an activist who is blind

[sammason]

Lots of news coverage about Chen Guangcheng this week. He keeps being referred to as a 'blind Chinese activist'. This is one version of Chen's story, presenting his disability as the driving force behind his political work.

Comments

[nightengalesknd]

This one has been nagging at me so thank you for posting the link. I saw headlines describing Chen as a blind Chinese activist for days before I saw one that told me his actual name.

It makes me feel marginally better that Chen himself describes his blindness as a factor in his activisim. But only marginally. They wouldn't say "male activist," would they? And I think one reason so much was made of it is because there was still this underlying shock factor that a blind person could escape the way he did. And even in the article you link, phrases like "blind justice" don't really add anything besides othering and sensasionalism.

If you haven't seen them, this is William Peace's take over at Bad Cripple and Stephen Kuusisto's over at Planet of the Blind

[sammason]

Those are v interesting links. I'm glad that I'm not the only person irritated by the constant focus on Chen's disability rather than on his political work.

Nothing seems to be getting said about his wife, either, except that she reads to him. Not even her name gets a mention, nor whether she's safe in China now that her husband has gone, not whether she's an activist in her own right. It's as though a woman whose husband is disabled is assumed to be just his helpmeet.

Otoh if being disabled is one way to get heard, that's not entirely a bad thing is it?