New York Politicos (left to right) Sheldon Silver, Charlie Rangel, Hillary Clinton, David Paterson and Chuck Schumer at the DNC in Denver.
On Saturday night SNL made a hugely tasteless error: they portrayed Governor David Paterson (NY) who is legally blind (and African American) as a befuddled immoral fool.
Not only can this be further from the truth, it was in very bad taste. Can you ’speed hear’? Paterson can. What sounds like Minnie Mouse to us is slowed down by Paterson’s practiced ear to normal speed. That’s how he pours through the volumes of material he must digest each day. And he memorizes all his speeches since he can not use a prompter. What politician does that?
To suggest as SNL did that blindness equals incompetency is mind boggling in this day and age.
From Marketwatch: “Governor Paterson, who has had an impressive academic and political career, is known as a witty politician who brings people together. He has accomplished many firsts in his life, becoming the first non-white New York State Senate legislative leader in 2003, the first visually impaired person to address the Democratic National Convention, and the first African American Governor of New York. As a legally blind public figure, Governor Paterson has challenged public perceptions about what it means to have a disability and shown the world that people with vision loss can be great political leaders.
“Governor Paterson, who was unexpectedly called on to fill the role of Governor last spring, has proven to be an accomplished political leader who is respected and liked by New Yorkers,” said Carl R. Augusto, President & CEO of AFB.”
Augusto is himself a very accomplished man who happens to be blind. He is much revered in the areas concerned with vision loss.
Marketwatch goes on: “The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB’s priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. AFB is also proud to house the Helen Keller Archives and honor the over forty years that Helen Keller worked tirelessly with AFB. For more information visit us online at www.afb.org.”
People often equate blindness with Helen Keller. She is part of the brand. As are Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. However, relatively few people are 100% blind; for most it is a matter of degrees of loss. And seriously debilitating vision loss is becoming more and more prevalent as we have a larger aging population.
Most people with vision loss are as competent as the general population; it may only be their vision loss that makes them different from you and me.
In fact, there is every reason to believe we’ll all know people – from all walks of life – in the future who can’t get around due to vision loss. That’s something to bear in mind.
