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From: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Humor and the Deaf
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Date: 28 Mar 91 05:33:37 GMT
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Index Number: 14534

Humor is a cultural experience. People who share the same cultural
background will more likely be inagreement on what is funny and whatis
not funny. Regarding the deaf, especially children in deaf schools,
hearie type jokes are not funny. Even to Deaf adults for that matter.
I have watched deaf children go to a gathering hosted by deaf adults
who tell "deaf" stories and these kids almost die laughing while their
signing but "not deaf wise" hearing parents sit in complete bewilderment.
I and other adult Deaf people have been asked to visit elementary level
kids' classes to tellstories. We include "deaf joke" or jokes relevant
to the deaf experience and these same kids die laughing. Yet, I once
took an incredibly funny story from USA Today (wish I could share it
here but it is a bit off color, so. . . .) and shared it with a fantastically
intelligent Deaf lady friend of mine. She puzzled over it. So did a
Deaf gentleman friend of mine. They asked me many questions about it.
You see,it was a hearie joke. Not only that, the humor lay in its phonetics.
When I told them what made it funny, they said, "Oh, that's cute but
it something for hearing people."  Thepoint is that they did not share
the cultural experience that would have made it funny to them.

Deaf kids are not humorless. I have seen other people refer to them
and Deaf adults as well as humorless. This shows either complete lack
of understanding of what humor is or a deep seated disrespect for deaf
people as capable intelligent people. In all fairness, I must admit
that people who make such statements mean no harm. They are just uninformed.
Often, we as individuals, are utterly unaware of the social dynamics
that cause of to make such disrespectful statements about other people.
It just shows that Deaf people M U S T educate the public about who
and what we are. Otherwise, we will just continue to be labeled interms
that imply that we are somewhat less than human.

A deaf motorist was in a hurry. He came to a railroad crossing. The
barriers came down. he stopped and waited but no train came by.He waited
some more and still no train came. He saw a main in the control booth.
The deaf motorist got out and went to the booth. He wrote on a piece
of paper and gave it to the main in the booth. Thepaper said, "Please
BUT."

Told in ASL, this story is hilarious to may culturally Deaf people.
To others, especially not deaf wise hearing, it makes no sense. Why.
The cultural experience necessary to make it funny is not shared. It
belongs to non-hearing and ASL people, not to hearing and non-ASL users.
However, it would be a great wrong to label the hearing humorless or
their children humorless merely because they do not comprehend Deaf
jokes. Deaf people and our children should be accorded withthe same
respect.

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