2 Problems That Needs To Be Tolerated Between The Deaf and Hearing World
Not to offend anyone, but these are my personal experiences with both cultures
The Deaf world and the hearing world are two different worlds that have been separated by a great divide for centuries.
Although the Deaf world and the hearing world are two very different cultures, they depend on each other to thrive.
While the Deaf community relies on the hearing world to access resources to help them overcome their disabilities, even though many do not see their Deafness as a disability, the hearing community needs to be more aware of how much it means for the Deaf community to be included and accepted into society, and that hearing people help break down communication barriers for the Deaf world in all areas of life.
I have often experienced wonderful interpersonal relationships with both communities, but we live in a dominant world where everything revolves around verbal communication, and since Deaf people often do not have a voice in a hearing world, they are forced to find other ways to communicate, but the hearing world does not always understand or take enough time to learn about these communication methods.
This leads to both worlds not being able to understand each other, which in turn leads to more misunderstandings than necessary.
Dilemma #1: Issues that the deaf community often views as a form of audism
We all know that there are many questions and opinions about Deaf people in the hearing world, and some of these questions and opinions may be appropriate, but others are not.
For example, many Deaf people think it is disrespectful to ask a Deaf person if they can drive a car? Or whether someone can speak even if they cannot hear?
I understand that it can be very frustrating for most Deaf people to be constantly bombarded with questions and opinions from hearing people but instead of getting angry about it, maybe Deaf people should try to take the perspective of the hearing world better, because the thing is that many hearing people don’t know how offensive or inappropriate their comments and questions can be to the Deaf world.
In my body sign language workshops, I experience hearing people telling me that they often prefer not to say anything at all when facing Deaf people for fear of saying the wrong thing, and so it is understandable that Deaf people are not happy when hearing people inadvertently look at them “stupidly,” which leads to, Deaf people assuming and even believing that hearing people have no interest in Deaf culture, when in reality they don’t know where to start — when communicating for the first time with someone who can’t hear, or how to ask the right questions or give the right answers.
It’s part of our human experience to make mistakes, like babies who had to fall down several times before they learned to walk, and in this case hearing people have to make mistakes before they learn to get it right the next time.
That’s why I personally like it when I meet hearing people who ask out of curiosity and wonder, rather than trying to know already the answer.
Even if they don’t ask those questions or make those comments, I always take them with humor and make the most of the conversation where we both leave with more knowledge and wisdom rather than yelling at them not to ask those questions of a deaf person.
There are no right or wrong questions — it’s always a matter of perspective
Why questions are pretty relative — the way you see the world determines how you answer certain questions and whether or not you believe there is a right or wrong answer. For example, if you ask me what I had for breakfast this morning, I might say “oatmeal” while someone else would say “porridge.”
It really depends on what you mean by oatmeal and what you mean by porridge.
Dilemma #2: The difference between “fixed” sign language vs expressing a distinct style of universal body sign language
I constantly see my deaf family members and friends using different signs in the same language, and instead of correcting them on how to sign, I let the conversation continue because I understood them — if I didn’t understand, I ask what it means.
So does it mean that my family members and friends are all signing “wrong”?
The answer is NO, because I grew up in a large Deaf family myself and I can say that they don’t sign “wrong”, they have found a way to sign the way they feel most comfortable, and it doesn’t matter where that signing word comes from, be it from school, from their upbringing in their Deaf family or circle of friends, or from the state they live in, because there are often different sign dialects in all states — so my real question is, why the need or know-it-all attitude to correct the body language of all Deaf or hearing people?
The most beautiful thing about body sign language is that everyone has the freedom to express themselves in their own style of universal body language as they please
Did you know that only 5% of the mind we humans use our potential?
We forget to play with our body and express it freely
What is the use of having so many types of sign languages if each sign language must be followed with its own right “signs,” if there is no room for creativity and openness to express oneself through universal body signs?
The world is constantly changing, we must be willing to accept that all sign language styles change, and for the better, rather than nitpicking everything and correcting others, which is usually based on our own limited perception, because by doing so we are not building bridges between the two worlds, but blocking them.
FINAL THOUGHTS TO BOTH CULTURES
In order to create a more inclusive society, we need to be more compassionate and understanding of each other’s experiences. Hearing people need to learn to open their minds and listen to deaf people’s perspectives, and deaf people need to show more compassion and respect for the genuine work that hearing people do in order to understand them.
This is why it’s so important that we human beings should learn not to take anything too personally, but are willing to help other other — and if we can all come together and work towards this common goal, we can create a world where everyone feels accepted and valued. Thank you for reading!