- Joined
- Jan 22, 2012
- Messages
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Sorry, I can't remember your name. But I was with my date and you're a friend of his. You were talking to me and I wanted him to understand what you were saying, so I was signing for him. That made you angry. You thought it meant that I didn't think you could sign for yourself. Believe me, I know you can sign. I know you're a CODA, it's all good. I'll tell you why I was signing.
On my first day of my first asl class, they taught us that if you can sign, and if there's a Deaf person in the room, and you're talking and not signing, it's just rude. I thought about that and it made alot of sense to me. I don't want Deaf people to feel isolated in the hearing world. I know they often do. I don't want to be a part of the problem. My signing isn't anywhere near perfect, but it's good enough that I can often help my Deaf friends understand what's going on. So if there's a Deaf person around, I try to sign all I can. I sign what I want to say, and I try to tell them if anything interesting/significant is going on.
So you're talking to me and he's right there and I'm wondering why you're not signing. It was a crazy night and there wasn't really any time to have a deep conversation about that. But I guess I don't really care why. I want him to have all the information around him, so I'm signing. What I say, what you say, whatever, as much as I can. It's not out of disrespect for you. It's out of respect for him, and respect for the Deaf experience in general.
I hope you understand.
On my first day of my first asl class, they taught us that if you can sign, and if there's a Deaf person in the room, and you're talking and not signing, it's just rude. I thought about that and it made alot of sense to me. I don't want Deaf people to feel isolated in the hearing world. I know they often do. I don't want to be a part of the problem. My signing isn't anywhere near perfect, but it's good enough that I can often help my Deaf friends understand what's going on. So if there's a Deaf person around, I try to sign all I can. I sign what I want to say, and I try to tell them if anything interesting/significant is going on.
So you're talking to me and he's right there and I'm wondering why you're not signing. It was a crazy night and there wasn't really any time to have a deep conversation about that. But I guess I don't really care why. I want him to have all the information around him, so I'm signing. What I say, what you say, whatever, as much as I can. It's not out of disrespect for you. It's out of respect for him, and respect for the Deaf experience in general.
I hope you understand.