Today I will be speaking to people with disabilities here in Uzbekistan at an event sponsored by the US Embassy. I’ve been thinking about one of the global dynamics of disability–the averted eye and whispering associated with physical difference. In many parts of the world blindness is still imagined to be caused by spiritual forces or worse, is thought to be a product of sorcery. At home in the United States I’ve had people block my way on the street and insist on praying for me. Sometimes I let them do it, sometimes I don’t.
As time goes by and my travels accrue I see the solution–the response–has to do with lingo. You can’t be put in a closet if you are singing.
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Planet of the Blind 