Deaf culture as point of pride? It’s more a curse

Beach girl said:
He said not one word about the community. He mentioned the condition of his deafness.

As long as we're dealing in hypotheticals here: if a woman longed for a child, hoped for a child, dearly wanted to have children, and suffered miscarriage after miscarriage and felt sad and sorry about it, would you tell her "just get over it, dear, it's not really a loss, it's all in your perception. You should join the culture of the child-free."

Or would you have some compassion for her?

Just as a hypothetical, of course...
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Foolish. No person dies from deafness.
 
Beowulf said:
An ancient warrior harboring these kinds of bitter thoughts is always alone in any crowd. I feel sorry for him.
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No doubt. One must feel sorry for anyone that chooses to live in such misery.
 
Beach girl said:
He said not one word about the community. He mentioned the condition of his deafness.

As long as we're dealing in hypotheticals here: if a woman longed for a child, hoped for a child, dearly wanted to have children, and suffered miscarriage after miscarriage and felt sad and sorry about it, would you tell her "just get over it, dear, it's not really a loss, it's all in your perception. You should join the culture of the child-free."

Or would you have some compassion for her?

Just as a hypothetical, of course...
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I would encourage her to seek out those who could have empathy for her. It could be a group of others who went through her experience(s) and can relate to it. Anyone can sympathize with her, but far fewer can empathize.
 
Beach girl said:
He said not one word about the community. He mentioned the condition of his deafness.

As long as we're dealing in hypotheticals here: if a woman longed for a child, hoped for a child, dearly wanted to have children, and suffered miscarriage after miscarriage and felt sad and sorry about it, would you tell her "just get over it, dear, it's not really a loss, it's all in your perception. You should join the culture of the child-free."

Or would you have some compassion for her?

Just as a hypothetical, of course...
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Fallicious comparison. Stick to apples and apples.
 
Beowulf said:
I would encourage her to seek out those who could have empathy for her. It could be a group of others who went through her experience(s) and can relate to it. Anyone can sympathize with her, but far fewer can empathize.
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True and true. It is not sympathy that is beneficial. Empathy is healing and empowering.
 
Beach girl said:
He said not one word about the community. He mentioned the condition of his deafness.

As long as we're dealing in hypotheticals here: if a woman longed for a child, hoped for a child, dearly wanted to have children, and suffered miscarriage after miscarriage and felt sad and sorry about it, would you tell her "just get over it, dear, it's not really a loss, it's all in your perception. You should join the culture of the child-free."

Or would you have some compassion for her?

Just as a hypothetical, of course...
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child-free culture?

Nobody is telling the dude to join Deaf culture but to refrain criticizing it when he is not a member himself.
 
Of course it's a false comparison and not the same thing. Same goes for bringing up "what if he had said black culture was a curse."

Since he said no such thing, why even mention this "what if..." scenario.

"when he is not a member himself." Wait a minute. He IS a hard-of-hearing individual. He can't comment on that? Or feel it's a curse, for him? It's his life, his reactions.

So does anyone here, besides me (also a late-deafened individual), have any empathy for him?

Is Lane (a non-deaf person himself, apparently) really the spokesman for the whole deaf community, with whom no one dare disagree?
 
Beach girl said:
Of course it's a false comparison and not the same thing. Same goes for bringing up "what if he had said black culture was a curse."

Since he said no such thing, why even mention this "what if..." scenario.

"when he is not a member himself." Wait a minute. He IS a hard-of-hearing individual. He can't comment on that? Or feel it's a curse, for him? It's his life, his reactions.

So does anyone here, besides me (also a late-deafened individual), have any empathy for him?

Is Lane (a non-deaf person himself, apparently) really the spokesman for the whole deaf community, with whom no one dare disagree?
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Incorrect. Black culture is a reality, and therefore can be compared to another culture.

Plenty of people here have empathy for him. It has been expressed in several posts. What none of us have is sympathy for him, or for his prejudicial attitudes.
 
Beach girl said:
Of course it's a false comparison and not the same thing. Same goes for bringing up "what if he had said black culture was a curse."

Since he said no such thing, why even mention this "what if..." scenario.

"when he is not a member himself." Wait a minute. He IS a hard-of-hearing individual. He can't comment on that? Or feel it's a curse, for him? It's his life, his reactions.

So does anyone here, besides me (also a late-deafened individual), have any empathy for him?

Is Lane (a non-deaf person himself, apparently) really the spokesman for the whole deaf community, with whom no one dare disagree?
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We can have empathy for him but it seems to be a pattern that happens again and again....


someone criticizes the idea of Deaf culture

someone calls out that person for it

then others say that first person should get empathy or that it is ok.

I have seen it happen tooo many times over the years. It gets old. The Deaf community always gets criticized for standing up for their beliefs or speaking out against ignorance.

Nothing new which is why I am very tough on this guy.
 
Yep. Okay for him to belittle the values of Deaf Culture, but not okay for us to defend the values of Deaf Culture. Go figure.:P
 
He's not belittling anything. He's speaking of his own reality. Pity it's not the same as yours, but there it is.

And seriously, is Lane really considered this spokesman with whom no one dare disagree? I never heard of the man myself before now.
 
Beach girl said:
He's not belittling anything. He's speaking of his own reality. Pity it's not the same as yours, but there it is.

And seriously, is Lane really considered this spokesman with whom no one dare disagree? I never heard of the man myself before now.
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He is well-known in the Deaf community.
 
Beach girl said:
He's not belittling anything. He's speaking of his own reality. Pity it's not the same as yours, but there it is.

And seriously, is Lane really considered this spokesman with whom no one dare disagree? I never heard of the man myself before now.
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Lane is considered to be an authority, and with good reason. Doesn't surprise me that you never heard of him before now. Had you read him, and had any knowledge of Deaf Culture, you would be giving his position more credibility than you do. I can only suggest that you find some of his works and begin reading.
 
Beach girl said:
He's not belittling anything. He's speaking of his own reality. Pity it's not the same as yours, but there it is.

And seriously, is Lane really considered this spokesman with whom no one dare disagree? I never heard of the man myself before now.
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He is not?

To try to beatify this is to argue the untenable.

Really? Doesnt seem like it to me.
 
To me, again, it seems like he is arguing with ONE person, with whose opinion he didn't agree. If you all see Lane as the God-head that everyone has to agree with, then it makes sense that you see Osgood's disagreement as an attack on Deaf culture. If you see it as one person disagreeing with one other person (as I do), it seems like quite a stretch to read into it any more than that.

I never knew anyone in any particular field of interest or culture or group with whom everyone had to agree (in the free world, that is); I'm surprised to find that there exists such a person in this community.

We don't see disagreement coming from them.
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OK, then, why don't you write the Boston Globe, tell them they were wrong to publish Osgood's letter, you're speaking for the deaf community, and here's why he's all wrong. Seriously, why not?
 
Beach girl said:
To me, again, it seems like he is arguing with ONE person, with whose opinion he didn't agree. If you all see Lane as the God-head that everyone has to agree with, then it makes sense that you see Osgood's disagreement as an attack on Deaf culture. If you see it as one person disagreeing with one other person (as I do), it seems like quite a stretch to read into it any more than that.

I never knew anyone in any particular field of interest or culture or group with whom everyone had to agree (in the free world, that is); I'm surprised to find that there exists such a person in this community.
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Difference in IDing as deaf or Deaf. C'est la vie.

And there are numerous people who are considered experts on many aspects of hearing culture. Especially in terms of culture. No surprise that the Deaf community recognizes a cultural expert. He has the credentials, the knowledge, and the experience to be considered an expert. Same way a sociologist who studies mainstream American culture is considered an expert in that field.

Well, since you edited after I quoted you, I guess I have to, as well. How do you know I haven't?

But, seriously, the wrong is not in the publishing of the letter...we are all much better off for knowing the ignorance still abounds and being able to correct it. The problem is with the attitude. Boston Globe only made it evident.
 
Are you arguing that a sociologist who is a recognized expert doesn't get argument from other recognized experts???

Everybody gets arguments. Even experts.

Will you write the Globe, as an expert yourself?
 
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