Category: Let's talk
Radio 4 8pm 2nd March 07.
This programme highlighted the exclusion and bullying suffered by newly deaf people trying to intergrate into the established deaf comunity.
The presenter, himself hard of hearing, talked to several people deaf from birth and losing their hearing, they both suffered exclusion abuse and ignorance from their deaf peers.
They called it deaf pride being proud of who you are and your disability, at the expense of those who are struggling to come to terms with losing, what is to them, a vital sense.
The ignorance and arrogance from the deaf comunity was nothing shocking in the extreme. Has anyone here suffered the same abuse when they approached members of the blind/physically disabled community.
I've come across it twice and it's not pretty.
I have come accross people who are like that towards blind people but mostly in mainstream school. Some times I have to tell them what kind of help I need. I don't find it easy to explain to people about things to do with blindness.
I've seen this before, and it's usually insecure people trying to increase their own feelings of security at your expense.
But, it sure can be ugly, especially to a newly blinded person.
Bob
I believe it's caused by selfishness and Bob is correct. A real shame. I even see it here on the Zone offten when questions are asked and ignored. Disabled people should be supportive of others new or old because somebody supported you once. I should get a T shirt saying that. *smile*
Before I make this comment, please let it be understood that I am by no means condoning the exclusion, mockery, or by any other means belittling of disabled people from other disabled people. I agree that as blind people, or deaf people, or whatever we are, we should support and help one another, since we know better than anyone else what it's like and can sympathize better than people who are not actually going through the same things. However, I get very annoyed when people expect to automatically be included and respected and helped simply because we share a common disability. We're all people, and we have our likes and dislikes, our favorite and not-so-favorite people, and we're not all going to welcome every single new member of the blind/deaf/otherwise disabled community with open arms. It just doesn't happen. Forereel, you may very well have observed something here on the Zone that is an example of what the original poster spoke of, but from your comment about people ignoring a question someone asked, I don't think that's the same thing at all. I doubt that the people who ignored the question did so to exclude or otherwise abuse the person who was asking. There are people here, and in all other places both virtual and real, who just enjoy annoying, upsetting, and offending others, but on the other hand there are those who don't interact with new people until they've had a chance to observe them and decide whether or not they're interested, or who just don't know the answer. Whatever the reason, it happens, and blind people, from what I've experienced, tend to take things much too personally and seriously and make mountains out of molehills. If it's a direct and obvious insult or mockery, that's a different story, but I'm pretty sure I've never come across it on the basis of disability.
Dancing I have to agree with your sentiments. However, the people interviewd in this programme, did not expect to be included in the deaf world they were trying hard to find a way in, and the deaf comunity were doing everything in their power to exclude them.
Bob in some cases I'd say that's true, but in this instance the elitist deaf people were definately not insecure, if anything, they could have done with some.
The deaf lad Connor who we are looking after told me that he was watching two people signing, and he had recently taught himself to sign, they were abusive when they thought he was staring, when he signed talk to me I have no one to talk to, they were childish ignorant and immune to the fact that Connor was crying, out of relief at having found someone who he could communicate with.
He said this happens all the time some deaf people are right bastards
Goblin, your story about Connor is so sad. Some people have absolutely no feelings.
I would extend your last statement to say: "some blind people are real bastards" too.
Bob
Hmm not sad just an indictment of society at large.
And I agree some are indeed.
Though sometimes, through circumstance, or how they are treated by selfish childish creatures, you don't see the best of them, or rather, you see what others would like you to believe. Wouldn't you agree.
I can't say I've seen what I would call exclusion, but I have met people who have been totally blind since birth who have no understanding of what it's like to lose your vision gradually as I did. They make no attempt to understand what I went through but just kept telling me how lucky I was to have had sight at one time.
Yes, Goblin, I would agree.
And Becky you are surely right. From the other perspective, I, as a congenitally blind person, get so tired of people telling me how lucky I am to have never seen so I don't have an adaptation to go through. What bullshit. Frankly, most people will never understand either position.
Bob
The recent episode of Beyond Bounderies showing a group of physically disabled people trekking across africa, was a classic example of this disability hatred.
One woman, Heidi a paraoplegic, was childish, bitchy ignorant abusive and ungrateful, to anyone who tried to help her through the difficult terrain. I have never been so glad to see the back of someone.
Now there will be a section of society, who, having never met anyone spinal injured, will think that is how they all behave and react to needing help. It is true of some but not them all and this foul mouthed eejit did nothing to change society's opnion of us.
That's the main reason I try to be polite to strangers who offer help to me, even if they go about it all wrong such as taking my arm and pulling me. I let them know how to correctly guide me or let them know if I don't need help, but I try never to be rude because I don't want them to think all blind people are rude and ungrateful.