#vision stuff

(Seriously. Look at posts about disabilities and count how many times you see blind people. Bonus points for low vision, because we don't exist apparently, and vision is either all or nothing. People couldn't even name BLIND PEOPLE, who the thing was INVENTED FOR, when listing people who were likely to use screen readers. SCREEN READERS. (Unsurprisingly, visually impaired people were not mentioned either.)

Maybe it wouldn't tick me off so much if people didn't mock others for using light mode. (White text on black is NOT the most accessible for everyone; people with astigmatism and probably some other conditions can get a halo effect which can make it harder and even uncomfortable to read.)

Maybe it wouldn't tick me off so much if people online didn't mock people, especially older people (guess what, your vision deteriorates as you age), for having big text on their phones.

Maybe if the various types of white canes were included in mobility aid posts.

I don't know why it ticks me off so much. By definition, if someone's vision is normal with proper correction, they don't even HAVE a disability... and I think more people need to realise that glasses do NOT fix everyone's vision... with the strongest prescription, my corrected vision is only 6/38.

I can’t exactly explain why, but it always makes me uncomfortable when abled people use disabled people achieving goals (winning sports tournaments, awards etc) as inspirational/motivational stories. It’s often followed with something like “See! Look at that disabled person! They can achieve their goals even though they’re at such a huge disadvantage. Don’t you feel inspired?”. It always makes me feel wrong.

I don’t want to be another story about someone overcoming insane odds. I don’t want to want to be a face on your motivational poster. I don’t want to be your hero, your inspiration. I don’t want to be made into your example.

Also apparently the esotropia got worse because my eyes just decided "screw this" and got tired of correcting it because it was too much work, which. Mood

She's referring me to a strabismologist to discuss surgery, because I'm leery about the idea of someone operating on my eye and wanted to actually talk about it with someone first.

I mean, I love you, but also fuck you XD my brother included in this. Hows it gonna be that our mom and dad both have vision problems, and I'm nearly blind, and he has perfect vision? Now that I think about it, my half-brother is the same. WHY AM I THE ONLY HARD OF SEEING SIBLING?

Izzy: you’ve been in the mostly-dark apartment since Friday! Time to let some sun in!

Me:

Izzy: I helped!

VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHARACTER OF THE DAY:

Duncan, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

[Image: An older man in the garb of the dark ages, with a stick, and a bandage over his eyes.]

(link to the wiki article)

My friend said it was used as a code or something in a Pokemon game and I just

(Myopia is nearsightedness, I'm just pretentious and find nearsighted vs farsighted harder to keep track of than myopia vs hyperopia)

I always get frustrated with those articles that are like "myopia epidemic! Screens are bad!!" Because like, what exactly do they want us to do about that? Everything requires you to use digital technology now - School, finding a job, doing your job, often. And people also need social interaction and entertainment, and especially now those are also done with a screen.

It would be one thing if they were actually recommending some sort of societal change, but often I finish articles like that feeling like I've been reprimanded for something I can't change. And that's never a fun feeling

Not to mention the fact that myopia risk is also increased by lack of sunlight and higher levels of fluorescent lighting, so the myopia epidemic also has something to do with the amount of time children spend in schools and the amount of time they spend doing homework and fixing that involves evaluating how we think about education, and also capitalism and its role in both education and whether or not people can spend time playing outside.  but somehow that never comes up.

I also get irritated on a more personal level because like, I needed glasses by the time I was six if not sooner, and I definitely played outside a lot as a kid and I don't think I used a screen as often as I do now, but I still need glasses and am at -6.5 in one eye, -5 in the other! So it's possible to do everything right and still end up with crappy eyes.

Plus the fact that my strabismus means I get double vision looking at things far away, and therefore screens and close work are my best option for relaxing and spending time outside, while nice, is more exhausting for my eyes. And I know that wasn’t caused by screen use, though what it was caused by is unclear (possibly a concussion when I was two? Or the fact that I had a traumatic birth? Or bad luck?)