Why I am Coming Out!

Yes, I am coming out! I am coming out about being a blind, independent woman! I am coming out as someone who is not scared or embarrassed of her blindness, but rather who is proud of the identity that being blind brings along with it.
There is a huge connection between coming out campaigns of the LGBT community and the blindness community. Both communities are struggling for equality in terms of housing, legal rights and social acceptance. Both parties are looked down upon and seen an inferior.
There is research done that 60% of Americans fear blindness over death! This is due to the lack of understanding about what blindness really is. However, it does not have to be a handicap. With the proper skills and training, a blind person can do anything that they want. I personally know blind lawyers, dancers, artists, parents and people whom I truly admire. The LGBT community is also hindered by misperceptions that often lead to acts of violence. Yet both communities are often strugglling for the same things.
One aspect of coming out is about self-acceptance. If you cannot accept your identity, you may find it hard to accept others. I often find that the people who look the most down upon the blind are those who have not yet come out themselves about being blind. Which I think can also be attributed to the gay community.
However coming out is also about the larger community. When the LGBT community was trying to gain acceptance, they urged the closeted community to come out. They wanted the world to see that people who associated themselves with LGBT were everywhere; they were your teachers, your friends and your family. I would say that the same is true about the blind. There are so many closeted blind. They may have some partial vision and they live trying to convince everyone around them that they are in fact not blind and thus normal. I heard a quote when speaking about these people that states, "you can either choose to be a clumsy sighted person, or a respectable dignified blind person," and the choice is yours. I know what it was like to like in the closet. Until a couple of years ago I lived without the proper skills to live as a blind person. If you were to see me, you might not notice, but I sure did. I never went someplace by myself, I was constantly in fear of being in a situation where I could not see something or where I would be left alone. I would say that more people equals more power. When the LGBT community was able to convince others to come out, they were able to pass legislation and become a bit more accepted, even though their fight is far from over. The same is true of the blind community. Through organizations like the National Federation of the Blind, the blind were able to collectivly come together and are doing great things to continue the achievement of the blind. However, the more people come out (this can be in the form of allies) the more power that these groups can have.
Coming out is not only for personal achievement, but also as in the LGBT community, to help those who need to come out themselves. This was made very clear to me a couple of days ago. I was sitting in my dining room table working on Braille when I got a call. It was from my dear friend from college. She knew me when I was not yet out and I have shared my experience of accepting blindness with her. She told me how she knew a young girl (well about 18 years old) whom had just gone legally blind. She was totally desperate, depressed and thought that her life was over. This happens to many people who believe that they will never be able to accomplish what they had set out to do in their lives. Yet my friend was able to offer her hope. She told her my story and how I am still in school getting a masters and moving on with my life. The mother was very moved and in tears. We are going to connect and I know that she can still continue to do whatever it is that she dreamed of. That made me think, what if I had not come out? This connectin might have not been made and this teenager would continue to be lost. So I thank the blind role models that I have had, for making the hard decision to come out and thus lead by example.
So I urge all of you to come out! It may not be about blindness or about LGBT issues, but it may just be about being you! Or you can be an ally, everyone needs your support even if you do not share the same conditions. Coming out is not just about your self-acceptance, but about changing other peoples lives who may find themselves in desperate situations thinking that they are all alone, when in fact they are not. I have been very impressed with the "It gets better" campaign, so I say, if you are blind, it gets better, but you have to make the first step to come out!