Just laughed at a disability. Thought it would never happen .

[KissWithAFistula]

Watching darts on TV and is sponsored by PaddyPower. They have a little ad at beginning showing footballers running around with cotton wool type blindfolds on.

PC me scoffed at the wrongness of taking the piss out of disability, to be told that in actual fact blind people do play football. In addition, they all have to wear blindfolds to ensure there are no "ringers".

I laughed at the thought of blindfolded men running into one another whilst pretending to be blind. Not worst thing that could happen but have always believed that you shouldn't be automatically precluded from anything if disabled.

Thought I would be beyond the snigger type humour that disabilities can cause, but obviously I'm not.

So am I unreasonable to have a knee jerk reaction that is innapropriate and out of character, or does everyone secretly laugh at such things?

DISCLAIMER: Can't say IABU for watching darts, 'tis DH not I

"A blind person would be more likely to be able to pinpoint location accurately using sound than a sighted person, just because they are used to using hearing for that purpose whereas a sighted person would use their eyes."

Right, but - a goalpost doesn't make a sound. I am very intrigued about this.

I am not intrigued that goalposts don't make noise, obviously.

But how someone running fulltilt doesn't run into one.

......or how they know where to aim- maybe their own goaley directs them........

Oooh, are the goalies allowed to shout encouragement then?

Left...further left...a bit forward...now KICK!

I used to work in a hotel that catered for the 'blind bikers'(these are bikers that ride pillion competitively) well the hotel was in the middle of nowhere,you never saw a taxi and I had to rely on lifts home or face a 4 mile walk or cycle ride......well one evening I rang dh and said 'dont worry about collecting me one of the blind bikers will run me home'.

A little while later I got a call back-'errrr Nickschick how can a blindbiker drive you home?'.

Obviously I meant a sighted member of the blind bikers .

Well, it's not practical to ask every blind person in the country which is why we run such things past organisations that act on their behalf. We do exactly the same for any other disability, particularly as midgets/dwarves are popular with advertisers, and occasionally for some treatments involving the very old.

haha I haven't seen the advert, but if I've read correctly there's blind people playing footie with blindfold's on (so all equal! haha) the ball has a bell in it then a cat with a bell collar strolls onto the pitch......I just told my 9 year old son who's blind and he laughed....we've done something right, we're a family who have no problems laughing at ourselves, I don't see anything wrong with that advert or laughing at it.

slight off topic - but my Uncle used to play bowls - he was blind

\link{\the ad} for anyone that wants to see it.

\link{http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10709417\and a BBC article about the ad not being banned despite complaints}