Chinese Olympics training manual maybe not the most sensitive thing ever written

June 2nd, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

That would be your cousin’s poetry. That is the most sensitive thing ever written. The Chinese Olympics manual for dealing with blind tourists? It’s a close second (via SbB):

To handle the “Optically Disabled,” the guide said: “Often the optically disabled are introverted. They have deep and implicit feelings and seldom show strong emotions. … Remember, when you communicate with optically disabled people, try not to use the world ‘blind’ when you meet for the first time.”

Sound advice. I heard (because I’m not “sonically disabled”) that blind people absolutely hate being reminded they’re blind, especially every single morning when they open their eyes. Also, yes, blind people are not animals. They have feelings too.

On the “Physically Disabled,” the guide said: “Physically disabled people are often mentally healthy. They show no differences in sensation, reaction, memorization and thinking mechanisms from other people, but they might have unusual personalities because of disfigurement and disability. For example, some physically disabled are isolated, unsocial and introspective; they usually do not volunteer to contact people. They can be stubborn and controlling; they may be sensitive and struggle with trust issues. Sometimes they are overly protective of themselves, especially when they are called ‘crippled’ or ‘paralyzed.”

I appreciate the attempt here, but I think those last two sentences are from the wrong book. Because that — unsocial, unusual, isolated, introspective, stubborn — was clearly written about bloggers.