+++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.
