The colors...the colors..oh never mind

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Here’s a head scratcher. I was recently at a party with a pretty eclectic mix of people. Lots of people I didn’t know. I was talking to a buddy when I caught the annoying whiff of someone’s cigarette just a couple of feet from my head. I turn to give one of those, “can you get that obnoxious thing away from me looks,” when I noticed this person was blind. I was sort of stunned and dumbfounded.

Not that it is that shocking, but my feeble mind had never put those two images together before. I thought to myself why would a blind person smoke? Just the logistical issues, it would seem, would make it more trouble than it is worth. And how did this person get started? How did the cigarette people market to this person? All these questions…

This is where the real mind cramp was born. I mentioned it to my buddy and he told me that not only does this guy smoke he does all kinds of drugs…INCLUDING HALLUCINOGENICS on a regular basis. A blind person doing acid… This still boggles my mind.

Unfortunately before I could probe into this further, the blind guy left. All my questions about why he takes them, what its like for a blind person, how he got started, all remain unanswered.

Maybe it’s just my lack of exposure to the blind. I mean they’re just regular people, like the rest of us, who just happen to not be able to see…right?
:confused:

2

Yes, you’re right, blind people are just people who can’t see, not aliens, or freaks, or anything else. However, I’d be curious to know if he was born blind or not, and what exactly he gets out of the hallucinogens…

3

Yes we are all just people, all with different types of personal limitations. And maybe I’m ignorant, but I always figured being blind meant a whole additional set of “life rules” would apply.

And yes, this person was blind from birth.

4

Hallucinations are not necessarily visual. You can experience auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell) and touch hallucinations too. But I think the thing about LSD and other hallucinogens is that they not only produce hallucinations but also simply alter the mindstate - that is, they can bring about a sense of tremendous wellbeing, or fear, or excitement, or whatever. You don’t need to see to be in an altered state of mind.

5

Whaddya mean, “why would a blind person smoke”? The sensation is in the taste; you don’t need sight. As for the “logistical issues”, if you mean finding the ashtray, they know how to “see” with their fingers. Marketing? Who says they got started because of advertising?

This just seems like a very odd question, and one which says more about you than the blind person.