What Is "Deaf Culture"?

[rknapp]

Recently I've found a great desire to learn American Sign Language (ASL), or more appropriately Conversational Sign language (CS). My reasons for this are irrelevant, but there is a passage in the book that I am using that I found very interesting. It goes like this:

 

What Is "Deaf Culture"?

 

Many deaf people are proud to be deaf, and they wouldn't want to be hearing. Hearing people may be amazed that some people prefer to be deaf. They may wonder: Why wouldn't all deaf people rather be hearing if given the chance? As hard as it is for hearing people to believe, many deaf people consider themselves lucky because of the enriching and rewarding experiences unique to Deaf culture.

 

The interesting thing here is that if you replace "deaf" with "gay" and "hearing" with "straight" and "Deaf culture" with either "Gay culture" or "the gay community" it states the same thing!

 

There is a second passage below that one that states:

 

There is a common sense of pride among many deaf people. There exists a rich heritage within the Deaf culture that recognizes its ability to overcome adversity as individuals and as a group. The Deaf culture has its own values, rules of behavior, stories, art, and traditions.

Again, the same rule applies as before.

 

I thought that this was very nifty! I would even hazard a guess that many minorities can say the same thing simply by changing those key descriptive words around. Africans, Hispanics, Asians, etc.

 

One thing that really pissed me off while reading the book is what the author (mother-daughter team where the mother is deaf and the daughter is hearing) said that hearing people do all to often. When they're in a super market and someone asks them politely to move aside, she obviously cannot hear them. It often gets to the point where the other person gets angry and shoves her aside -- what the hell happened to tapping someone on the shoulder to get their friggin attention?? I may not be deaf, but I do zone out a lot, so sometimes people need to shout to get my attention, but hearing about this kind of crap just really [Peter Griffon]grinds my gears.[/Peter Griffon]

 

 

 

At any rate, it's been fun learning this unique language and I'm looking forward to practicing using in a couple of months.

[Masked Monkey]

At any rate, it's been fun learning this unique language and I'm looking forward to practicing using in a couple of months.

 

Mhh, say in August?

 

:king: Dr. Mr. Snow Dog

[Tiger]

That's interesting, Robbie. I think we must remember that there is a growing sense of community and pride among all minority groups. This sense of belong makes people stronger and increases self-worth. Thus, being a minority can be a blessing no matter the reason a person is a minority.

[AFriendlyFace]

There are ALOT of parallels between deaf culture and gay culture! Not to mention somewhat analogous histories and perspectives. My best friend is an interpreter for the deaf (and gay, but not himself deaf), and so I've had this conversation ALOT. I'll probably chime in with more later, but I actually have too much to say on the matter and too little time right now to do it.

 

Incidentally, while I don't have concrete statistics and also while the people who have given me this information have themselves either been gay, deaf, or gay & deaf, it seems that there's a much higher incidence (proportionally) of homosexuality in the deaf community. I personally know 6 deaf gay males and a deaf lesbian, in real life, and then several more deaf gay boys online!

 

Good subject, Robbie

-Kevin

Edited June 16, 2008 by AFriendlyFace

[rknapp]

There are ALOT of parallels between deaf culture and gay culture! Not to mention somewhat analogous histories and perspectives. My best friend is an interpreter for the deaf (and gay, but not himself deaf), and so I've had this conversation ALOT. I'll probably chime in with more later, but I actually have too much to say on the matter and too little time right now to do it.

 

Incidentally, while I don't have concrete statistics and also while the people who have given me this information have themselves either been gay, deaf, or gay & deaf, it seems that there's a much higher incidence (proportionally) of homosexuality in the deaf community. I personally know 6 deaf gay males and a deaf lesbian, in real life, and then several more deaf gay boys online!

 

Good subject, Robbie

-Kevin

Really? I'd be interested in reading more about that! Interesting that you know so many people who are deaf and gay. I personally only know of a couple of people who fit both of those. The rest are just gay.

Edited June 16, 2008 by rknapp

[Masked Monkey]

*Pet Peeve alert*

There are ALOT ... -Kevin

A LOT is two words

[Rakuten06]

Snowy, no need to chide Kevin about the mistakes... I want to thank Rknapp for raising up the interesting similarities between deaf culture and gay community...

[sparrow]

Interesting topic! It makes me think of a short film I found on youtube about a gay deaf high school cross country runner called "Running Without Sound".

 

Here's a link to part 1, and you can find part 2 from there...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if2Vmqe6lSk

 

The part where the two guys are just staring at each other is pretty cool I think.

[Jack Frost]

I prefer to be deaf so I won't have to listen to my parents' yelling. All I have to do is turn off my hearing aids.

 

And it's a plus if you don't want to hear noises during nighttime.

 

But I can't do ASL even if my life depends on it.

 

It's nice to be a minority in a minority.

 

But I very rarely take part of my own group. I'm pretty much a solo deaf person.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Jack Frost

[Phantom]

When I worked at the local movie theatre, we had a family who was deaf come into our theatre every once and awhile to see a kids movie with their 7 year old son. In order to help them get to their theatre (we had a CC one) they would usually carry a notepad and write down what they needed to say. When I first met them, I said hi and I think I suprised them when, after they wrote down that they needed the mirrors for the CC, I said 'sure wait one minute' in ASL (though very slowly). When I got them the mirrors, they said thank you and asked if I could help them with the concession items taht they wanted. From that point on, they taught me some phrases that I still remember to this day.

After our first encounter, I was worried that I was going to offend them, but they said taht they wern't but gratful that someone was willing to go the extra mile and be willing to learn another language to help them (they wrote that down for me because I couldn't keep up).

I have to say, after that I am very intrested in learning sign language for two reasons. One I want to be able to communicate with everyone no matter what. The other reason is that I want to be a social worker that specialises in children with disailities. My only problem though is that I'm very worried that I'll offend someone if I ask them questions or attempt to sign, but I guess that i'll need to get over that to achieve my goals.

Finally i'm really glad that this forum popped up because I really hope to learn something form it.

[rknapp]

I prefer to be deaf so I won't have to listen to my parents' yelling. All I have to do is turn off my hearing aids.

 

And it's a plus if you don't want to hear noises during nighttime.

 

But I can't do ASL even if my life depends on it.

 

It's nice to be a minority in a minority.

 

But I very rarely take part of my own group. I'm pretty much a solo deaf person.

Well, being that your hearing is well enough that you can use hearing aids you haven't had the need for ASL, however I think deaf people are the hardest to converse with if you don't know at least some signs. You might be able to get by with body language but that can be confusing without signing words. The video that Sparrow posted proves that when the deaf runner wrote what he was saying to the other runner on the window of the car.

 

By the way, that other runner who picked on the deaf runner really PO'ed me. I wanted to reach through the screen and slap him back for his ignorance.

[Caipirinha]

So cute story...

 

One of my friends, who is an ASL major, was at the bar with us one night and he was showing us all basic words (our names and such) in sign language when our waiter, who also happens to be a personal friend of mine, stopped by the table to see how we were doing. So he sees my friend signing to us and he goes "Oh wait, I have one!" And he waved his little hand around and did Lord only knows with it and ended it with a snap out to the side. When he was finished my friend burst out laughing, so of course we all want to know what he said.

 

Apparently at some point in time our waiter had dated a deaf man who used to address his friends with "What's up, dog?"

 

And also completely off topic; Another friend of mine has a degenerative eye disease in which her iris isn't fully formed so she had some sight but she is legally blind. He mother also happens to be completely blind. Well, since she is legally blind she can't drive, so one semester I volunteered to drive her. Her school was about half an hour away from where she lived and on one trip we spent the entire time talking about blind culture, of which apparently there is quiet a lot of.

[Meeko]

So cute story...

 

One of my friends, who is an ASL major, was at the bar with us one night and he was showing us all basic words (our names and such) in sign language when our waiter, who also happens to be a personal friend of mine, stopped by the table to see how we were doing. So he sees my friend signing to us and he goes "Oh wait, I have one!" And he waved his little hand around and did Lord only knows with it and ended it with a snap out to the side. When he was finished my friend burst out laughing, so of course we all want to know what he said.

 

Apparently at some point in time our waiter had dated a deaf man who used to address his friends with "What's up, dog?"

 

And also completely off topic; Another friend of mine has a degenerative eye disease in which her iris isn't fully formed so she had some sight but she is legally blind. He mother also happens to be completely blind. Well, since she is legally blind she can't drive, so one semester I volunteered to drive her. Her school was about half an hour away from where she lived and on one trip we spent the entire time talking about blind culture, of which apparently there is quiet a lot of.

 

ASL works great in bar's and other loud places... just fyi

[kitten]

We should always be proud of who we are. Whether it is gay, deaf, British, etc.

Having a separate culture (gay, deaf, French, etc.) can help us feel pride and give us an important sense of belonging. However, being deaf and being gay are very different.

 

While being deaf isn't something to be ashamed of it is a disability.

Being gay is not a disability - you can do anything straight people do, even have children.

 

Any disadvantages to being gay are the caused by society. The disadavantages of being deaf (e.g. lack of music, can't hear when predators are stalking you, more limited communication, etc.) are built into the condition.

 

Therefore I can understand why both gay people and deaf people would be proud. I can understand why people might prefer to be gay (I do). However, I can't understand why anyone would rather be deaf (disabled). And I totally condemn the deaf couple who were on TV here recently who wanted to use IVF to select an embryo which would provide them with a deaf child.

 

Kit

[rknapp]

We should always be proud of who we are. Whether it is gay, deaf, British, etc.

Having a separate culture (gay, deaf, French, etc.) can help us feel pride and give us an important sense of belonging. However, being deaf and being gay are very different.

 

While being deaf isn't something to be ashamed of it is a disability.

Being gay is not a disability - you can do anything straight people do, even have children.

 

Any disadvantages to being gay are the caused by society. The disadavantages of being deaf (e.g. lack of music, can't hear when predators are stalking you, more limited communication, etc.) are built into the condition.

 

Therefore I can understand why both gay people and deaf people would be proud. I can understand why people might prefer to be gay (I do). However, I can't understand why anyone would rather be deaf (disabled). And I totally condemn the deaf couple who were on TV here recently who wanted to use IVF to select an embryo which would provide them with a deaf child.

 

Kit

It's something you really couldn't understand unless you were deaf yourself. Many straight people do not understand why so many gay people would not be straight if they had the chance, so this is really no different. Being deaf in a hearing world is just as unique as being gay in a straight world. It sets them apart from the crowd. Plus, the original topic of discussion here means that they have their own language that realistically is useful to everyone. Think about it, how many times have you been out with a friend (who is gay or knows you are gay) and you spotted a hot guy whom you wanted to comment on? If the surrounding area isn't very gay-friendly then you can't. but if you guys knew sign language then you could and the other people around you would be none the wiser. Foreigners do it all the time since it is very unlikely for someone in the US to understand Mandarin, or for someone in Japan to understand Portuguese.

 

Also, deafness is no more a "disability" than gayness. Gay people are born gay. Deaf people either are born deaf, gradually lose their hearing for some unknown reason, or something happens in their life that kills their hearing. It can't be controlled (unless you are a musician). The only adjustments that deaf people must make is be bi-lingual and have a using alert system (for doorbells and telephones) and other minor odds and ends to be comfortable. Gay people need to be cautious with sexual partners, public affection, and much of society.

 

Building on that, deaf people are not completely deaf. The part of the brain that processes sound for a hearing person processes vibrations for a deaf person. This way, deaf people are more sensitive to vibrations than hearing people are. Guess what sound is? That's right, vibrations moving through the air as waves. When you play music on your computer or in the car, so the speaker not vibrate? Try this -- turn up the volume several notches or so. Does the table on which the computer speaker sits or the interior of your car not vibrate?

 

As for condemning the deaf couple who wants a deaf child -- Do gay couples not want gay children? Do French couples not want French children? Do African couples not want African children?

 

I'm not saying that your thought process is wrong, just that I completely disagree with it and consider it to be very ignorant.

[Benji]

I prefer to be deaf so I won't have to listen to my parents' yelling. All I have to do is turn off my hearing aids.

..........Yeah, I agree there is a plus in being able to tune out!!

And it's a plus if you don't want to hear noises during nighttime.

..........Except when danger arises, break-in, fire!!

But I can't do ASL even if my life depends on it.

.........Most deaf people I know read lips fairly well, their speed at ASL makes me dizzy.

It's nice to be a minority in a minority.

..........Being totally deaf in one ear and retaining 40% in the other, 'sigh' probably more like being a minority with several minorities.

 

But I very rarely take part of my own group. I'm pretty much a solo deaf person.

 

...........Solo Jack!!!!!!!!!

[Bandage]

I'm surprised by how many deaf people you guys know!

I know of one guy my age, he has 2 of those ear-helping-thingies, but I didn't dare to ask him yet, lol I'm shy like that

The other guy is my grandfather, and that's from old age

 

I'm not deaf myself, but I have the problem that noises melt together... Like when going out, I can't understand anyone, unless we're outside or so...

[kitten]

It's something you really couldn't understand unless you were deaf yourself. Many straight people do not understand why so many gay people would not be straight if they had the chance, so this is really no different. Being deaf in a hearing world is just as unique as being gay in a straight world. It sets them apart from the crowd.

 

Of course it's different. Being born gay is like being born blond and it's not a disability. Being born deaf is being born with a disability.

 

I don't want to be straight because being gay does not make me disabled. There is nothing I cannot do as a gay person that I could do as a straight person. What few limitations I have because I'm gay are imposed on me by society. However, being deaf means missing a major form of sensory input and it would physically handicap me and make me disabled.

 

So no, I don't understand why a deaf person would not want to hear, any more than I understand why a blind person would not want to see. And I'm pretty sure that if I were deaf I'd want to be able to hear. There would be no shame in being born blind and I would be a proud member of a group of blind people. However, I would still want to have the ability to see.

 

Just because two things share one quality, e.g. the quality of being unique, does not necessarily make them 'really no different' in other ways. Furthermore, being unique is not in itself necessarily a good thing. Lots of groups who are discriminated against develop their own cultures, not just gay people and deaf people. Are all those groups 'no different'?

 

Are all people who are discriminated against 'disabled'? If so, are all women disabled because they are discriminated against?

 

I am not in any way denigrating deaf people or their community but you can't say they are 'no different'. Unless, of course, you are trying to argue that deaf people are not disabled or that gay people are disabled?

 

Plus, the original topic of discussion here means that they have their own language that realistically is useful to everyone. Think about it, how many times have you been out with a friend (who is gay or knows you are gay) and you spotted a hot guy whom you wanted to comment on? If the surrounding area isn't very gay-friendly then you can't. but if you guys knew sign language then you could and the other people around you would be none the wiser. Foreigners do it all the time since it is very unlikely for someone in the US to understand Mandarin, or for someone in Japan to understand Portuguese.

 

Erm, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything in my post, which was about the fact that being deaf is a disability but being gay isn't. However, to address your point - Why, then can we not comment on the hot guy in Portugese or Latin or, as in the old days, use the gay-specific Polari? (look it up in wiki if you don't know what it is). Certainly I don't need to be deaf to be able to keep my communications restricted to people who know a certain language.

 

Also, deafness is no more a "disability" than gayness. Gay people are born gay. Deaf people either are born deaf, gradually lose their hearing for some unknown reason, or something happens in their life that kills their hearing. It can't be controlled (unless you are a musician). The only adjustments that deaf people must make is be bi-lingual and have a using alert system (for doorbells and telephones) and other minor odds and ends to be comfortable. Gay people need to be cautious with sexual partners, public affection, and much of society.

 

Have you looked up 'disability' in a dictionary?

It has nothing to do with being born in a certain way. I was born with brown hair and hazel eyes - that is not a disability. I was not born blind or deaf, which would have been a disability.

 

A disability: 1. State of being disabled; deprivation or want of ability.

Hearimg is an ability. Deaf people do not have it (or have it to a lesser degree) therefore they are disabled.

 

As I said earlier, the only disability that a gay person might have is one that might be imposed by society (e.g. not being allowed to marry or adopt kids or whatever). Now on certain occassions I've been known to be wrong, so if you believe me to be wrong about this, please tell me what disability a gay person has that is caused by an inherent disability and not caused by society? What, apart from things controlled by society, can you not do as a gay person that a straight person can do?

 

Building on that, deaf people are not completely deaf. The part of the brain that processes sound for a hearing person processes vibrations for a deaf person. This way, deaf people are more sensitive to vibrations than hearing people are. Guess what sound is? That's right, vibrations moving through the air as waves. When you play music on your computer or in the car, so the speaker not vibrate? Try this -- turn up the volume several notches or so. Does the table on which the computer speaker sits or the interior of your car not vibrate?

 

I'm not sure what you're arguing here. That just because there is some partial ability doesn't mean that there is no disability? A blind person uses sound more than a sighted person to get information about his surroundings. Does that mean he's not blind? He still can't see the stars in the sky, so he still has a disability.

 

As for condemning the deaf couple who wants a deaf child -- Do gay couples not want gay children? Do French couples not want French children? Do African couples not want African children?

 

Do gay couples want gay children? I don't know. However, it is in fact irrelevant because being gay, French, African is not a disability. Therefore, by having gay, French, African child they are not imposing upon their children any physical handicap. e.g. by having gay, French, African child they are not imposing on an innocent child the inability to experience the subtle beauty of music (which is more than just the vibrations you feel on a table or in your car!). They would not just be depriving their child of those pleasure but they would also be making it's life more dangerous bevause it won't be able to hear approaching danger (e.g. cars on the road).

 

If a deaf couple deliberately chooses a potentially deaf embryo while discarding a potentially hearing embryo they are imposing on that innocent child a life of disabilty just as much as if they chose an embryo that wouldn't develop limbs.

 

I'm not saying that your thought process is wrong, just that I completely disagree with it and consider it to be very ignorant.

 

Presuming that you mean my thought process is ignorant and/or that I am ignorant, in what way is it ignorant? If there is some information that I have wrong or if my understanding of some information is wrong, please let me know. Merely saying someone is ignorant doesn't really help the discussion.

 

Kit

[Masked Monkey]

Not gonna comment on the deaf people wanting deaf children, there is too much stereotyping and assuming that the attitude of the whole is exemplified by the attitudes of a few radicals

 

Building on that, deaf people are not completely deaf. The part of the brain that processes sound for a hearing person processes vibrations for a deaf person. This way, deaf people are more sensitive to vibrations than hearing people are. Guess what sound is? That's right, vibrations moving through the air as waves. When you play music on your computer or in the car, so the speaker not vibrate? Try this -- turn up the volume several notches or so. Does the table on which the computer speaker sits or the interior of your car not vibrate?

 

I take exception with tihs comment from a scientific point of view. I recently saw a very good lecture on the physics of hearing and the Chochelar Implant (yet another hot topic in the deaf community). It was presented by a Perdue prof. who lost his hearing due to the use of an oto-toxic antibiotic used during his leukemia treatment.

 

While "hearing" may be the sensation of compression waves entering the ear canal, the whole function of the Chochlea is to convert that compression wave (after it has been converted into the physical motion of bone and membranes, yes, vibration), including separating out the variouos frequency components, into an electrical signal that can be processed by the brain. Whether a "deaf" person can "hear" any type of vibration depends upon the source of hearing loss. If it is nerve damage, then no, vibrations are not passed, in any fashion. I think many hearing people tend to forget that our "hearing" of music is not simply the neurologic signal that starts at our eardrums, but also the vibration in all parts of the body caused primarily by bass. Vibrations can be "detected" by many parts of the body, not just the ears.

 

As to the overall topic, any time you get a "minority" group together, they will have a set of common experiences. Hell, even "majority" groups have common experiences and create communities, but that is beside the point. Minority groups tend to identify with the experiences that set them apart from the majority, rather than those that include them. Since the "majority" will not, generally, develop language or practices that are not a part of the "majority" experince, part of the process of developing a "community" or "culture" must naturally include developing that language. It is also natural that the "minority" will identify "inequities" between the standard operation of the "majority" and how those practices apply to the "minority". That said, it would surprise me if there wasn't a "deaf culture", a "gay culture", a "recovering drug addict" culture, an "active drug addict" culture, a "criminal" culture, a "this disease" or "that disease" culture, a "scientific" culture, a "religious" culture ... I need not go on ad infinitum. What does surprise me is that people seem surprised that these things exist as wholly functioning things.

 

:king: Dr. Mr. Snow Dog

[rknapp]

Not gonna comment on the deaf people wanting deaf children, there is too much stereotyping and assuming that the attitude of the whole is exemplified by the attitudes of a few radicals

 

 

 

I take exception with tihs comment from a scientific point of view. I recently saw a very good lecture on the physics of hearing and the Chochelar Implant (yet another hot topic in the deaf community). It was presented by a Perdue prof. who lost his hearing due to the use of an oto-toxic antibiotic used during his leukemia treatment.

 

While "hearing" may be the sensation of compression waves entering the ear canal, the whole function of the Chochlea is to convert that compression wave (after it has been converted into the physical motion of bone and membranes, yes, vibration), including separating out the variouos frequency components, into an electrical signal that can be processed by the brain. Whether a "deaf" person can "hear" any type of vibration depends upon the source of hearing loss. If it is nerve damage, then no, vibrations are not passed, in any fashion. I think many hearing people tend to forget that our "hearing" of music is not simply the neurologic signal that starts at our eardrums, but also the vibration in all parts of the body caused primarily by bass. Vibrations can be "detected" by many parts of the body, not just the ears.

 

As to the overall topic, any time you get a "minority" group together, they will have a set of common experiences. Hell, even "majority" groups have common experiences and create communities, but that is beside the point. Minority groups tend to identify with the experiences that set them apart from the majority, rather than those that include them. Since the "majority" will not, generally, develop language or practices that are not a part of the "majority" experince, part of the process of developing a "community" or "culture" must naturally include developing that language. It is also natural that the "minority" will identify "inequities" between the standard operation of the "majority" and how those practices apply to the "minority". That said, it would surprise me if there wasn't a "deaf culture", a "gay culture", a "recovering drug addict" culture, an "active drug addict" culture, a "criminal" culture, a "this disease" or "that disease" culture, a "scientific" culture, a "religious" culture ... I need not go on ad infinitum. What does surprise me is that people seem surprised that these things exist as wholly functioning things.

 

:king: Dr. Mr. Snow Dog

 

 

Very true on the science of hearing, however it has been shown (I forget the exact terminology... MRI? CAT scan?) through "snapshots" of the brain that the portion of the brain that receives signals from the ears in a hearing person shows major activity in a deaf person when vibrations are introduced -- much more so than a hearing person.

[Masked Monkey]

Very true on the science of hearing, however it has been shown (I forget the exact terminology... MRI? CAT scan?) through "snapshots" of the brain that the portion of the brain that receives signals from the ears in a hearing person shows major activity in a deaf person when vibrations are introduced -- much more so than a hearing person.

most likely from an fMRI (functional MRI). That wouldn't surprise me with someone who was born deaf or became deaf at a young age (in terms of senory development). The part of the brain that processes hearing is a very active part of the brain, it isn't just going to sit there unused simply because it isn't getting input from it's intended source.

 

 

:king: Dr. Mr. Snow :snowy: Dog

 

Edit: Although, I would have to read the study to accept/understand the conclusions. (damned scientist)

[Procyon]

Therefore I can understand why both gay people and deaf people would be proud. I can understand why people might prefer to be gay (I do). However, I can't understand why anyone would rather be deaf (disabled). And I totally condemn the deaf couple who were on TV here recently who wanted to use IVF to select an embryo which would provide them with a deaf child.

 

Kit

 

I can understand those who have been deaf since birth and are perfectly happy with it and wouldn't want to be hearing if they could have their hearing restored -- and even those who have lost their hearing later and don't want it back. But to choose a disability for your child, that I can't understand. Even hearing children of deaf people become part of deaf culture since they grow up with sign language, which is a great thing, they'll be bilingual.

 

 

As for condemning the deaf couple who wants a deaf child -- Do gay couples not want gay children? Do French couples not want French children? Do African couples not want African children?

 

This is rather scary, it brings to mind -- well, ultimately the nazis, if you're going to begin choosing physical traits for your children like that (such as skin colour, hair colour, eye colour). But other traits as well -- frankly, I think it's scary enough when people who adopt children get to choose the sex of their child, but still, it's reasonable, why give a boy to a couple who really wants a daughter when there are others who would rather have a boy? Same thing with deaf or otherwise disabled children: if they're already born and are deaf anyway, then, of course, let a deaf couple adopt, it'd be so much easier since they already know sign language and have the culture. But to choose something for an unborn child, or to choose a child with certain characteristics -- that isn't a good thing under any circumstances, not with a disability, nor with anything else -- sex, sexuality, or eye colour, or anything really.

 

And no, I don't want a Swedish child. Why on earth would I want a child that's as similar as possible to myself?? I totally don't understand that viewpoint. It furthers racism and ignorance. Of course European couples usually have European children if they're both the biological parents, but that's just because it *happens* that way. I wouldn't dream of choosing other characteristics for my child so it'd be more *like* me.

[Jack Frost]

Well, being that your hearing is well enough that you can use hearing aids you haven't had the need for ASL, however I think deaf people are the hardest to converse with if you don't know at least some signs. You might be able to get by with body language but that can be confusing without signing words. The video that Sparrow posted proves that when the deaf runner wrote what he was saying to the other runner on the window of the car.

 

By the way, that other runner who picked on the deaf runner really PO'ed me. I wanted to reach through the screen and slap him back for his ignorance.

My disablity is severe. I was just lucky enough that my mother caught it on time when I was a little boy (because I wasn't responding and learning to talk as I was supposed to) and the doctors were quick enough to get me speaking before it was too late. I was very close to being "too late", but I had a very good teacher at the beginning when I was just two years old. And I still remember those days even when I was just a little boy.

 

To talk to deaf people, all you need to is use a piece of paper. That's how I used to do when I was with deaf kids at elementary and high school.

 

And I am not too easy to talk to either. It could take me a little longer to understand people than normal people. Like TV...I won't understand shit without the CC. "What/Huh" is the most common word I say every day.

[Benji]

And I am not too easy to talk to either. It could take me a little longer to understand people than normal people. Like TV...I won't understand shit without the CC. "What/Huh" is the most common word I say every day.

[Masked Monkey]

Geeeze, you deaf (or partially deaf) people ... you seem to want things from us NORMAL people like looking at you when we talk and speaking clearly. Next thing you are going to want is for us not to cut in line ahead of you, to let you change lanes when you are trying to get off the interstate, and gods forbid, the right to vote.

 

:king: Dr. Mr. Snow :snowy: Dog

 

P.S. For those of you who aren't sure, I was being sarcastic.