I have been reading many posts within the Deaf community about their cultural crisis. I have my issues with AG Bell and supported Deaf culture's issues. However, I am disappointed in some of the few who are so extreme in their views regarding their culture. Just any other "cultures" we deal with, there will always be controversies. There are many controversial cultural issues within the deaf community as well as outside the deaf community. The controversies are wide-ranging, and like many cultural issues, elicit strong emotions from persons involved. Culture comes from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" which generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Deaf culture is composed of people who consider deafness to be a difference in human experience, rather than a disability even thought medically and legally, it is a disability. Deaf and hearing people are divided by language barrier because American Sign Language is considered a foreign language. Foreign to me here in USA means "other than english language".
How does Deaf differ from others with disabilities? Don't people with other disabilities have their own culture?
That is a good question and I am sure there are other "disability cultures" out there. My answer is: YES
Culture basically means "a way of life" to me, in another word, "different". Due to disabilities, they are forced to live a certain way of life according to their abilities. We are still "normal" people and we still have "normal" feelings. We are just different in how we cope with our disabilities.
The Deaf people may have their culture but there are other people who have their own culture.
However, I don't like people forcing their "culture" on us. Accepting their culture is one thing but forcing us to live in their culture is another issue.
I am not totally deaf therefore, I am not really part of the "Deaf" culture even though I want to be. But, I can't force myself to be part of the Deaf culture. I accepted the Deaf culture. The key issues is this: I want the Deaf culture to accept me as I am. Just as a person who has disabilities who wanted to be accepted as part of the society.
People still discriminate whether they realized it or not. They are simply revealing what kind of heart they have.
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2 comments:
Jim,
Interesting post. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to the deaf and hard of hearing population. There are many different "cultures" out there and they are valuable to society. For example, the Jewish culture is part of our Christain heritage. We learn something from them. And they learn from non-Jewish people. Likewise, the deaf population has something to offer. And they can learn from those who are not or have different degrees of deafness and coping skills.
"... I am not really part of the "Deaf" culture even though I want to be. But, I can't force myself to be part of the Deaf culture. I accepted the Deaf culture. The key issues is this: I want the Deaf culture to accept me as I am. Just as a person who has disabilities who wanted to be accepted as part of the society."
Boy Jim, you hit that right on the head.
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