tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4766448249041816731.post7870222923576224730..comments2023-06-24T07:27:43.577-06:00Comments on Kate's American Life: Does being deaf make you "handicapped"?Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15460904865132759494noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4766448249041816731.post-82396230988640320892010-10-28T13:08:18.616-06:002010-10-28T13:08:18.616-06:00Oh yeah, Michael, they totally have alarms for dea...Oh yeah, Michael, they totally have alarms for deaf people! Not just carbon monoxide, but like, regular clock alarms. I think some alarms work with flashing lights, and others work by vibrations under the pillow or wherever.<br /><br />And you're right, it would be sad not to hear music. But I wonder if deaf people sometimes pity the hearing the way we are pitying them. I think the reason being blind seems like more of a disability to me is the extent to which it cuts one off from the community; it seems that blind people can't do a lot of things that seeing people can, while deaf people can pretty much do everything that hearing people can do, except hear. Like, a deaf person can drive. A blind person can't. A deaf person can read. A blind person can't, unless it's in braille. A deaf person can cook. A blind person...I don't really know, but it seems that would be hard. Maybe it's just that our society is SUPER sight-dependent? Maybe in another world being blind would be less of a disability than being deaf? I smell the makings of a good sci-fi novel...Kate Challishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12635514280917316353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4766448249041816731.post-85506075940535661412010-10-28T13:00:42.790-06:002010-10-28T13:00:42.790-06:00I think the main difference in what Danny and I th...I think the main difference in what Danny and I think is whether we see a disability as something inherent or defined by others. Danny thinks that deafness and blindness are inherently disabilities because that's not what our resurrected bodies will be like, and I think that 'disability' is a subjective label applied to people by a judging society. But then I become a huge hypocrite because I think blindness is a major handicap. I guess it's because there aren't communities of blind people like there are communities of deaf people - and like Marea says, those deaf communities exist because of the shared language! ASL (or BSL - British Sign Language, or what they use in other places) is its own language with its own grammar and syntax etc. It's not translated English.<br /><br />I guess the deeper question is what makes a society? Is it, perhaps, shared language? I think at least part of it is. Interesting how much language defines and influences a group of people.<br /><br />Not sure, but I seem to remember learning about how some deaf people hope that their resurrected bodies remain deaf.Kate Challishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12635514280917316353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4766448249041816731.post-31695777441555851682010-10-28T11:49:49.676-06:002010-10-28T11:49:49.676-06:00Is being blind a disability just because one canno...Is being blind a disability just because one cannot see? The savior healed the blind and the deaf. You can't use scripture to prove that the inability to hear in a society where hearing is the norm from scripture. If the majority of people in the world were deaf then hearing might be considered a disability, but that is not the way it is. <br /><br />Iagree with Danny.Yvonne Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14604335434167862809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4766448249041816731.post-4578353259979936212010-10-28T10:24:18.328-06:002010-10-28T10:24:18.328-06:00I think the big reason behind why deaf people cong...I think the big reason behind why deaf people congregate is that they share an exclusive language. That automatically gives them a huge sense of community.<br /><br />I think not being able to hear music, though, is a HUGE handicap. I mean, at least a blind person could feel a Bernini sculpture. But a deaf person would have no chance of grasping the awe of Bach or the delicacy of Fauré. Not a chance.<br /><br />Plus, if their carbon monoxide alarm went off in the middle of the night....Michael Wyatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00003444910891591389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4766448249041816731.post-41039394149521066432010-10-28T08:55:07.253-06:002010-10-28T08:55:07.253-06:00Isn't it sort of a mixture of both, disabled a...Isn't it sort of a mixture of both, disabled and not? I would hope that after this life they would be able to hear again. Everything they didn't have or lost here they would gain or regain after this life. And clearly they have a challenge that they wake up with everyday and have to get through. Yet, resilient spirit makes their disability a challenge not define who they are.<br /><br />When my husband was coaching soccer we had a boy whose parents were both deaf. The boy was not. We loved their boy and we loved his parents. I tried to communicate in what little ways I could with his mom. But, I was sad I couldn't hear about all her thoughts because the best I could do in terms of signing was the alphabet. We'd have to spell words to talk and it just wasn't enough to be able to really get to know her the way I wanted.<br /><br />However, they are amazing people. They embrace the challenge that they were given and don't let it stop them from being who they are or from trying to communicate. <br /><br />I would think that they want those around them to know that they've chosen to handle their difficulty in a positive way and so don't embrace the label of disability because it carries a negative connotation/association and only speaks of their challenge and not to who they are as a person.<br /><br />What if we could use a different word instead of disability? What if we could just see ALL people as people fighting an uphill battle. What if we used a word that brings us closer together instead of a word that seems to separate us and in a way that highlights our peril and not our resilient strength? I would like to look at the world that way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com