Woman says deafness can be "nearly eradicated": is accused of "cultural genocide".

Any political speech by ............. (fill in the blank as per your preference) would deny Hendrix, laughs and even Mozart!


Osu!

 

Hummmmm, it is hard to say without being deaf, I believe... But the deliberate act of wanting a deaf child ought to make us stop and think for a minute!


What is it that you can see when you cannot hear?



Osu!

 

Were these women ever able to hear? Because if not, they aren't able make a fully informed decision. People born with hearing who subsequently go deaf don't seem to be thrilled about it. What possible advantage is there in being deaf? Yes, you are immune to elevator music, but you lose an awful lot - such as communication with most other people, music, and awareness of your surroundings (don't underestimate the importance of that).

People flapping their lips.

 

But equally, those who can hear cannot make an informed decision either, by that logic. The only ones ever capable of making an informed decision would be either those who had hearing but became deaf, or who were deaf but have hearing.

And even then...the decision is going to be colored by their subjective reality.

For someone who had hearing but lost it, deafness is a loss of something.

For those who acquire hearing later in life, the extra sense can be nothing but overload for the brain.

Who is more 'right' here? How do you judge that?

 

Bin Laden
Gaddafi
Deafness

yep, right up there next on the list...

 

Much as I like to try and sympathise with minorities, I'm afraid that this is what's known as 'bloody silly'. Being deaf is surely a disability, not some kind of culture/lifestyle thing?

 

pretty much sums it up.

 

Being able to hear is in no way a disability. Being deaf is. I can readily accept that people deaf from a young age might not want to hear for various reasons, including the "overload" you mention. But to claim that deafness isn't a disability is frankly stupid. To deliberately select for a deaf child is flat-out wrong.

BTW, if those women had said they wanted a tall, blonde and blue-eyed child, they would have had an angry mob outside their house with pitchforks and flaming torches.

 

I don't see that it's an either/or kind of thing.

The languages and customs that have developped around deafness are cultures whether or not deafness is a disability.

Self-mutilation is also an integral part of many cultures.

 

If being deaf is not a disability in their eyes then remove their charitable status and tell them they are on their own

Watch how quick a "normal lifestyle" changes to "fighting a disability"

If you CHOOSE being deaf/blind/lame for your child you are a lousy parnet and should not be allowed kids. You are doing it for "Munchausen by Proxy"

 

Doesn't necessarily mean we should encourage it. After all, human sacrifice, cannibalism and sexual abuse have been part of many cultures as well.

 

This convo reminds me of drug addicts who make babies and children into drug addicts so they'll continue the family line, continue the family lifestyle, and never judge their parents.

Maybe a different perspective...

Say you have any disease that's plagued a family for generations. That disease also has side effects that make the body more prone to other diseases, illnesses, and conditions. In my mind, a healthy, sane parent would hope and pray for those problems to possibly skip a generation or 3. But then there are the parents who have kids because they think having a child means being loved and accepted unconditionally, and who think that the child exists for the benefit of the parent.

 

I agree, nor promote it.
Let's close the school system right now!


Osu!

 

I've only just became aware of this story below and thought it was suitably apt for this thread. It gives warm pink fuzzies every time I watch it.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsOo3jzkhYA"]Lady hears her voice for the first time[/ame]

Simply awesome.

 

Coincidence?

 

I'm guessing their ad placement responds to words on the page.

Nice story above. This woman is experiencing (and enjoying) things she never has before. I get the impression she's happier with the "hearing lifestyle" than the deaf one.

 

Clearly a traitor to her cause......

 

I knew a girl ages ago who was born deaf, for her she'd have literally given anything to hear. The internet was a God send. Chat rooms, text messaging, MSN, she'd frequent them all.

One day, I was chatting to her online and she said something about not being able to find her friends. I said, without thinking, "why don't you call them?"

The fallout was pretty bad. I was "insensitive", an "idiot", a "pig", she told me she didn't want to be deaf, hated it. She wanted to be "normal", despised the stares she got when she signed, and assumed I was taking the pee by what I said. She said I was "showing off" my hearing...

The final words she ever said to me was "All I want is to hear..."