Future Shock

It is possible that advances in medical and other technology will "cure" the deafness. I can see that happening in the western world which can afford all that stuff. While the poorer 3rd world countries cannot afford it so there will always be deaf people somewhere in the world even in the far future.
 
hearing...just another view...

Technology and scientific advances may be on the rise, yet schools are learning to support the deaf culture more and more, hearing students becoming involved in ASL classes and entering into the deaf surrounding to learn. Maybe it will be more...well...not acceptable...but not as looked down on as a bad thing to be deaf. In the future, it may not bee seen as a bad thing, a barrier, therefore, continuing on with the deaf culture...yet maybe then...in the future, it will all mend together, the hearing and deaf cultures...

i don't know...do deaf people NOT want to have a mending together of both cultures, do they want to stay their own? or would it not be such a bad thing if it all comes together more so than today?

(i remember when i was younger i was getting into my family's kids dictionary and it had the alphabet handshapes...and i was soo eager to learn ASL...finally getting the chance to Freshman year in high school...continuing on to this year and throughout my high school experience. AND today...the rage is baby sign? maybe SIGN IS ON THE RISE, TOO!...not just medical advances!?)
 
I don't think the Deaf Culture will dissappear, or that there will ever be a cure for Deafness. Deafness, in a way (not from the cultural view, but from the biological view) is like unto migraines. It is caused by dozens or even hundreds of things. There will never be a cure for deafness as long as that exists. I am hearing, but have a good insight into the biological view of this. The different causes are listed below in a concise format:

before birth:
genes (whether hereditary or malformation)
symptom of the mother's misuse or abuse of drugs
Malformed inner, middle, or outer ear, or any of its parts

after birth:
Brain damage to the sensory or hearing parts of the brain
Damage to the inner ear incurred by exterior sources
damage to the eardrum
Certain types of illnesses
Ear infections resulting in fluid in the ears (the reason I was deaf until I turned 3 and my parents had tubes put in my ears)

With all these various causes not even coming close to listing all of them, it is not possible that deafness can be cured.

Just my two cents

en el amor interminable de Cristo,
Sculleywr
 
sillycat said:
It is possible that advances in medical and other technology will "cure" the deafness. I can see that happening in the western world which can afford all that stuff. While the poorer 3rd world countries cannot afford it so there will always be deaf people somewhere in the world even in the far future.
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I don't know about anyone else, but I find the concept that deafness is something to be cured objectionable.
 
I am hearing, and I think that the Deaf community will always be around. If there is a way to communicate and interact with each other it is just like any other different Community. They will always be around!
 
rjr2006 said:
Well, all I see is 98% hearing people and I don't ignore them. In the future, deaf people will be integrated with hearing people.
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I somewhat disagree with u if Iam interpreting your statement correctly. Maybe deaf people will be integrated with hearing people but there will always be the need to seek out others like them so as a result, the Deaf community will still exist. It just may have a more diverse population of people.
 
I have to agree with Shel-

Sure Im deaf and Im integrated with the hearing world - but I sought out All Deaf to connect with others like me who better understand my struggles and concerns with deafness, and its also given me the confidence to be OK with the fact that Im deaf and not hearing and that Im not supposed to be this incapable being.

As long as there are deaf/ dhh/ Deaf individuals theres always going to be a deaf community. Just because we have IMs and text messaging, as well as VR, it still cannot evenly compare to the one-on-one conversation in real life, and real life experience from actually being there with the person. IMing and chatting over the Internet is one thing, actually being in the same room with the person and signing with them is something else.
 
Since when will 'water' integrate with 'oil'? If that ever happen, please let me know. The true is the same with Deaf and hearing societies. The mainstream idea might work, but that doesn't change the way of how Deaf culture are, they will ALWAYS gather around like a magnet to others. The reason why they gather around is because they look for their belonging -- someone else who understand how it is like to be deaf in terms of oppressions, discriminations, inability to communicate (whether it be 1% or 99%) and so on.
 
There will always be a deaf community.

There are communities of all sorts and they will all always thrive regardless of what happens in the future. They may get bigger, smaller, or stay the same.

Communities are a way of people with common interests getting together.
 
There are two main aspects: need and value. Many people, both hearing and deaf, see a need for deaf community, Deaf Culture, and ASL, but I'm not certain they see a value in it. Some, both hearing and deaf see neither need nor value, and a few, such as The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing , see it as blocking progress.

I believe Deaf Culture and ASL will exist in some form for as long as people see value in it, whether there is a need or not. In some far distent science fiction future it might be a group of all hearing people who get together once a week and communicate with nothing but sign.

Let us look at the proven value of Deaf Culture and ASL.

It has been said that deafness is the only disability that brings those who have it together, and in this it is unique. By the very nature of this 'bringing together" it has put deaf people at the forefront of any discussion, legislation, or action concerning people with disabilities. When it comes to challenging societies definitions and preconceptions of what disability is -- Deaf are the leaders.

This is a value to society as a whole: It needs this challenge to keep it from stagnating in its own all powerful ignorance.

ASL has contributed to linguistics and therefore our knowledge of humanity and language by its very existence. While in no way lessening Stokoe's contribution it is a fact that a thousand Stokoe's could not have made the cultural impact he did if ASL or its equivalent had not existed. And as long as ASL did exist someone, if not Stokoe, was going to discover and prove it as a unique language.

Without Deaf Culture it is unlikely ASL would exist as the highly developed language it is.

Would society be poorer if Deaf Culture did not exist?

You better believe it.
 
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