent of a Woman:

"Frank: Are you blind?
Charlie: Of course not.
Frank: Then why are you taking my goddamn arm? I take your arm.
Charlie: Sorry...
Frank: Don't be sorry, how would you know?"

I would imagine that any number of sighted people might be inundated with uncertainties the first time they are around someone who is blind. You are the first blind person I have ever had this much contact with [if only virtually], and I'm still grappling to figure out what I am ignorant of. On the other hand, everyone is going to be ignorant about some things.+++

The worst thing, to be honest, is when people are embarrassed to talk to me, or try and avoid saying certain words, such as "blind" for example, in the ridiculously mistaken belief, I assume, that it might upset me to be reminded of it. They think I don't notice, but it's painfully obvious. I usually try and diffuse the situation my cracking a little joke about it, or something like that.

+++I suspect, however, that within the blind community, there will be conflicting reactions to that. It's not so much what is owed to any citizen as [perhaps] what is provided to them in the way of education and facilities that enable all men and women to be independent.+++

There's a happy balance, I think. In terms of education, the state does indeed have a responsibility to provide the means for everyone to benefit from it. It certainly provided mine, and I have no complaints about that at all.

+++Yes, and, in part, that is because Catholics do have a Scripture. And that Scripture often revolves around this: "be one of us...or else". At the same time, however, to the extent that you do embrace the Vatican's rendition of the One True Path, it seems that much more likely that you will be comforted and consoled on both sides of the grave.+++

That's monotheism, for you.

+++How then do they react to Paganism? Do you have discussions about that with them? And while there are any number things we can be reasonably certain about regarding our interactions with others, there are all those "value judgments" we come into conflict with.+++

I've had many, and lengthy, discussions with my parents about Paganism. They always knew I liked being outside, in nature, so I don't think it was a complete surprise to them, and they've always been very supportive.

+++I think what might concern me the most about being born blind is this: what if I did not have parents like yours? What if those who raised me were blind to many other things instead.+++

I've been extremely lucky.

+++Of course, I can't imagine what that could possibly have been like. How on Earth does someone who has seen nothing at all, grasp what they are told about seeing? There are the things they can hear or touch or taste or smell. But never see.

On the other hand, had your parents been devout Catholics, they might have assured you that your blindness is just another manifestation of God's "mysterious ways" and that, what, in Heaven you would...what exactly?

Then this part: https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/ima ... 50205.html

"A child who is born blind does not know what it is like to see. Until he or she is old enough to begin to understand how other people do things, blindness seems normal. Therefore, a small child will not feel bad about blindness until someone teaches him or her (directly or indirectly) to feel bad."

Does this seem reasonable to you?+++

Yes, I can certainly relate to at least some of what she says in that article. I don't remember a time when I was unaware that everyone else had something very important that I didn't. Perhaps I was too young to be able to remember such a time, now. And it wasn't long before I began questioning my parents about it.

+++So, basically, when you interact now, blindness is not something that comes up very often? You are a brother and a sister able to do what most other brothers and sisters do?+++

Yes, I'm sure we do interact how any brother and sister do, or those who are close, anyway. I occasionally ask for his help with something, but that's about it.

+++Yes, that's another important factor, I would imagine. It's one thing to be blind and then be told there is the possibility that, with new medical advances, you might see one day. But having to accept that you never will...as a child?

This is from the Quora site:

"There is a critical time of brain plasticity in babies where they learn to interpret visual input.

For instance, when they crawl towards something, it gets larger in their visual field.

People who were blind as a baby and missed this critical period of development will never be able to fully interpret visual input.

So, is there absolutely no way that medical science might come up with something that allows you to see one day? After all, it's already come up with so many other astonishing "medical miracles".+++

Well, I'm definitely not having any chips stuck into my brain, for anything. I'm thinking of Elon Musk's Blindsight device here, which I've heard of, but don't really know much about, except that it involves an implant into your visual cortex. More importantly, though, it doesn't actually give you anything resembling sight, but rather, a series of patterns, or something. And since, according to CT scans I've had over the years, my visual cortex is mostly given over to other things, I certainly wouldn't want to risk interfering with, say, something as crucial to my daily life as echolocation, or spatial mapping, or whatever else my visual cortex might be doing. I might think twice if such a device would actually give me real, proper sight, but it doesn't.

+++FYI: on the National Geographic Channel, they are airing a 6-part series called Witches: The Truth Behind the Trials: https://www.dgepress.com/natgeo/shows/w ... /episodes/

1] Germany: The Witch Hunts Begin
2] America: Salem's Hunts and Hysteria
3] Scotland: The King and the Witches
4] England: The Witchfinders' Cruel Crusade
5] Sweden: The Legend of Blåkulla
6] Ireland: Possessed By the Devil+++

Thanks, maybe I'll check it out.

[Maia]

"In short, I was a naughty, spoilt brat, and I'm very glad I grew out of all that."

Hmm. I think this is honest modesty and humility, but that might be a problem. As i see it - and i don't even have to know you to have this opinion - a blind person can never be called 'spoiled' in the sense that we mean it. That is to say, no matter what this blind person might receive and be undeserving of (so as to call them spoiled), they are missing a single critical privilege and gift of unparalleled value and importance that everyone else has; sight.

Even if you were a Veruca Salt when you were a kid. If somebody handed you a million dollars and you didn't even thank them, you still couldn't be a spoiled brat.

Really though, only a blind person is qualified for and has the authority to call another blind person 'spoiled'.

If anybody ever calls you 'spoiled', you cut them off and say "I'm blind, asshole. Come talk to me when you got real problems, pal" and then smile casually, pluck one of your eyes out, and say to them as they're slowly backing away "hey... I'll keep an eye out for you".

Thank you. I was definitely a spoilt brat though, or at the very least, a brat, and I cringe to remember some of the things I did and said, which I won't repeat here. I did, however, finally get the better of my brother, by hiding a dead frog down his bed, which I had found in the garden on one of my exploratory forays. I still smile about that now, especially since it was only last week. Just kidding about that last bit.

[promethean75]

"going as a sexy beatnik spy wouldn't be out of the question, though"

Oh i forgot about this. We regard this possibility as verificationists would and will need empirical proof that this actually happens if it does... so you will need to provide pictures.

[Maia]

"going as a sexy beatnik spy wouldn't be out of the question, though"

Oh i forgot about this. We regard this possibility as verificationists would and will need empirical proof that this actually happens if it does... so you will need to provide pictures.

There are other options, of course. I could go as an elf.

[accelafine]

I thought Halloween was supposed to be about American children dressing up as witches and ghosts and knocking on the doors of paedophiles to beg for 'treats'. Americans have apparently turned it into a celebration of their adult narcissism. I mean, WTF does an astronaut have to do with Halloween? Or a giant walking penis? I don't know which is worse; Americans or non-Americans who copy Americans

[accelafine]

.

[iambiguous]

A cinematic scene where a single glass eye is removed:

https://youtu.be/gghsSqq-ohw?si=2T8WJPhN5fMAhSoy&t=4529

Tom seems clearly freaked out to me.

[Maia]

I think it's probably a good idea to try and demystify this subject. Here's an article from the NHS.

https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/for-patie ... nd-fitting

The part that can be removed, that needs replacing every few years, is just the front part. They're pretty easy to remove, which you have to do to clean them, but this also means that you have to be careful, at times. I don't wear them in the pool at work, for example, nor in bed, nor the shower, obviously. They can also get a bit irritating, after a few hours, so I'll often wear sunglasses instead, for part of the day. This is purely for aesthetic reasons, of course, and if I'm not expecting any visitors, I sometimes don't bother at all.

It's definitely not a big deal, though, and is no different, I suppose, to someone who needs to wear glasses, or contacts, or whatever. Just a normal, everyday thing that you do. Indeed, it's even less onerous than having to wear glasses or contacts, because I don't actually need to wear them at all, for anything other than cosmetic reasons.

It also turns out that you can indeed get custom ones made, which is something that I hadn't enquired about before, though according to this, they're not currently available on the NHS, which isn't too much of a surprise.

https://www.naes.nhs.uk/custom-eyes