04-08-2002, 07:58 PM
I have a friend that are deaf and you guys really need to think clearly about this. I'm not condoning what these two women did. I want to add a little bit of enlightenment. To most deaf people, they don't see their inability to hear as a handicap. They see it as a way of life. A culture that they live within. the fact that a majority of the human population doesn't conform to their culture makes their life harder but doesn't mean dick to them when it comes to how they live. They adjust to meet what others see as being normal.
If you were to put 100 deaf people on an island that never new anyone else that could hear, they would never need to make those adjustments and assume that deafness is the norm. It's their way of life. Some poeple are born deaf, some people become deaf later on. There are those that could have hearing ability for the first time that turn it down because it's not WHO they are. Being deaf doesn't make them any less of a human being from you or I. Mocking deaf people for deciding how they want to live is not right. What's next? Mocking people for being right handed over left? or not being able to walk.
If you were to put 100 deaf people on an island that never new anyone else that could hear, they would never need to make those adjustments and assume that deafness is the norm. It's their way of life. Some poeple are born deaf, some people become deaf later on. There are those that could have hearing ability for the first time that turn it down because it's not WHO they are. Being deaf doesn't make them any less of a human being from you or I. Mocking deaf people for deciding how they want to live is not right. What's next? Mocking people for being right handed over left? or not being able to walk.
Have a great day!