Racial Beliefs Affecting Blind People

Likewise, racial beliefs of other people immensely affect blind people’s racial beliefs despite their lack of vision. Those who influence blind people at a young age often can mold blind people’s perceptions of race. Rose Eveleth, a science journalist from New York University recognized by the “Best American Science Writing” awards, points out that blind people and sighted people alike mimic the racial beliefs of their parents or guardians. For example, Eveleth mentions a blind respondent who learned from his father to “identify black people by smell.” The father sculpted his son’s perception of race by instilling this idea that black people smell different from people of other races. Had the father not taught his son this notion, the son would …show more content…
Initially, this young blind girl had no prejudice or differential feelings towards people of other races, but once her father expressed his disapproval of her friendship with a black boy, she altered her tolerance of black people. Parents like the blind girl’s father can incite certain racial behaviors such as the girl’s discomfort around black people similarly to how parents impact nearly every belief their children grow to possess. To summarize why blind people embody the racial perceptions of their sighted counterparts as discussed by Eveleth and Professor Obasogie, Leu bluntly asserts that blind people “live in a culture of sighted people.” Researchers of the blind reported that friends and family members of blind people “starkly… drew racial boundaries” in order to “teach [the blind people] about the world” (Leu). When surrounded by the opinions of sighted people who feel responsible for educating them about the world, blind people fall susceptible to the racial boundaries their sighted companions impress upon …show more content…
Kat Chow, a member of the National Public Radio’s award winning team “Code Switch” that covers race and culture, covered how blind people perceive race. She recounted how a blind white man admitted to breaking up with his girlfriend when he discovered that she is black. When inquired as to why, the blind man justified that “it would not have worked” because in the South, society would denounce a white man “involved” with a black woman (Chow). Before the man realized the black woman’s race, he dated her without hesitancy, yet he exhibited racist qualities by severing ties with her when he recognized her race. Even without the visual distinction of components of race, the man acknowledges racist ideology and conforms to the old-fashioned stereotype that interracial relationships deviate from social standards. Furthermore, Professor Obasogie records how blind people “actively sought” intuition of what race other people are. One blind woman claims that awareness of another person’s race serves as useful advantageous alertness of how to conduct interactions with others. She asserts that knowing one’s race prevents her from “[saying] a stupid thing” that could insult minorities (Obasogie, “Do Blind”). This blind woman seeks insight of other people’s races because she finds it necessary to filter her speech to correspond to the race of surrounding people. So, if she

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