| | Michelle and I have been good friends since we were teens at a local high school. Back then interpreters were not common, so she passed me notes in class. She confided that she had a hearing problem and in the years since has experimented with various devices such as the TTY and CapTel. Today she is an active member of a HOH group and answers questions from the community as part of their public outreach. Although she lives in the hearing community, Michelle learned some sign language to keep in touch with her Deaf friends. We keep up a lively correspondence and bounce ideas off each other often. Here is a sampling of her recent remarks about the AFA rally earlier this month.
"...Hearing people don't "get it" when it comes to Deaf Culture, the importance of ASL, and other related matters. When hearing people see Deaf protests and hear words such as "audism", "paternalistic" even "self determination" they still don't get it.
"Most hearing people think the Deaf fight is not rational. ...In other words unless hearing parents have a Deaf child it's a non issue and the picketers are just another crazy fringe group that doesn't really have an impact on them (hearing) or their lives.
In fact some see it (Deaf activism) as a lack of understanding of the world and even childlike behavior (yes, paternalism rearing it's head). Most hearing people think the Deaf fight is not rational."
"There is also some disinterest when there are activists heading out to Albany or Washington in wheel chairs and the like. Basically, the "able bodied" see a group of people who need a lot of help from "normal" people to rant about the fact "I can do anything"- it seems like an oxymoron to a huge segment of the population.
Unfortunately deaf activists are seen much the same."
Michelle is describing Deaf activism as it appears from the Hearing side. We need to listen to people like her in order to design a media war against audism. She talks about hearing parents of deaf children:
"Parents of hoh/deaf kids are a different matter. "I receive emails all the time from distraught parents who have either just found out their baby is deaf or hoh or parents of hoh teens looking for resources as their child is the only hoh kid in the school and they are feeling the pinch. ...although they see the resource people* as being intelligent and well meaning, the parents don't get it. "They can't understand how "those people" can be happy about a child being deaf or severely hoh. "There is a big mixture of (as you know) guilt, anger, frustration, helplessness and utter panic and confusion. They don't get it. "I myself find it very interesting because although I understand it on one level some parents view their deaf child as somehow marked for life or something worse, I find it hard to understand the anguish and the thought their child is doomed. I would imagine, however with time the panic subsides and as their child grows the parents become more educated and aware and hopefully attuned to their child..."
(*professionals in local programs for deaf children)
Michelle touches on how Deaf and HOH/hearing groups can work together:
"In our committee meetings there is always discussion of how to bring in the Deaf community and we wonder how much inclusiveness is wanted on the other end .
"Bottom line I would prefer that the hoh not be lumped entirely into the hearing person's viewpoint because most are at least open to understanding the Deaf views, even if they don't really understand.
"The HOH can become allies to the Deaf community if the realities of the history you have gone through is completely understood. I can also fairly say that in general the Deaf community is recognized as an entity unto itself...
"What our chapter would like to see is both of our groups coming together and working toward common causes ... in my opinion, the hoh need to fully understand from where the Deaf community is coming, but there isn't a spokesperson who can "get through" to some as it is a difficult for most to comprehend. ...Most hoh people go to great lengths and expense to hear and function in the hearing world so the "enjoyment" of being part of Deaf Culture is totally foreign."
There you have it. The biggest divide between the HOH/ hearing communities and the Deaf community is the medical viewpoint. They feel it is a problem to be cured, we feel it is simply a way of life. We need a connecting person who can explain both sides to each other.
How can we bridge this divide and add our numbers together to empower ourselves toward our common goals?
We focus on the goals, not our cultural or lifestyle differences. We find ways to communicate, even if it must be by writing or use of interpreters or a mixture of sign and lipreading. We get together, identify the targets of our needs, and present a united face.
This is important. The HOH, late-deafened, oral deaf, and friends of theirs are a bigger group than the culturally Deaf, but share the same problems that we do. We need their involvement, and they need ours.
a discussion of the cultural differences and the numbers on both sides
the original article that kicked off the discussion
Deaf Pundit on being culturally Deaf and the oral deaf viewpoint
A thoughtful article why HOH is not a culture itself
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| | Posted 4/30/2009 7:10 AM - 256 Views - 2 eProps - 3 comments
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