Cultral Barriers or Disunity?
People often remark on the disunity exhibited by Deaf and deaf people, but at the same time, remain blind to the reasons for this.
Anonymous Deaf Law Student brings up this issue in their post Cultural Barriers? The blog post also touches on networking in the hearing world, which is of particular interest, due to the failure of Australian deaf Chamber of Commerce, which attempted to bridge this divide, but went nowhere fast for many reasons. This is an issue worthy of exploration in another post, but for now, I want to focus on the disunity between Deaf and deaf people.
It’s true. There is a disunity or schism between the Deaf and deaf worlds. The question Anonymous Deaf Law Student raises is an important one. One that needs some honest exploration. But it is rather shortsighted to place the blame on cultural lines, as this usually shifts the blame, via implication, onto the Deaf, and ignoring, and via implication, absolving hearing influences on this disunity.
This is not an argument for what is the best, or freedom to choose, communication method bullshit, that people regularly trot out when they wish to avoid an issue. For me, it’s a foregone conclusion, that sign, is the way to unify the disparate elements of the Deaf and deaf communities.
The point I wish to make is, no one asks the harder question, HOW to bring the two groups together. Think about this seriously, if Deaf people are expected to embrace deaf people for their all “individuality” then how will deaf people return the favour.
There’s no point in talking about respect if their are still undercurrents of revulsion or ambivalence about being Deaf, or using sign language. There is no point in talking about respect if the sanctity of speech and hearing are threatened by the idea of signing. There is no point in talking about unity when some devalue sign language by fobbing it off as not needing it. There is point in talking about respect, when we want to embrace the wider world, in purely aural terms, that threaten to sideline those who can’t. There is no point in talking about unity, when the underpinnings of that unity is technology, which threatens to sideline those who exercise their freedom of choice not avail themselves of that miraculous technology.
I’m all for unity between Deaf and deaf people, but not on aural terms. In embracing sign, one is not relinquishing their amorous embrace of the hearing world. Nor is one chained to their much abhorred idea of the ghetto. If anything, they would be enhancing the Deaf world by exposing it to new ideas and perspectives, and the vice versa is that deaf people will be enhanced by a different way of seeing the world. Somewhere in the mix, everybody’s needs will get met, without anybody giving up.
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