Re:People with blindness can read again after retinal implant
by squigz on Sunday October 26, 2025 @12:54AM
(#45709250)
The idea of replacing "blind people" with "people with blindness" has absolutely nothing to do with the idea that "blind" is negative - if it did, I suspect proponents would, you know, not use the word blind!
The actual reasoning is putting the people first, not their disability.
The (foolish) idea was that the word "blind" has a negative charge, so if we replace it with another word the stigma will go away, and blind people can feel better.
But of course, any stigma comes from the blindness itself. Any replacement term will get the same stigma, and will then need to be replaced.
Stephen Pinker called it "The Euphemism Treadmill" in 1994, and that term has never been replaced: https://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/1994_04_03_newyo...