Hello from Oregon

S0rceress0

S0rceress0

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Hello there,

I am a hearing woman who is new to Deaf culture, but have been interested in it for a long time. In high school I had a run in with a deaf boy. I was emotionally fragile and verbally lashed out at him not because he was deaf but because he was an available target. After defending himself, we both wound up in a counselors office and were given a choice. We could be suspended or participate in a program where we would be forced to come face-to-face with each other several times a week. It was a rude awakening for me after some of the hurtful things I said. (I had told him to go back to a deaf and dumb school where he belonged, he called me the equivalent of an illiterate barbarian) I cannot say I "liked" him, but during the time we talked I was forced to own up that things I had been told by people I trusted about the Deaf community were basically wrong. It took me a few years to wrap my mind around the fact that Deaf are not handicapped or stupid. I may still have been an arrogant snot, but I graduated a better person for the experience.
Sadly I have not since then had time to explore any possible connection to the Deaf community until now. I would like to learn more, and I would like to make some friends doing it!
Thanks much
 
Hi there. Is this part of a 12 step program? Maybe it would be better to find your original victim.
 
No this is not part of a 12 step program. It took me years because I didn't want anything in my life to change and as a teenager I had trouble with that. As someone being shoved out onto the work force at 15 I also didn't have much time to think about it. I was also told at every turn by people I knew this this boy was not normal and learning to make my own decision was hard. While our personalities clashed, I could not avoid the eventual conclusion that this was wrong. If I had automatically concluded that the people who told me that were correct it would have made me a bigot.
Though I have been around the world, I haven't learned a whole lot about the Deaf community. I have read books and watched a few documentaries, but it won't tell me what people themselves have to say. Learning sign language to help me connect with people is helpful, but I'd like to know more. A woman recommended this site as a place to start. I'd like to learn. If I stepped on anyone's toes, please tell me..
 
Hello and welcome to Alldeaf.....and thanks for your honesty and willingness to explore.
 
:welcome: to AllDeaf forum. Well, that is the most interesting stories that I have ever read. I guess you had come a long way to be aware that Deaf and Hard of Hearing are just normal people, except not able to hear. We can not help being deaf the way we are whether we have hearing aids or CIs (Cochlear Implants). I am glad that you had a rude awakening to learn what the people that you knew were wrong. I am also glad that you are being honest about what happen between you and the deaf boy to us.

I hope you enjoy reading and posting all the threads here. See you around here. :wave:
 
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