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From: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Stigmas and Deafies
Message-ID: <16072@handicap.news>
Date: 17 Jun 91 15:36:11 GMT
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[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

In my wanderings, I have found that oral deaf people can be as conceited
and judgemental as anyone else. I have seen them make fun of signing
deaf people, make audism statements. The most recent was an oralist
and her hearing sister who told a nurse that my life was harder than
hers (the oralist deaf sister) because I could not talk. Actually,
I talk rather darn well, I just chose not to at the time. They sat
there for 15 minutes telling the nurse how bad it was for signing Deaf
people and how much better "she" was than they and on and on. What
they didn't know was that my daughter who is hearing interprted for
me without voice. They assumed we were both deaf. I said nothing, just
let it go.
    Time and again I have experienced this audistic attitude in oralists

and hard of hearing people. Let me point out before there is any

understandings right now. I have also met some of the finest examples
of human beings who just happened to be oralist daef, hard of hearing,
and what not else as well. My point is, a lot of oralist have strong
audistic attitudes. Some of their organizations were (if not still)
founded on the premise of disassociating with the signing or non-speaking
Deaf people. It is/was written in their bylaws and such. I have met
my share of oralists who look down on signing and non-speaking Deaf.
Little wonder then taht some Deafies act the same to oralists.
    make no mistake, I do not condone such behavior in either group.

But in all fairness, you oralists should not browbeat signing and non-speaking
deaf until you take a good look at what a lot you do to teh other half.
I've been there. I've been there to the point that some oralists who
see me talking with hearies by voice (I became deaf at age 13), assume
I am one of them. Consequently, I have had these people say things
to me about other deaf people that made me mad, very mad. It still
happens.
     Even in the House of God. I can recall how oralists and SEE advocates

came down on myself and others for doing what we believed was right.
We saw that the congregation did not understand the hymns. For example:
"Before Jehovah's awful throne. . . ." Deafies couldnot comprehend

these archaic terms no longer in use. If the chair is so awful, why
would God-who is good-fool aroud with the thing? What we did was research
the songs' authors background,the song itself, to get a feel of what
it was communicating; thenwe presented it in ASL. It had feeling. It
conveyed the original (we believe) concepts the author intended. Even
hearies started coming into our little assigned area to watch when
word got round about this. But lo and behold! The oralist gang criticized
to hades and gone for corrupting English and the hymns. Ther was a
big row over this. Because I personally believe a church is a place
of peace, I left that particular group rather than see such animosity.
The majority grieved. They spoke of how they understood the hymns for
the first time in their lives. They were moved to tears as a result.
Some hearies insisted the songs had more meaning when they "saw" the
authors' message and listened to a skilled interprter convey the same
in tone and tune.
     My point again is that oralists are not saints. They are just

as guilty of snubbing the other side as anyone else and are sometimes
worst. More so because they are "think hearing" and feel they are superior
to those "inferior" deafies. The world doesn't need anymore of this
nor any of this we oralists are "better", "more accepting" and etc
because it isn't factual. Huamns are both the grandest work of nature
when they show compassion to others. They are also the shame and horror
of nature when they show how cruel they can be. Oralist or Culturally
Deaf, whatever wrong we accuse another group of, you can be sure we
ourselves are equally guilty.

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