I am having a real hard time understanding how some deaf and hoh people feel
that being born this a damn gift!!?? I would had love to been born being able to hear so I could had done better in school and not have a damn speech defect and having stupid people ask what kind of accent I have and if I drive a car !
Some guy who was Hispanic told me I had a beautiful Hispanic accent ! WTF!
:smack: And people think this is a gift??? sorry for ranting but I just read
on the deaf forum I use that some deaf person he had a gift b/c he was born deaf ! Shut up !
As far as I understand it, it’s a subculture thing.
It would certainly be unkind to characterise deaf cultures/communities as worse in every way than hearing cultures/communities.
Therefore it stands to reason that some people prefer elements of their culture/community to those on the outside of it. For some people, the positive elements of their community must (I guess) far outweigh the negative ones.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around it, but I don’t feel it’s my place to criticise it - as it’s all very subjective anyway.
Hoh, in case you’re wondering (I Was!) means ‘hard of hearing’. I think?
Yeah, took me a while to work it out too!
Plus I’m only guessing, OP not really being all that clear.
“Deaf culture” is a huge thing. There are members of the Deaf culture (yes, with a capital “D”)who would, say, refuse to allow their infant children to receive cochlear implants. To them, deafness is not a problem which necessarily needs fixing.
I understand and am on board with the desire for solidarity and understanding within a group of like people. I have a bit more trouble with the notion that being deaf is not a disability and is not a problem with correcting.
I’ve never considered my hearing impairment to be a gift. The only way I’ve ever considered it to be an advantage is the ability to turn off and tune out at will. It does wonders for my ability to concentrate!
Anyone here have a deaf boss or heard of a deaf manager of hearing persons?
What is the top elected position ever held by a deaf person?
Look, I have respect for them but its crazy not to see it as a handicap.
Australia has actually had two deaf Prime Ministers. I remember that bit of trivia because it stood out to me.
I don’t personally know anyone who is deaf or hoh, but I have heard about this subculture thing as others mentioned. It seems to me that, like with some other disabilities, that many people who have it don’t like to think of it that way, particularly as a culture arises around it. I would also guess that because the deaf have to result to using a different method to communicate than that rest of us that it can create more of a cultural divide than, say, being unable to walk from birth.
I think another aspect that plays into it is the simple fact that it’s hard to really appreciate what you never had in the first place. Speaking for myself, I ADORE music, it’s my greatest passion, and while I know that even those who are completely deaf can have some appreciation for it through the physical vibrations, the way that I experience music is just something I cannot explain in another context. It’d be like trying to explain a sunrise to a blind person. So, to that extent, I think if this culture is important to you and you just lack the context to understand what the hearing world is like, then I can understand how being a part of a rich culture would seem like as much of a wonderful thing, particularly since, as someone who hears just fine and doesn’t know sign language or anyone deaf, I simply have no context for appreciating that culture.
I have heard this too. Especially in connection with cochlear transplants. My take on it (I have so-far minor age-related hearing loss) is that if you are stuck with it, you may as well run with it. If I had had a deaf child that could have been treated (I certainly won’t say cured–it doesn’t work that well) by a cochlear transplant it would have happened. What else would have happened would have been that I would have made damn sure he learned sign and from an early enough age for it to be a second native language. Thus giving him the best of both worlds.
I once heard an interview on radio of the totally deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie (and I have seen her perform twice). However, the learned to speak normally, started to go deaf around age 8 and was totally deaf at 12. She learned to hear music through her arms and feet (and performed barefoot). The amazing thing about her is that her spoken language is perfect (albeit with a strong Scottish accent). I met one man once who became deaf as an adult and his speech had gone to pot. But to get back to Glennie, as far as I could tell, she was lip reading the questions and answering. One thing struck me was her answer to the question, if she could have her hearing suddenly restored, would she choose to. “No” she said. She explained that her entire professional training was done while she was deaf and she had no idea what would happen if she started to hear. But this is different from what the OP reported.
I’ve never understood it, and get the impression that “Deaf culture” has a tendency to isolate people who would otherwise be more integrated into society in general.
Technology has made it possible for deaf people to have more active social lives than ever before via e-mail, web forums, texting, closed-captioned TV and video, but I’ve seen little evidence that this has happened. Of course it’s possible that it has removed the need to even mention it, but “Deaf” seems to be a political identity and one would think it would come up in conversation.
My wife and I volunteered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and they had a very active deaf outreach program - subtitled films are a natural for the deaf, and while they have “Rear View” systems in theaters for mainstream films, it’s generally only in one auditorium in a multiplex.
I have worked with a deaf programmer, and like virtually every programmer I’ve known, almost of our communication was via email and text. We did meet up at a trade show, and he had been taught to lip read. But when we needed to get more technical, we traded off typing to each other on his netbook.
We could ask Handy…oh, yeah. 
Board History: Handy was a member who was strident about big-D Deaf Culture. He was not banned for being deaf. He might’ve been blind, though, because he never paid attention to the mods when they told him to stop playing Doctor Without Portfolio. Or Credentials. Or Knowledge.
A lot of people identify so strongly with their disability/condition that they come to perceive it as a strength rather than a weakness. You see this quite frequently when people who are “neurologically atypical”. Instead of absorbing the stigma associated with their disorder(s), they view themselves as being endowed with special gifts.
So I can imagine this feeling is even more intensified when there is a discernible culture.
There is also the tendency of individuals who face adversity to spin the experience so that it has profound Hallmarkian meaning. Like how cancer patients in remission will sometimes talk about how their cancer was a “gift”–one that taught them how to appreciate life. I’m guessing this is adaptive somehow. Maybe if you lack this ability, you become bitter and cynical about life’s unfairness.
I don’t know how I feel about any of this. On one hand, I like to keep it real. I’m not into delusions and fairy tales that thwart personal growth all for the sake of preserving a fragile self-esteem. You’ve got a tool that will help me to function at my optimal capacity, with few side effects? Give it to me! A good tool can only make me stronger. But on the other hand, I also think you have to write your own personal narrative and not let the world define you or your limitations. If telling yourself that you have a special gift is what emboldens you to face the scary world every day, then who I am to judge? Maybe a little self-delusion is required for self-confidence. I dunno.
this. I’m neither deaf nor hard-of-hearing, but I can understand if people who are find solace and a sense of community among others like them. I don’t understand when some try to make that decision for their kids. Sorry, but it is a disability; because you lack the ability to do something practically all of the rest of us can do.
I am now at 55 hoh (about 40%). I do have hearing aids that work pretty well.
I think deaf parents that opt out of treatments for their child are fearful that they will lose their child to a world that they have never been a part of.
This.
I worked with some deaf people a few years ago and heard about this.
Olathe Kansas is home to the Kansas School for the Deaf and also to the Deaf Cultural Center and Museum. Thats been there for since 1866 so around Olathe a strong deaf community has built up. They have a deaf community center, deaf churches, and a several local businesses cater to them (like a McDonalds with a touch screen and WalMart has deaf employees). The court has deaf interpreters on standby.
The way KSD worked for years is as a boarding school so if a kid was born deaf anywhere in the state, the parents sent them to KSD. Often the kids would grow up there, become comfortable there, and then marry and settle in Olathe.
But, that has changed since over the years as fewer and fewer kids have enrolled in KSD since they now get services in their home districts. Also more and more kids born deaf get either aids or implants so its becoming less common. What we are seeing now is the “old timers” and the hardcore wanting to hold onto their community. However technology is not on their side as implants improve plus we are not seeing the deafness due to illness as much anymore.
And they are hardcore. Quick story - a few years ago this girl who was deaf but went to a regular high school and did quite well but when she tried to hang out with deaf peers from KSD she wasnt accepted because she couldnt sign as well as they did.
Kansas School for the Blindalmost closed a few years ago and now serves more as a resource.
I’ve got to ask, what was his writing like?
I’ve noticed that to deaf people “english” is sometimes hard for them because sign language is somewhat different in its mechanics (Mostly fewer connecting words) and its grammar and so sometimes they will “write” in sign and it can be confusing.
Some advantages to being deaf:
- You can work in a loud environment without hearing protection.
- Sign language comes in handy when you are in a situation where you cant talk to people but must still communicate.
- Sign language isnt universal but still, many deaf people can communicate with other deaf people from other countries because many symbols are fairly standard. Technically ASL (American sign language) is based on French.
Also I didnt mention this before but KSD was totally free. That includes room and board plus all fees including books, supplies, sports, food, etc… Also bus transportation from home to KSD once a month. One woman who went there said the only thing they had to pay for was shoes for sports and they did fundraisers for her classes senior trip.
A negative/positive about KSD is they really only play other deaf schools in sports which means for LONG bus trips and overnight stays when they go to say Colorado or Minnesota.
No worse than any other programmer. He was a lip-reader and had been mainstreamed for his entire education.
By birth it’s highly likely that you don’t, but you don’t know any old folk with hearing aids?
I would say that, if you’re deaf, it’s better to have been born that way if that happens to mean you learned your local Sign Language, were able to attend school in it, etc., than to be in the situation of so many people who refuse to treat their hearing loss until it’s too late. Still means you’re sort of in a bubble of your own for a lot of social situations.
Ronald Regan was hoh while he was president , when he was asked a question by a reporter he would say “I can’t hear you !” and walk away. I would take it
that he couldn’t answer the question , b/c he could had waited until the reporter got closer to him. No you can’t work in a loud work environment , GE wouldn’t let me work
in loud work environment b/c I would not been able to hear someone warning me to move fast enough .