Mark Levin: Let’s eradicate the term ‘hearing impaired

[KarissaMann05]

Just answer this question, honestly. Do you actually think that hearing people assume that there are things you can't do BECAUSE the terms hearing impaired or hearing disability are using to describe us? Really?

Personally, I don't care if they treat me some kind of 'disease parasite.' They can call me hearing impaired or whatever they want to use 'to degrade' me. Because you (generally) still view deafness as an illness that is something should be treated/cured.

There is nothing that you can do when medical community's goal to get ruin of 'unwanted-ness'.

 

[ambrosia]

Okay here's the thing. Words do have power, that I certainly agree with. BUT, I think it will not effect the group you think it will. Others, hearing society, will see the deaf and HoH the same, dropping hearing impaired will only make the hearing impaired feel better about it. The only people who have a problem with it are the ones who are touchy and self conscious about it in the first place and need it sugar coated.

 

[actaeon]

ambrosia, i feel like you are missing my point about attitudes and gradual change. say you lived in the 1960s and 1970s when homosexuality was still listed in the DSM as a mental illness, and gay men and women were pushing to have it delisted (and, accordingly, to reduce usage of the word "homosexual" because of its pathological medical connotations). would you say that the only people who had a problem were the ones who were touchy and self-conscious about it? hindsight is 20/20, yeah, and i know i am making the same comparison over and over but i feel like it is the easiest example for many people these days to understand. not all, granted.

do people still see gay men and women the same as then? sure, some do, but not nearly as many. did it make gay men and women feel better? yes! and what is the problem with that? now translate that to deaf people. i'm not advocating pretending there is no disability. i'm advocating inherent respect, which is different from assuming that disabled people want to hear abled people's pity or supposed empathy.

 

[kokonut]

Just answer this question, honestly. Do you actually think that hearing people assume that there are things you can't do BECAUSE the terms hearing impaired or hearing disability are using to describe us? Really?

Actually, there are people who think the term "deaf" would mean to preclude deaf people from driving, for example, like some/many people are wont to believe, including cops.

Taken from a forum for police officers:
Deaf driver? [Archive] - Police Forums & Law Enforcement Forums @ Officer.com

The other day I made a stop and found both the driver and passenger to be deaf. This surprised me, as I didn't think a deaf person could get a driver's license. But the driver presented a driver's license and it came back as valid.

I did a short search of our state statutes and could only come up with one the seemed to address this issue: 343.06(1)(f) The department shall not issue a license to any person who is required by this chapter to take an examination, unless such person takes and passes such examination. Deaf persons otherwise qualified under this chapter to receive a license shall be issued such license in the discretion of the secretary.

Does anyone else have any experience with deaf drivers? It would seem to me that being deaf could be a major disadvantage for a driver. Is it legal in your area?

Just curious, mostly.

It was comical to read some of the officers' responses who actually had to check to see if deaf people were allowed to drive in their own state.

So, it's not just "hearing impaired" that's presented a problem but term "deaf" in this case when it comes to ability.

 

[Mewtilation]

In a lot of states ( Mine included ) It's a restriction on the back of the drivers license just like if you wear glasses. :P Just states that I have to have side mirrors.... Which.... all drivers.... have.... to have.... :roll:

 

[KikLove]

One of these days in court in the far away future I'll get to ask a cop why a deaf/HOH person got a speeding ticket. Maybe the cop will give me a logical answer. Unless cats and motorcycles pop up. Then I'll know an ADer was behind the wheel.

Seriously though? I wonder if I would do the same thing if I had gone into law enforcement. Training should cover this. Cops = lack of training on interacting with deaf/HOH in general.

 

[ambrosia]

ambrosia, i feel like you are missing my point about attitudes and gradual change. say you lived in the 1960s and 1970s when homosexuality was still listed in the DSM as a mental illness, and gay men and women were pushing to have it delisted (and, accordingly, to reduce usage of the word "homosexual" because of its pathological medical connotations). would you say that the only people who had a problem were the ones who were touchy and self-conscious about it? hindsight is 20/20, yeah, and i know i am making the same comparison over and over but i feel like it is the easiest example for many people these days to understand. not all, granted.

do people still see gay men and women the same as then? sure, some do, but not nearly as many. did it make gay men and women feel better? yes! and what is the problem with that? now translate that to deaf people. i'm not advocating pretending there is no disability. i'm advocating inherent respect, which is different from assuming that disabled people want to hear abled people's pity or supposed empathy.

No I'm not missing your point, I'm disagreeing with it. Karrissa brought up the phrase deaf and dumb, I would agree with you, but we've already jumped that hurdle. The term hearing impaired just doesn't apply to your analogy, isn't insulting or degrading. I've already explained this isn't a which came first chicken or egg scenario, and kokonut just have us a fine example of that. Are you missing that point? Or just disagreeing with it?

Now let's move on and remove blonde being synonymous with stupid, because I've had a lot more people assume I'm stupid because I'm blonde than because I'm deaf, hard of hearing or hearing impaired, whichever label you're most comfortable with. I don't care which one you use, they're all true.

 

[actaeon]

ok, i understand now - we disagree on the fundamental point of whether "hearing impaired" can be insulting. other people in this thread have given fine examples that support my position, just like people have supported yours. since it doesn't seem likely that one of us will be persuaded otherwise, i'm not sure there's a point to my spending more energy on this. shrugs

 

[cdaigle430]

My 2 cents on this;

After reading this thread it seems there are folks who would be unhappy with anything other than being called "Normal". To be called "Normal" you have to define what it is to be "Normal"? If a person is normal then that could mean that their bodies organs and functions are all operating withing parameters they were designed for right?

If you were born with ears and the organs to support hearing function that could be called normal. If you become hard of hearing or deaf then those body parts\organs are not functioning within normal parameters they are supposed to. I mean why have hears if you cant hear? Why have a cochlea, ear drums etc if they dont work? So this brings me back to normal, it is not normal to have a body part that does not function the way its intended purpose was meant for them right? To sum it up I think I can safely call myself hearing impaired and therfore handicapped. Why-because my ears arent working the way there supposed to and I am not 100% functional. Sure I can compensate but...

Now for the words "handicapped or hearing impaired" or whatever we use nowadays. Its just a word to describe what I am experencing. I wish people would stop being so sensitive about these terms. It doesnt matter what you get it changed to someone will be unhappy with it because in the long run it still labels us as being anything but "normal".

That being said-there are insensitive morons out there in this world who can take anyword and make it insulting. Being hearing impaired is not insulting or demeaning in any way by its normal definition.

 

[kokonut]

Hey, I am just your normal everyday hard of hearing guy. *shrugs*

 

[KarissaMann05]

Because you're being taught that being normal is the must. That is why.

The medical community is going to get ruin of all abnormalities. That is their goal, so they are still working to solve all "problems"/"diseases"/etc for years and years.

 

[shel90]

If you think being called hearing impaired is cruel I hate to see how you'll be if you where called something that IS cruel . I do not see being called hearing impaired as cruel.

calling anyone impaired is just wrong. I think it is just mean. We are all different and have different ways of doing things. I wouldn't call anyone mobile impaired or vision impaired.

 

[kokonut]

calling anyone impaired is just wrong. I think it is just mean. We are all different and have different ways of doing things. I wouldn't call anyone mobile impaired or vision impaired.

Mobility Impaired Golf Association Founders
MiGA is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2005 by Mike Adams, Derek Gemmet and Casey Martin, with the goal to improve the lives of others with disabilities through the sport of golf.
- Mike Adams -

In the spring of 2001, Mike Adams suffered a near fatal spinal cord infection that left him quadriplegic. Determined to regain his mobility, Adams found golf to be an excellent rehabilitation tool that helped him mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually throughout his recovery process. Within a year, not only was he walking, but he was winning golf tournaments, including the 2002 Antiqua Pro-Am Championship. He has also competed in the U.S. and British Amateur Championships.
- Derek Gemmet -

Derek Gemmet was born in Portland, Oregon, with cerebral palsy. Although he needed forearm crutches, his parents introduced him to the game of golf when he was seven years old. In 2002, Gemmet earned a degree in golf management from the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif., but was determined to realize his goal of becoming a PGA Professional and instructor. After 18 attempts, Gemmet passed the PGA Playing Ability Test on Sept. 28, 2005, at the Turnwater Valley Golf Course in Olympia, Wash., with a morning round of 72 and an afternoon round of 75, beating the cut by four strokes (147). Gemmet is currently working at Heron Lakes as an instructor.
- Casey Martin -

Casey Martin, a former PGA TOUR player, was named head golf coach of the University of Oregon in 2006. Martin graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics. Martin and his Cardinal teammates, Tiger Woods and Notah Begay III, won the 1994 NCAA Golf Championship. Diagnosed with Klippel Trenaunay Weber Syndrome, a rare circulatory disorder that made his right leg extremely weak, Martin qualified for the PGA Tour in 2000 and played on the Nike Tour throughout 2003. He also played in the 2005 PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Mobility Impaired Golf Association (MIGA) located in Portland, Oregon | Changing Lives Through The Game of Golf

Founder - Visually Impaired Solutions Inc.

Blindskills., Inc. - Carol M. McCarl - visually impaired person and founder mentions the term "visually impaired" several times in an interview.

It's the specific function that's impaired, not the person. You have your opinion, we have ours.

 

[shel90]

Mobility Impaired Golf Association (MIGA) located in Portland, Oregon | Changing Lives Through The Game of Golf

Founder - Visually Impaired Solutions Inc.

Blindskills., Inc. - Carol M. McCarl - visually impaired person and founder mentions the term "visually impaired" several times in an interview.

It's the specific function that's impaired, not the person. You have your opinion, we have ours.

..

 

[caz12]

it contenious point,one min i agree the next i dont..was a time i felt the politics of this,but comes a time you give up or for me it has,but intresting artical..
i have epilepsy aswell the thing that left me deaf is same reason as deafness..
i cringe and hate being called epileptic the conatations are horrible..i see my self as woman that happens to have epilepsy,i see the deafness and epilepsey allways secondary

 

[kokonut]

it contenious point,one min i agree the next i dont..was a time i felt the politics of this,but comes a time you give up or for me it has,but intresting artical..
i have epilepsy aswell the thing that left me deaf is same reason as deafness..
i cringe and hate being called epileptic the conatations are horrible..i see my self as woman that happens to have epilepsy,i see the deafness and epilepsey allways secondary

There are preferences to what people identify themselves as. Some are, of course, extremely sensitive to certain terms while others like the terms or prefers it that describe their condition as they see it. Two of the above examples, mobility impaired and vision impaired, are terms that people are very comfortable with which, of course, identifies their condition that's impaired...and not the person.

 

[kokonut]

..

 

[SBirn]

Curious, the term doesn't bother me ... why does it bug you

This was addressed to Shel but
she answered my question while
I was otherwise occupied.

 

[SBirn]

Lets do it this way ...

calling anyone impaired is just wrong. I think it is just mean. We are all different and have different ways of doing things. I wouldn't call anyone mobile impaired or vision impaired.

I understand that you think calling someone impaired is just wrong. Perhaps one of our differences is (and the author says it in a different way) that I grew up being "hearing impaired." I learned I had to tell people about my hearing or honestly, Shel, when my hearing grew markedly worse, they just thought I was stupid or minimally funny and stupid. It is the phrase that defined me and still defines me but now I am hearing impaired and I'm sorry it bothers you, I will not call you that, and now I am also deaf.

I grew up hearing. I had to work in various corporations and compared to other people, I had an impairment that had to be fixed and was - by a HA or HAs. You might also call me vision impaired and I wouldn't flinch. That's what glasses and contacts are for - correcting my vision. But I do agree with you 100% that vision or mobile impaired sound wrong. IF they are wrong to the person being called that, it is wrong and should be changed. It really seems to be about political correctness. With me, I don't care what you call me. With others, I'll be more aware and if the need arises, I will ask what they consider themselves to be.

I respect the way you think and can't disagree with it. It's the way you feel. All I'm doing is telling you how I was brought up and maybe it was just different.

 

[hoichi]

The sooner i realized the less i gave a shit, in what mere words meant or how the hearing world saw or sees me, and started understanding the reason WHY I was reacting in certain situations the way I did, the more control i got over my life, the better my life became
Be in control of your life.
Yeah audism sucks, and many upon many hearing don't get it, or want to get it. and u get all kinds who wanna play games ect ect ect
meh
doesnt phase me these days
learn to laugh at yourself.
Try it
Its one of the best ways to handle the hearing world
Go with the flow, you know, when your havin a drink and you really want to chat with that sharp lady beside you....but you cant hear a thing right, of course you cant, your DEAF, why even bother? you cant hear a thing damn!! ,,,,,,,perfect, you decide to politely start a conversation. you know you cant hear a thing, she doesnt yet but she will soon, you know this. you know how most people including yourself will react. you know this better then anyone.
"What"
leaning a little closer with style of course
(sharp dressin girls lips move)
"WHAT?"
" NO i'm not dead i'm DEAF "
(look around, look back at her a bit panicked, checking for a pulse)
"you mean im Dead?"
(quickly sip drink)
"im deaf too though", (wink)
'oh i'm sorr...."
"don't be sorry cuttie, ( raises hand for another round for both)
moves closer
sips drink, lights smoke, exhales, (pauses),,,,,,sips drink leans closer)
"say"
(circles index finger slowly around tip of glass, slowly, surely, slowly round and around, she notices. Her eyes gaze, your eyes meet them, breath.......... out............ slowly)
the drinks arrive. you and her are still communicating/ saying nothing/ eye gaze still touching............\ suddenly the ability to hear now doesn't matter does it?
cough
the world is what you make it. words, signs whatever
Hoichi-the earless