Sean-the Moron-Markey
Move over, Idiot File members, here comes another one.
Lately the "Discover" magazine has taken to ending their current issue with a last page article titled "20 Things You Didn't Know About ---". Some of the little tidbits they present on the topic du jour can be quite interesting, but this month they have wandered off the beaten path and stepped in it up to their knickers, as far as I'm concerned.
The February 2007 issue ends with "20 Things You Didn't Know About Skin" and it's alright, until you get to item #13. "In blind people, the brain's visual cortex is rewired to respond to stimuli received through touch and hearing, so they literally "see" the world by touch and sound." That's the little pile of fresh horseshit that writer Sean Markey spread around on lucky #13.
For a long time, people have mouthed those words of folk wisdom, I think in some kind of feeling of needing to make it all better; needing to explain away the problems of blindness in such a way as to ease any and all guilt they might feel in not offering more help to the afflicted. Being struck with the loss of vision is a frightening prospect for anyone, but if we all pretend it comes along with some kind of magic compensation package, we can lessen the need for involvement; lessen the need to be anywhere near those living with this particular challenge. It seems to me to be a leftover from the days when fear of possible contagion led to waving a silver cross at anyone who could threaten our secure little world.
Markey should have done a whole lot more research before he penned that article. It is unacceptable in its proliferation of the myth that blindness comes with a magic heightening of the other senses in compensation for the loss of sight. Whatever "rewiring" might take place in the visual cortex, it does not allow the blind to see anything. When they feel something, they feel it. Period. They do not see the print on the page, or the colours in the photo through their fingertips. They do not see the colour of their loved ones' eyes, or the route number on the bus pulling into the station. How do you see the fiery splendour of a magnificent sunset by touch or sound, Mr. Markey?
The blind do not "see" through sound, either. I have walked a busy street in Toronto with clients of the CNIB who have to stop at every intersection and listen carefully for the sounds of traffic. I have heard them explain how they are taught to listen for the sound of the traffic moving in the same direction as they want to walk, before they step out. I have been right there and seen the hesitation while the light changed from red to green more than once before they felt they could cross. I have also seen the drivers who seem to be visually impaired themselves. They don't seem to see that person stepping off the curb in front of them, going with the green light. I wonder if Mr. Markey has any idea of what an act of courage it can take to step out onto the street knowing that you might well be stepping out in front of an oncoming car, no matter how carefully you have listened to the sound of the traffic. Bottom line? The best you can do so many times is trust your safety to others, because you can not see the world through your sense of sound. I wonder, would Mr. Markey be content to "see" a busy street he wanted to cross with only his sense of sound?
I have also been there at the CNIB after a particular student had missed several classes to see him finally return to the group. He came with an explanation of how he had been hit at an intersection by someone who knocked him down, and drove away without even stopping. At least, he thinks they did not stop. Maybe he just wasn't using his sense of sound and touch carefully enough. Maybe the driver did stop long enough to see if he was OK, before they took off. What do you think, Markey? If this person "saw"the hit-and-run driver had at least stopped for a minute, would that have made him feel better? He really should make sure he "sees" more carefully next time, don't you think? After all, his visual cortex has all that magic rewiring.
Last winter, one of the students made it to a class on a day when the winter weather kept several of the others at home. At the next class, however, he told us about his mishap on the way home that day. He was using his white cane to feel his way along the walk, but the snow and winter conditions can interfere with the efficacy of the canes. He didn't detect the patch of ice in front of him until he stepped onto it and fell. At that point, he lost hold of his cane. His dark glasses came off, too, sliding away from him across the icy patch. This all happened on Bayview Avenue, out in front of the CNIB. Anyone familiar with Toronto knows that it is a busy stretch of road. When this incident occurred, it was twelve noon, a busy time of day.
After he fell, this individual stayed down on the ice for a moment or two assessing his bumps and bruises, before he got to his hands and knees. He felt about for his cane and glasses. Neither one was close to hand. He crawled further, hoping to find them still on the sidewalk, because if they had slid onto the street, they were as good as lost to him. He could not dare to step out onto the street to feel about for them there. After some searching he found his cane, a short distance away from where he landed. He could not find his glasses. He got to his feet and swept the sidewalk with his cane for some distance, both forward and backward from where he had landed. He could not locate them.
Those glasses may have been lying just off to the side, in the snow. If they were, they stayed there, because neither his sense of sound or touch allowed him to see them. Worse than the loss of his glasses, though, was the loss of his dignity and his feeling of value to the other members of his own species. This scene took some length of time to transpire. During that whole time, not one voice called out to him, "Do you need help?" I do not believe that the street and the sidewalk were both mysteriously empty for exactly the amount of time it took from his falling to his finally walking away.
Someone passed by. Either someone drove by or someone walked by. Perhaps even both. No-one offered any help. No-one. What do you think, Markey? Might that have been because they were telling themselves that load of shit that you wrote for the magazine?
I can just hear the conversation in a passing car."Look at the blind guy on his ass on the sidewalk, Martha. What a good thing he has his magic compensation package of heightened sensory perception to take care of everything. We don't need to stop and offer any help at all."
Lately the "Discover" magazine has taken to ending their current issue with a last page article titled "20 Things You Didn't Know About ---". Some of the little tidbits they present on the topic du jour can be quite interesting, but this month they have wandered off the beaten path and stepped in it up to their knickers, as far as I'm concerned.
The February 2007 issue ends with "20 Things You Didn't Know About Skin" and it's alright, until you get to item #13. "In blind people, the brain's visual cortex is rewired to respond to stimuli received through touch and hearing, so they literally "see" the world by touch and sound." That's the little pile of fresh horseshit that writer Sean Markey spread around on lucky #13.
For a long time, people have mouthed those words of folk wisdom, I think in some kind of feeling of needing to make it all better; needing to explain away the problems of blindness in such a way as to ease any and all guilt they might feel in not offering more help to the afflicted. Being struck with the loss of vision is a frightening prospect for anyone, but if we all pretend it comes along with some kind of magic compensation package, we can lessen the need for involvement; lessen the need to be anywhere near those living with this particular challenge. It seems to me to be a leftover from the days when fear of possible contagion led to waving a silver cross at anyone who could threaten our secure little world.
Markey should have done a whole lot more research before he penned that article. It is unacceptable in its proliferation of the myth that blindness comes with a magic heightening of the other senses in compensation for the loss of sight. Whatever "rewiring" might take place in the visual cortex, it does not allow the blind to see anything. When they feel something, they feel it. Period. They do not see the print on the page, or the colours in the photo through their fingertips. They do not see the colour of their loved ones' eyes, or the route number on the bus pulling into the station. How do you see the fiery splendour of a magnificent sunset by touch or sound, Mr. Markey?
The blind do not "see" through sound, either. I have walked a busy street in Toronto with clients of the CNIB who have to stop at every intersection and listen carefully for the sounds of traffic. I have heard them explain how they are taught to listen for the sound of the traffic moving in the same direction as they want to walk, before they step out. I have been right there and seen the hesitation while the light changed from red to green more than once before they felt they could cross. I have also seen the drivers who seem to be visually impaired themselves. They don't seem to see that person stepping off the curb in front of them, going with the green light. I wonder if Mr. Markey has any idea of what an act of courage it can take to step out onto the street knowing that you might well be stepping out in front of an oncoming car, no matter how carefully you have listened to the sound of the traffic. Bottom line? The best you can do so many times is trust your safety to others, because you can not see the world through your sense of sound. I wonder, would Mr. Markey be content to "see" a busy street he wanted to cross with only his sense of sound?
I have also been there at the CNIB after a particular student had missed several classes to see him finally return to the group. He came with an explanation of how he had been hit at an intersection by someone who knocked him down, and drove away without even stopping. At least, he thinks they did not stop. Maybe he just wasn't using his sense of sound and touch carefully enough. Maybe the driver did stop long enough to see if he was OK, before they took off. What do you think, Markey? If this person "saw"the hit-and-run driver had at least stopped for a minute, would that have made him feel better? He really should make sure he "sees" more carefully next time, don't you think? After all, his visual cortex has all that magic rewiring.
Last winter, one of the students made it to a class on a day when the winter weather kept several of the others at home. At the next class, however, he told us about his mishap on the way home that day. He was using his white cane to feel his way along the walk, but the snow and winter conditions can interfere with the efficacy of the canes. He didn't detect the patch of ice in front of him until he stepped onto it and fell. At that point, he lost hold of his cane. His dark glasses came off, too, sliding away from him across the icy patch. This all happened on Bayview Avenue, out in front of the CNIB. Anyone familiar with Toronto knows that it is a busy stretch of road. When this incident occurred, it was twelve noon, a busy time of day.
After he fell, this individual stayed down on the ice for a moment or two assessing his bumps and bruises, before he got to his hands and knees. He felt about for his cane and glasses. Neither one was close to hand. He crawled further, hoping to find them still on the sidewalk, because if they had slid onto the street, they were as good as lost to him. He could not dare to step out onto the street to feel about for them there. After some searching he found his cane, a short distance away from where he landed. He could not find his glasses. He got to his feet and swept the sidewalk with his cane for some distance, both forward and backward from where he had landed. He could not locate them.
Those glasses may have been lying just off to the side, in the snow. If they were, they stayed there, because neither his sense of sound or touch allowed him to see them. Worse than the loss of his glasses, though, was the loss of his dignity and his feeling of value to the other members of his own species. This scene took some length of time to transpire. During that whole time, not one voice called out to him, "Do you need help?" I do not believe that the street and the sidewalk were both mysteriously empty for exactly the amount of time it took from his falling to his finally walking away.
Someone passed by. Either someone drove by or someone walked by. Perhaps even both. No-one offered any help. No-one. What do you think, Markey? Might that have been because they were telling themselves that load of shit that you wrote for the magazine?
I can just hear the conversation in a passing car."Look at the blind guy on his ass on the sidewalk, Martha. What a good thing he has his magic compensation package of heightened sensory perception to take care of everything. We don't need to stop and offer any help at all."
1 Comments:
Excellent rant.
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