८ नोव्हेंबर, २०२१

"Giving a description of yourself for the benefit of blind or visually impaired people – when meeting a group of people for the first time; when speaking at a conference or seminar – is good practice, and part of your professional responsibilities."

I'm reading "Self-description for inclusive meetings" (at VocalEyes), which gives some insight into what was going on in the video we were talking about a few days ago, in which a couple Microsoft employers, introducing themselves, let us know that they were "Caucasian" and (in one case) had long blonde hair.

In the comments at my post, Lurker21 said:
Even if you accept that saying your race and gender before large groups of people is now appropriate and necessary you might puzzle over why physical descriptions of the face became necessary before references to sexual orientation. Maybe a large part of the audience is blind (but not blind from birth since visual appearance wouldn't mean so much to them)?

And it turns out these extended descriptions of looks do seem to be motivated by a desire to include the blind. I'm sure the blind are aware that they are missing something other people are getting, but do they appreciate extra explanations that are just about how people look (as opposed to explanations of nonverbal communication like gestures or things written or drawn on a whiteboard)? 

At that VocalEyes website, you're told that, when introducing yourself, you should "restrict yourself to three key elements and one or two sentences." And it's "a political and personal act." There are suggestions about which elements to choose:

You may choose to refer to your ethnicity or race. It is important for an inclusive meeting that this is not solely done by people from minoritised or under-represented groups. Whiteness should not be assumed to be a default.... You may prefer to give a visual description of your skin colour instead of, or in addition to, reference to your race / ethnicity.... You might refer to your hair colour, length and style. This is something that is often over-described....

If there's a danger of assuming that anyone who doesn't announce their race is white, it creates pressure to make announcing your race — if you are white — one of your elements — one of your 3 elements. Otherwise, you seem presumptuous. That is, one could say it's white privilege if you don't make your whiteness one of your elements of self-description.

I wonder how much blind people care about race. How do they feel about hearing the scoffing at the notion of "color-blindness"? What's wrong with blindness?

 

"I don't care so much about how things look. I mean, I can see past how a person is dressed or how a person appears and really judge a person by their actions or their words or by what they're doing." Or, one might say, by the content of their character.

ADDED: Here's the trailer for the 1965 movie "A Patch of Blue" — about race and blindness:

५५ टिप्पण्या:

rehajm म्हणाले...

They’re real. And they’re spectacular.

Achilles म्हणाले...

And it turns out these extended descriptions of looks do seem to be motivated by a desire to include the blind.

A motivation to include them in racism.

We need to make sure they know who the straight white males are so they can discriminate appropriately.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Hi, my name is Joe.

Imagine Brad Pitt but not so homely.

And my pronouns are 'Sex God,' 'Orgasm Giver,' and 'Lord of All Time, Space, and Dimension.'

I already know it's been your pleasure to meet me...

Enigma म्हणाले...

I smell opportunities for rich humor, irony, and sarcasm. ZOOOOOM ---> Right over their heads!

Many or most "white people" have traces of non-white ancestry. In the spirit of Elizabeth Warren and her Native American hubbub, those seeking (1) bonus points for personal history, or (2) those seeking to screw-up conventional reactions can now insert really odd and obscure facts. "I'm more of a minority of X, but I've had to suffer in silence." Etc.

This is a recipe for a new and weird religion. Really, really weird. I give it 1-2 years at most before the negatives are seen to outweigh the positives.

gilbar म्हणाले...

Serious Question
Why The Hell would a blind person (should that be Blind person?) care about Hair color?

effinayright म्हणाले...

If you've been blind from birth, what does the word "blonde" mean to you?

gilbar म्हणाले...

Clayton Bigsby, the World’s Only Black White Supremacist - Chappelle’s Show

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

The other part of the über-wokeness was acknowledging all of the native people that lived on the land (presumedly the Microsoft campus) in the past.

I was in Seattle a few years ago and walked by a 'progressive' church.

There was a huge banner proclaiming that 'We acknowledge that the xxx native people lived on this very plot of land before us blah, blah, blah.'

My first reaction was, 'Well, give it back then.'

But it was in a nice spot downtown and worth a few million wampum, so that ain't gonna happen...

SGT Ted म्हणाले...

I have a blind friend. He doesn't give a shit about stuff like that. This is simply SJW's trying to colonize yet another minority space uninvited and assert themselves to be their champions and guardians.

Narr म्हणाले...

Hey y'all. My name is Clayton Bigsby.

Tarrou म्हणाले...

How much of this is just an excuse for people to talk at length about themselves to a captive audience in ways that used to be considered rude, uninteresting and pedantic?

Ice Nine म्हणाले...

These woke idiots are running out of things to be sensitive and inclusive about and so are scraping the bottom of the barrel. What next, "standing" on their knees for the occasional dwarf in the audience?

wildswan म्हणाले...

That is an interesting question. You wonder how Robin Williams would have answered it. Or Dave Chappelle. Or what if everyone closed their eyes and heard the descriptions and then opened them and tried to identify the people they had heard based the descriptions. Would the blind do better than the seeing? Or, if no one mentioned their race would people know anyhow with their eyes shut? I don't believe they would know the race of most of the successful minorities. Middle-class suburban is middle-class suburban all over this land.

Thuglawlibrarian म्हणाले...

Race obsessed folks are mentally ill. Add those folks who view everything as political.

William म्हणाले...

If you're addressing a British audience, shouldn't you also include your class background. For Irish audiences, one should also include their religious background and that of their parents and grandparents. When addressing Black audiences, it's not enough to just announce Black, the speaker should also take note of their hair texture and their darkness relative to a paper bag.....What makes the most favorable impression on an audience is youth and good looks, but it's kind of crass to just come out and say "I'm young and good looking". You have to kind of suggest it with self deprecating humor. Maybe hire a few women to scream in ecstasy during your speech.

tim maguire म्हणाले...

Seems like a ludicrously shallow exercise by a marginally useful interest group vying for increased exposure and self-justification. What a coup that they reeled in Microsoft!

CJinPA म्हणाले...

This is why I was surprised critics focused on THIS Microsoft video rather than the one that opens with employees announcing that the company is headquartered on land stolen from Indian tribes - and then listed all the victimized tribes.

I think Microsoft wokesters are happy much of The Internet took the bait on the video with racial descriptions rather than the one that opens up so so many more questions.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Following Althouse's lead, I got cataract surgery last December. My vision is now the best it has been since age 6. No glasses!

tds म्हणाले...

It is absolutely necessary to inform the blind. Otherwise they'd have weird ideas on what basis to discriminate, e.g. one person making more sense than the other. This way they can comfortably discriminate based on race from the start.

Temujin म्हणाले...

I just could not think of anything less important to proclaim at the beginning of a large conference. It says to me: Here is what we see as the most important thing we have to say. The rest of this is all secondary, because we think that you knowing how we perceive ourselves- our gender, our race, and how we look- is paramount over anything else. In fact, so important- that we don't do anything until we declare ourselves- Appropriate.

It's pretty shallow of them. And as one of the world's largest corporations, I have to believe people either don't buy this show or they'd pull their money from MS stocks today. If this is the corporate priority, a fall from greatness cannot be too far behind. At some point, the Diversity Directors will outnumber the code writers and programmers and then we'll have reached The Singularity- only not the one they've been planning for.

Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...

Is this not a colonization of blindness by sighted people?

rrsafety म्हणाले...

Sadly, the actress, Elizabeth Hartman suffered from severe depression and committed suicide in 1984 at the age of 43.

MadisonMan म्हणाले...

Oh my. This sounds like a way to make meetings that are already too long even longer. Why? So blind people can imagine the visage of a speaker? To what end?
File this under: Stupid.

JeanE म्हणाले...

Vocal Eyes states "By describing yourself, you are in some way identifying and defining yourself, and it is thus a political and personal act."

My political act is to avoid interjecting politics into non-political situations so I will stick to sharing my name, relevant professional background and experience, and perhaps a bit of personal info that others can connect to- like I have 3 cats, or my (feeble) attempts at vegetable gardening.

Scott Patton म्हणाले...

There was a family saying when I was very young, "Short and squatty, all ass and no body".

tim maguire म्हणाले...

Joe Smith said...I was in Seattle a few years ago and walked by a 'progressive' church.

There was a huge banner proclaiming that 'We acknowledge that the xxx native people lived on this very plot of land before us blah, blah, blah.'

My first reaction was, 'Well, give it back then.'


If I had a little too much time on my hands, I might do a bit of research into who lived there before the blah-da-blahs and make a stink about the church supporting their genocidaires.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

My name is Yancey, and I am wearing shorts.

robother म्हणाले...

rejahm: "They’re real. And they’re spectacular."

"And she's so fine. She'd give eyesight to the blind."

Critter म्हणाले...

Categories, categories, categories. Every human being is a singularity. No two are exactly alike. The emphasis on categorization makes me feel like you are trying to deny my individuality and agency. Categories are the new conformity of the 1950s. I hated categories then and I hate them now.

I can understand limited descriptions for the blind, but why not let them ask you questions instead of assuming they want to know your sexuality? That actually seems creepy and could be perceived as being sexually aggressive and threatening.

What happened to dealing with our humanity. not our category? We used to call the later stereotyping and it was a bad thing. Now thew woke are demanding it and it is supposed to be a good thing. Leave me out. I won't play by those rules.

DanTheMan म्हणाले...

The folks in this bubble are participating in the Woke Olympics. Outside, it looks more “Special Olympics”...

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed म्हणाले...

I am Napoleon Bonaparte, short with dark hair and well-tanned skin. My pronouns are F**k/Joe/Biden. This is my lived experience, so who are you to dispute this, H8R?

stlcdr म्हणाले...

SGT Ted said...
I have a blind friend. He doesn't give a shit about stuff like that. This is simply SJW's trying to colonize yet another minority space uninvited and assert themselves to be their champions and guardians.

11/8/21, 10:32 AM


I would agree with this. All anecdotal, of course.

But what is anybody supposed to do with this information? We used to talk on the phone, to complete strangers, and apart from sex lines, a description of the person you are talking to was irrelevant.

Indeed, in the age of 'chat', when ASL was the acronym du-jour, notice it doesn't include race or skin/hair color.

As already noted, everything to day must be framed around race and gender. A big devolution of society.

farmgirl म्हणाले...

I call BS
I think there was blowback on their strange process of introduction &so they came up w/their “backstory” to save face.
I could be wrong and very cynical- but I know bs.
Also, I went to “town” today- businesses are not impressed w/availability of products &static pricing. Lots of bad vibes out there!! I told one fella- his bad attitude will not win the war!!! Made him smile.

It’s a dark world out there.
{{Be a light}}

Owen म्हणाले...

Why only three elements? The more data points we give, the more comfortable and attuned the audience will be. I plan to spend at least 5 minutes (for presentations up to 15 minutes) and 10 minutes (for those over 15 minutes) describing myself really, really well. How often I have to shower; the funny bend in my left little toe; the smell and sound when I have a "Biden moment."

By the time I'm done, people will feel very, very included.

JaimeRoberto म्हणाले...

When I listen to a podcast, it's as if I was blind. Not once have I wanted or expected the speakers to tell me what color skin they have. I can tell the speakers apart by their voices. I'm not deaf.

But this isn't about helping blind people. The blurb that our hostess quotes tells us it's political. That's all it is.

Original Mike म्हणाले...

I don't give a damn what you look like. How do I know I don't care? I find I am chronically unable to describe a person I was just talking to. The unconscious me must not think it's important. And the conscious me agrees.

I care what you say, not what you look like.

Mark म्हणाले...

it turns out these extended descriptions of looks do seem to be motivated by a desire to include the blind

The motivation of these sighted progressives is entirely to be condescending and patronizing. Just like all those white progressives telling Blacks what they should think and believe, and all those progressive men mansplaining to women what they should believe.

Ignorance is Bliss म्हणाले...

I'm six feet tall, hung like a horse, with ritually shorn testicles, and I approve this new trend.

Ignorance is Bliss म्हणाले...

I'm six feet tall, hung like a horse, with ritually shorn testicles, and I approve this new trend.

who-knew म्हणाले...

According to VocalEyes, introducing yourself is "a political and personal act." It isn't political but it is personal, or you would be introducing someone else. That they think it is political sums up all that is wrong with the woke.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Like this?

"I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail."

Balfegor म्हणाले...

I wonder how much blind people care about race.

They are, at least, aware of race. Not in precisely the same way -- for obvious reasons, they aren't focused on the colour of skin -- but they're certainly aware of racial difference. The anecdote I found most interesting, though -- and who knows if it's true -- is the blind White man who was attracted to his Black reader in college, then broke it off after he was told she was Black. That's a sequence of events that wouldn't occur without the blindness.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

"Giving a description of yourself ... is good practice, and part of your professional responsibilities."

That's very childish, and, indeed, sounds like something out of preschool.

Your personal appearance is not important unless the subject of the "meeting" is even less important than what you happen to look like.

JPS म्हणाले...

Why do I have a feeling this will be about a big a hit with blind people as Latinx (I love that my phone just autocorrected that to Latino!) is among Hispanics?

Meanwhile, I’m thinking this: I will gladly offer a self-description if and only if asked.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

And it turns out these extended descriptions of looks do seem to be motivated by a desire to include the blind. I'm sure the blind are aware that they are missing something other people are getting, but do they appreciate extra explanations that are just about how people look (as opposed to explanations of nonverbal communication like gestures or things written or drawn on a whiteboard)?

Unless you're saying "I'm a redhead,a nd have a temper to match", or "I'm a blond ditz, just like the stereotype", or "I'm a fat pig who looks like I need a mobility scooter to go more than 100 feet", why would they care?

What this is about is racsit pigs celebrating their racism, and trying to get everyone to be just as racist as they are.

Hard pass

mdg म्हणाले...

'If you're addressing a British audience, shouldn't you also include your class background.'

Don't worry, if you're British the accent will give you away...

gilbar म्हणाले...

We used to talk on the phone, to complete strangers, and apart from sex lines, a description of the person you are talking to was irrelevant.

You know; the work world has sure changed from back when i was working (2017)
(among other things) i was second level help; So if the help desk couldn't resolve i'd get called

And i found that while fixing whatever mess the user was in; they Would NOT like it when i
Would ask them What They Were Wearing
I was just trying to put a little human warmth into their day...
But, HR told me to STOP THAT

Lucien म्हणाले...

“Devastatingly handsome,” or “Achingly Beautiful”?

What's emanating from your penumbra म्हणाले...

I'm only in favor of this if other people in the audience get to fact check you.

madAsHell म्हणाले...

I'm reminded of the blind golfers joke. I can't remember the set-up, but the punch line was......"Why don't they play at night??"

mikee म्हणाले...

I am reminded of the loyalty oaths demanded in Catch 22 of all soldiers, in order to get food in the mess hall. They grew and grew in complexity until more time was spent professing loyalty than actually eating, and getting fed was a near impossibility. Until Colonel Black came in for his meal and yelled, "Gimme eats!" and thus stopped all the foolishness.

mikee म्हणाले...

Can we self identify as a meat popsicle?

gpm म्हणाले...

>>Following Althouse's lead, I got cataract surgery last December. My vision is now the best it has been since age 6. No glasses!

Largely ditto for me, though I had the cataract surgery about ten years ago, long before Althouse, and still need reading glasses.

I also have a separate issue in my right eye that supposedly mainly affects teenage boys (kerataconus: would I want to be a teenage boy at this point?) that I am trying to get corrected before renewing my driver's license next month. The corrected vision in my left eye is so good I don't really need it, but the DMV eye test for my right eye was a problem ten years ago.

--gpm

Christopher B म्हणाले...

I see somebody posted about telephone conversations back in the day. I had a similar thought when I read this.

Nobody would have thought of doing this without the overbearing presence of cell phone video and pictures. We've been out of the office for going on 18 months and I refuse to turn on my camera for any meetings (nobody's made an issue of it), and turn off incoming video. I don't need to see you to have effective communication with you.

It's amazing how fast it's become accepted that visualization will be a part of verbal communication.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

I remember watching a play by a college troupe back in the late 1960s. One of the lead characters is a blind woman, but at a key point she gives herself away by mentioning a white cabinet. Funny the things one remembers.

Blind women become prettier after they’re married. While still single they can’t use a mirror to put on makeup or fix their hair.