“The blind leading the blind” is a fairly familiar phrase. Generally speaking, it refers to someone who doesn’t know where they are going and leading or guiding someone else who is similarly affected. It really doesn’t have anything to do with being without physical sight.
However, when I came across the phrase the other day, I was reminded of my friend, Amy. Amy was also visually impaired and we often spoke together of our sight challenges. We attended the same church, and often after a service or a meeting, Amy would take my arm and I would escort her the short distance to her home. In actual fact, we did this because Amy had limited mobility, but Amy also saw the funny side of the situation. She nearly always made some comment about the “blind leading the blind”.
Then there was the case of Bert. Bert was totally without sight but was very confident in his use of his white cane. Once I walked with Bert as he directed me around light posts, fire hydrants, and other permanent obstacles on our way to his favourite restaurant. We must have made quite a sight as we lurched along the sidewalk both tapping away with our white canes. It was a case of the “blind leading the partially sighted”.
“The blind leading the blind” has come into our vernacular to refer to things that really don’t have anything to do with physical sight or lack of sight. Ahh, yes! There are many little sayings that fall into this category. How many can you think of? Are there terms that you find offensive? I’m going to think about this issue myself and perhaps I will tackle it in a future post. I’m glad that generally speaking we are all becoming more sensitive to those of us who are “differently abled”.
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