Deaf culture as a group

jillio said:
Again, you assumptions are wrong. You really need to stop assuming and just start learning.
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I somehow think he is either afraid or learning or truly believes he is too old to learn.
 
drphil said:
In reading some of the comments above which I take to be a "sample of deaf culture". I can see a "warm welcome" in some/all? "deaf groups" here in Toronto. I will just stick to deaf swimming. Whether anyone here "approves"- I don't recall asking. Should I? It is a factual statement- my Implant is disconnected thus back to being bilaterally deaf.Real quiet-to say the least.

Glad I DIDN'T join any such actual groups here in Toronto!
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It isn't. That's a small sample of AllDeaf forums culture, which tends to be quite blunt, and doesn't respond well to perceived slights. However, I don't think anyone has implied that you personally "should" or "shouldn't" do anything other than what you want.

The culture of the AllDeaf forums is not (necessarily) the Cultural Deaf community, though. I'm personally curious, though - if you perceive the community here at AllDeaf to be unwelcoming and disapproving of you, why do you wish to stay? (I'm not implying you should leave, I'm curious what it is that has kept you here, since you've been here a while now.)

drphil said:
ASL usage doesn't change my condition of being bilaterally deaf.
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Well, while it doesn't make you able to hear, it does (potentially) open up a new means of communication to you that was previously unavailable to you (just as French or German or Latin might be methods of communication which are currently unavailable to you) and which, unlike the languages you currently know, is not reliant upon your ability (or inability) to hear.

This, of course, is only useful if you actually know anyone else who knows or learns the language with you, which may very well not be an option you're interested in. But it is an option for others who are deaf, which is often why it's mentioned to you, since others besides you read the responses to things you've written.

drphil said:
As for my comment re: sociological construction : Culture is discussed in Sociology Check any introduction. How real is "culture"?
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Well now we're getting all philosophical up in here. How do you define "real"? Is something that can be represented as an arrangement and pattern of atoms and electrons "real"? Without getting too metaphysical, I'll simply say that I, and most other AllDeaf forum members, consider "culture" to be very real.

If you'd like to discuss or debate that, though, that's the starting grounds for an entirely new topic.

drphil said:
As for LoveBlue assertion deafness is not silence- no comment. Obviously words seem to have multiple meaning which appear to contradict themselves. An ongoing verbal swamp.
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LoveBlue was referring to Cultural Deafness, which is, in fact, distinct from physical deafness.

And since we're currently communicating in English, then yes, many of the words we use do have multiple meanings, some of which can appear to be contradictory. This is and always has been a part of the English Language, and a part of realizing which "meaning" of a word applies to its usage in a sentence and the context in which it was used.

I'm curious - is English your first language, or did/do you speak another language primarily and then learned English second?
 
KristinaB said:
I somehow think he is either afraid or learning or truly believes he is too old to learn.
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I'll just go bask in the warmth of my youthful ignorance where I still think I can change his mind if that's the case, then. :)
 
KristinaB said:
I somehow think he is either afraid or learning or truly believes he is too old to learn.
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I think it would have more to do with fear. Change is scary. Brave people walk through it. And are rewarded in the end.
 
Actually, I was referring to the physical silence. I have severe-to-profound hearing loss in both ears, yet I can still hear. In fact, my speech discrimination for someone with my loss is outstandingly good (as long as the volume is there). But, I'm still deaf. There are different degrees of deafness, just as there are different degrees of blindness. That is why I said I'm deaf but do not live in silence. Without my HAs, I can still hear certain sounds.
 
Gawd forbid someone be friendly and offer a social opportunity. :roll:
 
Good points. Many use the terms interchangeably. Creates confusion.
 
LoveBlue said:
Actually, I was referring to the physical silence. I have severe-to-profound hearing loss in both ears, yet I can still hear. In fact, my speech discrimination for someone with my loss is outstandingly good (as long as the volume is there). But, I'm still deaf. There are different degrees of deafness, just as there are different degrees of blindness. That is why I said I'm deaf but do not live in silence. Without my HAs, I can still hear certain sounds.
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Has anyone here, besides myself, ever seen the movie "Love Is Never Silent"?
 
As duly noted before: the multiple meanings assigned to the "word-deaf" hardly leads to clarity.

I was in the Profound hearing loss category=90db for almost 30 years and never claimed I was "deaf/Deaf/DEAF".
I became bilaterally deaf on December 20, 2006. I knew it immediately. From reading Alldeaf.com apparently my experience is "unknown".

Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil said:
As duly noted before: the multiple meanings assigned to the "word-deaf" hardly leads to clarity.

I was in the Profound hearing loss category=90db for almost 30 years and never claimed I was "deaf/Deaf/DEAF".
I became bilaterally deaf on December 20, 2006. I knew it immediately. From reading Alldeaf.com apparently my experience is "unknown".

Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07
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It lacks clarity only for you, dr.phil, only for you.
 
Really? "Deaf/DEAF" can hear. Am I confused?

Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil said:
As duly noted before: the multiple meanings assigned to the "word-deaf" hardly leads to clarity.
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I've heard anecdotes that I'm fully unable to substantiate that describes English as being one of the most difficult languages to learn, because the rules governing it aren't clear at all, nor do they even consistently apply.

That's why I'm trying to help you out, as best as I can. :)

drphil said:
I was in the Profound hearing loss category=90db for almost 30 years and never claimed I was "deaf/Deaf/DEAF".
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Nothing wrong with that, either. It's up to you how you view yourself.

drphil said:
I became bilaterally deaf on December 20, 2006. I knew it immediately. From reading Alldeaf.com apparently my experience is "unknown".
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In statistics, this is known as the problem of having a biased sampling group. You're on a website that is specifically catered to those who identify themselves, in one way or another, as either physically deaf, culturally Deaf, or both. Because of this, you're far more likely to encounter people who have thought of themselves as deaf or Deaf for far longer than you (even if they were in similar physical situations as you).

And what it really boils down to is... that's okay. There's nothing wrong with different people having different self-perceptions. The problems only start to seep in if you try to push your self-perceptions onto someone else.
 
drphil said:
Really? "Deaf/DEAF" can hear. Am I confused?
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As has already been addressed by many people, you are somewhat confused. Going over the original chart I laid out:

  1. Physically deaf (or hard of hearing); Culturally Deaf
  2. Physically deaf (or hard of hearing); not culturally Deaf <-- This is the category that you, drphil, appear to fall under
  3. Physically hearing; Culturally Deaf
  4. Physically hearing; not culturally Deaf
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To apply the deaf/Deaf labels to these categories, I'd go:

1) deaf and Deaf
2) deaf but not Deaf
3) not deaf but Deaf
4) neither deaf nor Deaf

(others, especiall pfh: Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or misrepresenting anything here, please)
 
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