Re: Do the sighted have a good representation and perception of us?
This is a rather broad subject, though it does fit into the scope Ethin described above in post 2.
There are a bunch of other variables; sometimes friends and family will take it and spin it both ways because it's advantageous to a particular situation. An example would be if, say, you can demonstrate that you can ride a bike without crashing into obstacles. The people who see it will then turn around and tell their friends, "So-and-so can do anything and everything you can do, and in some cases they can do it even better!"
On the other hand, if you can equally demonstrate thereafter that there are things you cannot do, the disappointment is evident and can and does become a judgment hammer. "You're not pushing yourself hard enough! You're lazy! You're just wallowing is self-pity! You can do anything and everything I can do! What's that? You don't have a driver's license and you can't get one? That's no excuse!"
Then there's the other side of the coin. If first impressions showcase you as a useless imbecile, you'll more than likely forever remain that way. Go to a fancy dinner and have someone cut up your steak for ya? Ask them to even help you find your table? The chances of you being seen as an equall from there on out are rather slim, no matter what you demonstrate thereafter.
The bottom line is that there are people who do know how to deal with the fact that there are blind and VI people in this world, and there are a ton, perhaps the majority, who don't. It reminds me of a particular parragraph in DC Comics's The Never Ending Battle, where the Martian Manhunter shows up and one of the two agents he shows up to help suddenly turns blazing guns on him and shouts out, "But, he's green!" Respectfully but firmly, his superior turns to him and says, "That's right, and I'm black. And you're white-Hispanic! You gotta problem with any of that?"
Difference, by virtue of what it is, makes us all a little awkward at best, exceptionally violent at worst. It's one of the many flaws we have as humans and the reason we need to keep ourselves as well tempered, sighted or blind, black or white, male or female, etc etc, as we possibly can. People will always cast judgment; the privatization political correctness has brought about does not mean that people aren't judgmental anymore overall, but that they're not vocal about it. It also means that people are afraid to ask questions for fear of beeing seen as ignorant hatemongers. I'd like to think that humanity overall still possesses common sense, but all I need do to prove that this is a majorly false statement is look at the most recent lawsuits that have been filed, and lest you think it's only Americans doing it, let me quickly put your mind at ease on such matters and point out otherwise.
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