u/Formidable_Baboy

I don't believe that just because you had a bad day or are going through a hard life, you tee off on friends and family, or spouse and kids, because they're simply closest to you.

I believe people do so because they know the ones they do that too can't fire them, won't beat them, won't bully them hard, and have a soft spot for them.

I don't care what it is you're going through, you always had a choice. It's so much easier to take out your sorrow and anger on someone whose arms are open for you and vulnerable, than someone you know will not have mercy for you.

Yelling at them to inti idate them, saying things you know will hurt, and those who are flat out abusive do it because of entitlement.

When someone knows it's a bad idea to do or say certain things to someone else, they should know it's wrong to do it to people they love.

A person who goes home to scream at their spouse and pull out their insecurities against them, because their boss yelled at them, is weak and that was a choice.

I am a brain tumor survivor. I was hit by drunk driver and watched two people die, leaving me with PTSD. I live with chronic illness. I'm not saying my life is harder than others, but I am saying I was well aware I had a choice.

I isolated myself and at the bare minimum took out my anger and frustrations on people who truly accosted me be it at work and getting them fired. Even then it was fair.

I always felt my mom considered me an "achievement" rather than a person with my own mind and ambitions, outside of making her look like a saint.

She seemed to love exaggerating my condition until she completely convinced a bunch of idiots I'm blind. I could look right at them to talk and they'd still think I'm blind.

My Retinitis Pigmentosa advanced nowhere near that level yet and I could drive and everything.

It also didn't help that I am a brain tumor survivor and she told her Catholic church group how, "God blessed me with the cross to bear, a child with disability."

Lo and behold she was an abusive, narcissistic scumbag behind closed doors. Vicious bearings, humiliation including fat shaming, sexually degrading comments, and emotional abuse overall.

Worst of all she wouldnt acknowledge any of my achievements other than being disabled, minimizing them in front of others.

I was never what I was - a collegiate archer, marathon runner, ring fighter, or a regular human being.

I was a disability and not a person with a disability.

Hell, the best she did was try to make me play instruments when I hated it, just to pretend I'm Stevie Wonder.

I have the REI Variant of the Osborne 940 that I bought years ago. I love it, I call it my baby.

But I also saw the aluminum Osborne 940s. Then saw the $300 price tags. Up $60 from what I remember in 2014.

That said, why are the aluminums worth more?

As someone born with vision and losing it, people blind since birth can be the most condescending and least supportive people in the community.

You can talk about how much the emotional weight and practical struggles of blindness complicates your life, career, and relationships, and someone born blind who never went through those things/doesn't realize it, will gloss over your need for support.

You'd think that someone who has a similar condition as you could share wisdom and empathy but no, all you get is ignorance and even hostility about something you never said.

By all means, some of the most empathetic and competent people I have ever known were born blind. They'll tell you honestly that something like mental health struggles are often associated with blindness, born blind or not. And thus even refer you to ways you can seek help, specific to this matter.

But too often someone born blind can say, "why do you depend on sight so much when Handy Rides are free!?/ You can honestly just ask for a ride, what's the issue"

Do you not realize how unreliable Handy Rides and public transportation is in some areas, and jobs that required you to drive/specific roles you loved doing, are no longer accessible!?

Let's be real for a moment. If we took away your hearing, sense of touch, smell, or taste, you'd be struggling at least mentally to adapt.

I am well aware life can continue but it's pretty sad to see that your own community cannot offer you real solidarity. That I have to depend on those on the outside looking in, for primary support.

Blind and VI people, at least those with more significant vision loss, can and do experience larger levels of isolation and social ineptness. When you can't as easily go to social functions, be taken as seriously at work, or read something like body language and facial expressions - you do tend to act differently. Especially true if you never had those abilities.

Case in point, if we want to be taken seriously as a community, we really should learn how to act decently towards each other.