Emmer
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This is long, so if you don't feel like reading, you can comment summary section below.
Summary: I have to write a paper on my view of the cochlear implant after watching Sound and Fury in my ASL class. My view is that cochlear implants forced on deaf children of hearing parents is wrong. Allowing a child to get a cochlear implant while still immersing him in his own Deaf culture is a much better idea.
Okay, get ready. I had to write a paper on cochlear implants after watching Sound and Fury in my ASL class. It was supposed to be a paragraph or two explaining how we felt about the issue, but there was no way I could narrow all of what I think into just a couple paragraphs. So if the prof wants to take off points for it being too long, then she can go ahead, because I want to say what needs to be said.
So, I'd like to hear your opinions. I know this can be a touchy subject, and I wasn't even able to cover all of the aspects of it (such as the fact that a child really doesn't have the ability to make such a huge decision to change his life at such a young age, and thus has no choice in the matter but is forced to change who he is against his will). But I would love comments and feedback. Do you agree? Disagree? Agree with some and disagree with other? Let me have it - rotten tomatoes and all!
To many hearing, the cochlear implant sounds like a “miracle,” the deaf can be “normal” and fit into the world where ¬¬¬they live. Hearies think that deafness is a disability, limiting life, because the Deaf appear to be “missing” something they have – the ability to hear. Hearies think that Deaf are “broken” and must be “fixed.” No wonder they are so excited about this “cure” for deafness, they want everyone to be exactly like them.
The cochlear implant is not the first thing that “normal” people tried to force onto a culture that was different, which to them meant, “wrong.” From the Crusades to the Nazis to the invasion of numerous remote communities throughout the world, it happens over and over again. Throughout life, people have tried to force their ways onto other cultures because they believe their ways are superior. The truth is, we are all equal, and should accept cultures as they are rather than force our ways onto them. In fact, as proven in some Amazon tribes, forcing our ways onto other cultures without taking the time to learn about them first can be a disaster.
But how does implanting the cochlear to “fix” deafness differ from Hitler’s attempt to make the perfect race? Where do you draw the line, if “fixing” the Deaf is okay, then what about “fixing” the Autistics? What about skin color differences, why not find a way to make everyone the same skin color? What about eye color or hair color? Is one superior to another? Eventually, you are going to end up with a bunch of replicas with no diversity.
The truth is, that deafness is not a disability, it is merely a difference. Hearies should learn to understand that deafies are just as capable as hearies. Just as different cultures around the world use various languages and all feel the most comfortable talking in their own language (or their heart language), Deafies feel most comfortable talking in their own language – which is a spatial non-verbal language. Some hearies don’t understand that sign language like ASL gives the same ability to communicate as any oral language. Just because it is different doesn’t mean it is bad or wrong.
Hearing parents who have deaf children often become desperate to “fix” their child as if he is “broken,” rather than accept him just as he is. There are many parents in America who adopt a child of a different race or country than their own. But most of these families take the time to learn about the culture of their new child. Why can’t parents who are given the opportunity to raise a deaf child do the same? Learn the child’s language, help him discover his own culture, introduce him to others like him; all of these would be so beneficial for a deaf child.
Watching Sound and Fury, I admired the Deaf family who allowed their daughter to get the cochlear, but still kept her very involved in the Deaf community: she attended a Deaf school, she made Deaf and hearing friends, and she was allowed continue signing as she learned to speak. Inclusion in both cultures is very important.
At the same time, I was disgusted by the mother who had her infant child implanted and then planned to enroll him into an oral-only school. There are so many things wrong with that situation. First, when he is older, will he think he wasn’t good enough the way he was born? Not to mention that this obviously already made the existing Deaf family members feel this way (don’t even get me started on hearing grandma, while watching, I really wanted to punch her). Will he ever learn to communicate in a language so different from his own? Will he identify with neither the hearing nor the Deaf as he isn’t exactly hearing, but he is no longer deaf either? They seem so concerned that he be able to learn oral language while he is young and it is easier to learn language, but why are they not concerned that he will not learn ASL as a child when the time is best to learn?
The question I would ask of all hearing people, especially those parents of deaf children is, if you had a child who had a different hair color, would you have surgery to replace their hair with a color more like yours? What if a hearing child was born of a deaf family, and they really wanted a deaf child, would it be right to make the child deaf so he fit with his family? If not, then why is it okay to do the reverse - to change who a deaf child is to make him fit into his hearing family? Why do the Deaf have to do all the work: reading our lips, speaking our language, living in our world of invisible noise and trying to adapt? Truth is, deafness isn’t a disability; it only becomes one when living among a world of hearing who refuse to understand the Deaf. Why can’t we move toward them and meet them where they are. Learn their language, ask about their culture, accept them as perfect – just the way they are, even if that means they are different than us.
Summary: I have to write a paper on my view of the cochlear implant after watching Sound and Fury in my ASL class. My view is that cochlear implants forced on deaf children of hearing parents is wrong. Allowing a child to get a cochlear implant while still immersing him in his own Deaf culture is a much better idea.
- ~ - ~ -
Okay, get ready. I had to write a paper on cochlear implants after watching Sound and Fury in my ASL class. It was supposed to be a paragraph or two explaining how we felt about the issue, but there was no way I could narrow all of what I think into just a couple paragraphs. So if the prof wants to take off points for it being too long, then she can go ahead, because I want to say what needs to be said.
So, I'd like to hear your opinions. I know this can be a touchy subject, and I wasn't even able to cover all of the aspects of it (such as the fact that a child really doesn't have the ability to make such a huge decision to change his life at such a young age, and thus has no choice in the matter but is forced to change who he is against his will). But I would love comments and feedback. Do you agree? Disagree? Agree with some and disagree with other? Let me have it - rotten tomatoes and all!
The Cochlear Conflict
To many hearing, the cochlear implant sounds like a “miracle,” the deaf can be “normal” and fit into the world where ¬¬¬they live. Hearies think that deafness is a disability, limiting life, because the Deaf appear to be “missing” something they have – the ability to hear. Hearies think that Deaf are “broken” and must be “fixed.” No wonder they are so excited about this “cure” for deafness, they want everyone to be exactly like them.
The cochlear implant is not the first thing that “normal” people tried to force onto a culture that was different, which to them meant, “wrong.” From the Crusades to the Nazis to the invasion of numerous remote communities throughout the world, it happens over and over again. Throughout life, people have tried to force their ways onto other cultures because they believe their ways are superior. The truth is, we are all equal, and should accept cultures as they are rather than force our ways onto them. In fact, as proven in some Amazon tribes, forcing our ways onto other cultures without taking the time to learn about them first can be a disaster.
But how does implanting the cochlear to “fix” deafness differ from Hitler’s attempt to make the perfect race? Where do you draw the line, if “fixing” the Deaf is okay, then what about “fixing” the Autistics? What about skin color differences, why not find a way to make everyone the same skin color? What about eye color or hair color? Is one superior to another? Eventually, you are going to end up with a bunch of replicas with no diversity.
The truth is, that deafness is not a disability, it is merely a difference. Hearies should learn to understand that deafies are just as capable as hearies. Just as different cultures around the world use various languages and all feel the most comfortable talking in their own language (or their heart language), Deafies feel most comfortable talking in their own language – which is a spatial non-verbal language. Some hearies don’t understand that sign language like ASL gives the same ability to communicate as any oral language. Just because it is different doesn’t mean it is bad or wrong.
Hearing parents who have deaf children often become desperate to “fix” their child as if he is “broken,” rather than accept him just as he is. There are many parents in America who adopt a child of a different race or country than their own. But most of these families take the time to learn about the culture of their new child. Why can’t parents who are given the opportunity to raise a deaf child do the same? Learn the child’s language, help him discover his own culture, introduce him to others like him; all of these would be so beneficial for a deaf child.
Watching Sound and Fury, I admired the Deaf family who allowed their daughter to get the cochlear, but still kept her very involved in the Deaf community: she attended a Deaf school, she made Deaf and hearing friends, and she was allowed continue signing as she learned to speak. Inclusion in both cultures is very important.
At the same time, I was disgusted by the mother who had her infant child implanted and then planned to enroll him into an oral-only school. There are so many things wrong with that situation. First, when he is older, will he think he wasn’t good enough the way he was born? Not to mention that this obviously already made the existing Deaf family members feel this way (don’t even get me started on hearing grandma, while watching, I really wanted to punch her). Will he ever learn to communicate in a language so different from his own? Will he identify with neither the hearing nor the Deaf as he isn’t exactly hearing, but he is no longer deaf either? They seem so concerned that he be able to learn oral language while he is young and it is easier to learn language, but why are they not concerned that he will not learn ASL as a child when the time is best to learn?
The question I would ask of all hearing people, especially those parents of deaf children is, if you had a child who had a different hair color, would you have surgery to replace their hair with a color more like yours? What if a hearing child was born of a deaf family, and they really wanted a deaf child, would it be right to make the child deaf so he fit with his family? If not, then why is it okay to do the reverse - to change who a deaf child is to make him fit into his hearing family? Why do the Deaf have to do all the work: reading our lips, speaking our language, living in our world of invisible noise and trying to adapt? Truth is, deafness isn’t a disability; it only becomes one when living among a world of hearing who refuse to understand the Deaf. Why can’t we move toward them and meet them where they are. Learn their language, ask about their culture, accept them as perfect – just the way they are, even if that means they are different than us.
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My name is similar to Emma.
