Re: being asked questions out of the blue

September 27, 2004

We have a similar triple whammy at our house. One son has no legs but uses

prosthetics and gets around WELL. Then there is th visually impaired son who

has dancign eyes, and the daughter, of course, who is a dwarf. We get

questions....AND stares. ITs not the questiosn I midn because i look at it as a

multi opportunity to educate thsoe who have no clue. Its the STARES that upset

me. Ive coem to know the difference in those who apporach us with what is

pure curiosity with no care attatched....nosiness...and those who are interested

and react accordingly.

Apryl

September 28, 2004

I know where you're coming from, I also get ppl asking me stuff with

out saying hello how are you, usally its on messenger. I'll get

things like " how tall are you? " , " are you a midget? " , " whats your

disability? " or " are you a para? " without any greeting or

introduction, I think its plain rude.

Yes ppl are curious and thats fine and I do not mind letting ppl know

about me and why, but to come off like that and having no manners,

there's no excuse, they think bc they are on the PC its ok. I usally

comeback and either say " well gee thank you! I am fine, thanks for

asking and u? (real sacarstic) " or say " Nice way to start a

conversation " Or I say " well how would u feel if someone came up to

you on the street and asked how much you weighed right of the bat? "

usally they say sorry and so on, sometimes they call me an angry m***

and I'll tell em, well rude ppl make me angry lol, or they just won't

respond at all.

Most ppl are ok, and ask me if its ok to ask me a few questions, and

i have no problem with that, unless they get too personal (again back

to the can u have sex/are u a virgin), thats really not a stranger's

business. I would NEVER ask anyone that.

Like I always say, you get what you give, and if you're going to be

rude to me, expect it back. I deserve to be treated like a PERSON.

Bon

> I'd better jump on this thread before it either dies out or is

ordered to

> end by the moderators. No, it is not Sabrena, but her boyfriend

Chris.

> Although I'm an average-sized person,I am blind, so I will run

into the

> occasional person who'll start asking questions about my blindness

or how I

> do this or that. No introduction, no polite pleasantries, just

questions. I

> really can see this from both sides, so am not sure exactly how to

act

> sometimes. Guess it depends on the other person's approach and what

I can

> get from the tone of voice and all.

> On the one hand, I understand people are very curious about people

unlike

> themselves, such as anyone with a disability. I try to answer

honestly as I

> can, as long as the questions are reasonable ones.

> But on the other hand, it bothers me that people are so curious

they forget

> to introduce themselves or who want to know about things other than

my

> blindness. Yes, some people can be too personal with their

questions and I

> suppose all you can do is tell them you're sorry but that info is

> classified or something similar. I guess I'm lucky in that people

haven't

> started asking me questions about my bathroom habits or how or

whether I

> have sex, as if I do it in some totally alien way. Hahahahahaha!

But maybe

> my memory's faulty and somebody did and I just let the incident

pass. Oh

> well.

>

> Chris

September 28, 2004

This really drives me up a wall. Do we not deserve our privacy? We are

not public property. I swear the next time someone comes up and asks

me, " how old are you?, What's your name?, etc. " I'm going to say, " if

you go ask that 6 ft tall guy over there first these same questions and

if he answers you, I'll tell you what you want to know. "

If they're not willing to walk up to a " normal " total stranger and do

this, I'll explain to them how rude and invasive such questions are.

-marty (the lady one)

>>> " Bonnie " <oichick621@...> 09/28/04 04:22PM >>>