Comment on Helen Keller's view that a blind man is neither a genius nor a freak nor an idiot.

Helen Keller was just like anyone else.  The fact that she was blind and deaf did not make her less of a person, and it certainly did not make her an idiot.  This quote is Helen Keller's commentary on how people perceive the blind inaccurately.

For the first part of the statement, just being able to get around in the world on the same level or a similar level to everyone else does not automatically make you a genius.  This is a frustration with the idea that we should make accommodations for people with disabilities to the point where we do not treat them like everyone else.  You can be intelligent or not intelligent, and it has nothing to do with your sight.

For the second part of the statement, a blind person is not a freak because we should not stare at or be fascinated with a blind person because he or she is different.  This person is just managing the world differently, but going through life on his or her own terms.  The fact that the person is blind is just one aspect of the person.  The person is still a human being and wants to be treated and interacted with just like everyone else.

Finally, blind people do experience the world differently.  A blind person probably wants to be independent, but the world is set up for the seeing.  Sometimes a person might need help finding something or doing something if the right accommodations are not available.  This does not make the person dumb. For example, in her autobiography The Story of My Life, Helen Keller describes how she had to fight to get into college, but once there many of her books were not available in braille and so she had to have someone spell them into her hand.  This made things take much longer for her.

Very few of the books required in the various courses are printed for the blind, and I am obliged to have them spelled into my hand. Consequently I need more time to prepare my lessons than other girls. The manual part takes longer, and I have perplexities which they have not.  (Ch. 20) 

The fact that Helen Keller took longer to learn her lessons or read her books because they had to be spelled into her hand does not make her less intelligent.  It was a limit of accessibility, just like the lectures that had to be spelled into her hand.  Despite this, Helen Keller was still able to attend college and take a variety of subjects.