Something I overheard yesterday has really been bothering me and I feel the need to share this with you all...just to get your wheels a turning and maybe cause you to think a little differently. Yesterday I overheard a conversation between 2 people about hearing impaired people. I cant go into great detail of the entire conversation but I will give you the gist. Person 1 says to person 2...that hearing impaired girl goes way over the top trying to do her best, you know what I mean about those people. Person 2: yeah, I know what you mean, its ridiculous. Person 1, you really have to watch them, they will take advantage in every way they can. I stood up from where I was sitting to go look into the place I heard this conversation (I didnt know the people). I looked at one, looked at the other, looked at their name plate and walked out. As a student studying ASL and as a wife of a hard of hearing person, I was extremely offended by this, hurting for the person they were taking about and hurting for any person with a disability who may encounter these people. I have learned that deaf/Deaf/Oral Deaf/Hard of Hearing people: THEY ARE NOT IMPAIRED! (In my ignorance I used to refer to Chad as Hearing Im paired). More often than not they are living in a hearing world in which we the hearing view them as impaired. They take advantage, is what almost pushed me over the edge! (I confess, I had to pray for the Lord to hold my tongue). The people I have learned about in Deaf history and who I know personally that have what some people in the world label as impairments, work much harder than the average person as they often feel the need to prove they are as intelligent, hardworking and deserve equal opportunity as everyone else. Where has compassion gone? Ive attended some Deaf community events where the only language spoken is ASL. Wow! What a heart and eye opener! I felt first hand how it feels to be in a world where sometimes I had no idea what was being talked about. I felt uncomfortable at first because I was different. Those who feel the need to stereotype and put down others should really do a self check because none of us are perfect.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:37:58 +0000
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