On a group tour we stop at a highway rest stop. In the lobby there’s an Albino man playing guitar and singing. On a mat behind the plants are the kids and sitting next to the kids was the wife. The music sounded alright.
The man was wearing the disability ID card the allows you to sell or solicit.
I asked one of our traveling companions, if this disability is just aesthetic or is there something mentally wrong with them. (I myself am at the high end of the developmentally delayed spectrum with LD etc…)
And the companions shot out this phrase… “… don’t have to look at them…”
It was said low, quickly and under the breath.
In this situation, It’s best to drop subject and go on to other things.
So, how much is a of a disability is albinoism?
if they are of normal intellect should I be working and given opportunies? Is there really a hostile attitude towards people like that?
please give actual information and it’s not just speculation if you’re able to.
I saw a few and mistook them for a foreigner (I thought they were Norwegian or something), they appear to be offended at that.
I think there may be a lot of discrimination against them.
I feel like it’s relatively common here, or is that just me.
I’ll be no wiser . Never seen anyone.
it could be server nystagmus or amblyopia.
Their vision is often affected and they need to avoid the sun all the time.
I was startled by that comment my fellow traveler gave.
I’ve seen quite a few over the years in passing…
Need more info on their status, and in the age of social media, their side and what they are writing on their version of Forumosa.
Are they this family?
https://www.nextmag.com.tw/realtimenews/news/299126
was the comment because they were albino? Or would it be the same if they were with a different disability?
Some news on albino people in Taiwan
https://www.govserv.org/TW/Taoyüan/291633447602099/臺灣白化症者關懷協會
Albino children in Africa often get kidnapped for supposed supernatural powers in their blood. I thought they liked white skin in Taiwan anyway the irony ! In Taiwan you’d think they’d be revered , he probably makes decent money at the rest stop, people are pretty generous here with street performers if you’re fairly good at it. They make more here than in somewhere like England.
i’ve seen a lot too. taiwanese talk like white skin and light hair is the best thing since sliced bread. so they kind of suck if they look down on albinos, they should be mega popular by their own beauty standards.
i think its about jealously. albinos have a legitimate reason to cover their skin from the sun unlike the taiwanese embarrassingly wearing jackets anytime its a tiny bit sunny.
Aren’t most Taiwanese like this?
I can’t say I have seen a lot of albinism here. Maybe just one albino person in recent memory. But I imagine they don’t get out much in the summertime.
Answering OP’s question
According to Siyakha Consultings Executive Director, Dionne Kerr:
Persons with Albinism are usually as healthy as the rest of the population, with growth and development occurring as normal, but can be classified as disabled because of the associated visual impairments.
A lack of pigment in the eyes results in problems with vision, which can be associated with a number of visual defects.
Yes, yes they are. Thanks for the article. Google seems to have done a decent enough job translating. A lot of information…
Indeed. This person is probably partially blind, hence got the disability card.
I had a classmate at Shida who was a “mixed” kid, foreigner father, local mother, raised in US. She was blond and blue eyed with Asian features. I thought she looked gorgeous but the poor thing had been so run down that she literally “did not know what she was”. Yes, she used “what”, not “who”. I guess people in both sides stared at her and probably got not so nice comments, probably even bullied. Not a nice way to be different here and there. Sigh.
I knew an Albino.lady here , she worked in an underground shopping mall near Taipei main. She had plenty of female friends and was doing fine. She was looking but was unsuccessful.in finding a boyfriend though.
I seem to recall the Taiwanese traditionally have some kind of negative superstition about them (shocking stuff eh). I’ll check my sources
They get skin cancer easily so it’s difficult for them here in the strong sunshine.
Kind of girl that when I was a young man I’d have fallen in love with and wanted to.protect her…
If she went back to the States I’m.sure her confidence would of gone through the roof.
I don’t get it, females here often dye their hair blonde and it attracts guys but she has blonde hair with Asian features and they weren’t attracted ?