Deaf Engagement Activity: Substitution #1
The hearing and deaf worlds are both very similar, and yet so very different at the same time. Both worlds have schools, shopping centers, housing and places of worship. Both worlds interact, create communities, form relationships and share experiences. The only real difference between these two worlds is how language is expressed and shared. There’s a popular say that “Perspective is everything” which I believe is quite true. Growing up in a hearing household, I wasn’t made aware of this other community that existed in the world until I was in elementary school. We learned about how some people could hear and other people could not, or how some people can see color and other people can’t. I’ve grown up with an autistic brother, so my living situation made me more open to the concept of people living with a “disability,” as labeled by the “normal” world. However, my first real exposure to the deaf world was though high school when I decided to take the American Sign Language course with a friend. Learning about the culture and language really open my eyes to this hidden world that, in all honesty, was never truly hidden. I just wasn’t made aware of it until that moment. Watching these two videos, seeing how the people were interacting and living life made me feel a bit sad that I wasn’t aware of this community sooner. I genuinely enjoyed watching different generations signing and telling their story. To me, this just looks like normal people living life to the fullest. I’m so happy to see that more and more deaf folk are able to explore career paths that may seem to be hearing-locked, it truly shows that the world as a whole is progressing. I believe on of the biggest hurdles between the Deaf community and hearing community is the awkwardness that comes from interacting with the unknown. The first ever ASL Club activity I went to I was extremely nervous because I only knew fingerspelling and a handful of signs. In fear of making a fool of myself, I sat out and watched from the sidelines until one of the club officers dragged me into a game. We threw a ball that had different questions written on it. We had to sign the question and response before tossing it to another person. It took me a second, and a lot of encouragement from the other club members, but I ended up having a wonderful time! Since then, I’ve pushed myself to be more open to signing, even if I may not be the most knowledgeable with signs yet. I want to be able to unabashedly join a conversation and add to it purposefully, to really feel confident with my signing capabilities. In the end, we are all just human beings doing our best, so why should talking differently be the factor that divides us? |
Deaf Engagement Activity: Substitution #2
Deaf people had to fight for their battles the same way anyone other oppressed group had to throughout history. They fought for their right to work, to learn and teach. They fought to be able to show how proud they are of their language and community without being reprimanded for it. Deaf people are no different from hearing people: they learn different languages, create art, and share their history just the same. Being deaf is something to be proud of in the same way to be proud of being Hispanic. It is a culture, a lifestyle, ultimately unique and needs to be respected as such. If you look at a group of hearing friends and a group of deaf friends, you could not tell them apart aside from one using speech and the other using signs to communicate. If you stop focusing on the differences, then you will see the similarities. If there is one large thing in common between the Deaf Community of America and the Through Deaf Eyes is that Alexander Graham Bell, pardon my language, was an asshole. His entire situation can be summed up to “hate the artist, not the art.” Aside from that, a lot of monumental events in history, or inventions for that matter, were created from deaf people that I otherwise never would have known. From the standpoint of know knowing what I know about Deaf history, then looking at the hearing world I grew up in, it all makes sense! It was always there, just never acknowledging it the same way hearing history has been acknowledged. Like it was stated in the documentary, “Speaking is a two-way communication, so it’s easier for deaf people to turn off their voice.” How many times have English speakers gone to a different country that speaks a different language and expect the native folk there to understand them? As if by some miracle mouthing the words larger and speaking slower would be easier to translate. Like other minority groups, any accomplishment to make an individual closer to the “social norm” is treated like a huge accomplishment. For example, deaf people learning speech. It is so demeaning to see these brilliant, intelligent people being treated as if they were dogs learning a new trick! The biggest take away from this is that while the “normal” world is becoming better at accepting minorities with different lifestyles and accommodations, it still has a long way to go. However, from the looks of things, we are on the right track. |