Following my earlier post, I realised that I hadn’t fully made my point and wanted to finish it. Sight, with its ability to see faces, might provide ways in to a more connected experience of neighbourhood and community than blindness. As people walk about the streets, nodding or smiling in acknowledgement of each other as they pass. Without being able to see people’s faces, to see them making such non-verbal acknowledgement of my existence, I find walking around the streets of my neighbourhood an isolating experience, passing countless people in complete silence and at most moving out of each other’s way (other than those who know me). This is far more so for me in the city where there are people who won’t speak to each other, than in the countryside where I might encounter nobody. I noticed people actually speaking to each other on the streets during lockdown – just saying ‘HI/Alright’ and hoped that the pr...
I live in a neighbourhood that prides itself for being sociable and inclusive. Despite this, my experience is that most of us go about our business without greeting each other when passing on the streets. I don’t know this to be wholly true of course as it may be that sighted people will typically acknowledge each other with a nod or smile, but the only way that I can do it is through spoken greetings. Perhaps because I feel less self-conscious about speaking to strangers in the mornings when there are fewer people about, or because there’s something particular about the start of the day that connects with my desire for expansiveness, I tend to use morning walks for saying good morning when I come upon another pedestrian. I’ve sometimes tried it later in the day, (not saying ‘good morning’) but it never feels as easy. I am clear not to break my step or suggest that I want any prolonged contact, It is merely a fleeting acknowledgement that we ar...
I’m struck by how much the lockdown and social distancing is impacting on me and like most people, it’s become a bit of a preoccupation. An earlier post, which started to raise the question of how important it is to be able to see people in order to have an authentic conversation with them , triggered some interesting conversations. The post related specifically to the current use of video conferencing/’chat’ platforms for meetings and social gatherings, but it has raised important questions (for me at least) about the apparent general acceptance of the supremacy of video over audio. It feels a bit strange hearing these arguments for video when it was only until relatively recently that we managed perfectly well conducting (or supporting) everything from our friendships and closest relationships, to highly detailed work, to crisis interventions and suicide prevention on the (audio only) phone. The writer and journalist Malcolm Gla...
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