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Kalalau's Korner: American Sign Language and Deafness Are Human Rights
Whenever I set out on the journey of Deafhood, it pays to prepare carefully.
If it were a trip by sailboat, I'd check the sail and be sure that the gas tank is full. In the same manner, as I embark on my path of Deafhood, a few simple preparations will make the time I spend much more profitable and enjoyable. The focus of this blog is to cultivate habits and attitudes that I want to share with you. Let's view and support American Sign Language (ASL) and deafness as our inalienable rights. They are human rights; they have right to exist.
First of all, honor the fact that deafness is unique. Even though I do have friends, no one else can take the journey of Deafhood for me, nor can anyone tell me exactly what my deafness is. Certainly, I have faced many issues in common with other Deaf people. Still my own background, needs, desires, and goals are distinctly personal. My deafness is a human right, not a human error.
Second, I continue to cultivate ASL. I am always careful not to sabotage my success by nit-picking about ASL or inconsequential details about why some of my Deaf friends can hear and speak or why they have cochlear implants (CIs). To me, ASL is what I use for information, knowledge and communication. My friends with CIs are humans, too.
In terms of language, let's start by defining "deafness." The English language has a very strange inference of deafness, and the speakers of English assume from their own inference that deafness is pathological. The English language dictionary defines deafness as the deprivation of the sense of hearing and associates it with "refusing to listen, heed, or be persuaded; unreasonable or unyielding." The speakers of English may or may not be comfortable applying the word. They prefer to describe those dear to them with other terms -- "hard-of-hearing," "cochlear-implanted," or "audio-verbal."
ASL, on the other hand, suggests that by lacking the sense of hearing, the remaining senses become acute and applicable. The users of ASL find their language not only befitting, but also beneficial. ASL has led me deep within. Things have surely come up that I don't expect, especially my stories about ASL Dragon.
In this journey of Deafhood, I am actually cultivating two most important things in my whole life--ASL and deafness as my own human rights.
I like this man's view!
Whenever I set out on the journey of Deafhood, it pays to prepare carefully.
If it were a trip by sailboat, I'd check the sail and be sure that the gas tank is full. In the same manner, as I embark on my path of Deafhood, a few simple preparations will make the time I spend much more profitable and enjoyable. The focus of this blog is to cultivate habits and attitudes that I want to share with you. Let's view and support American Sign Language (ASL) and deafness as our inalienable rights. They are human rights; they have right to exist.
First of all, honor the fact that deafness is unique. Even though I do have friends, no one else can take the journey of Deafhood for me, nor can anyone tell me exactly what my deafness is. Certainly, I have faced many issues in common with other Deaf people. Still my own background, needs, desires, and goals are distinctly personal. My deafness is a human right, not a human error.
Second, I continue to cultivate ASL. I am always careful not to sabotage my success by nit-picking about ASL or inconsequential details about why some of my Deaf friends can hear and speak or why they have cochlear implants (CIs). To me, ASL is what I use for information, knowledge and communication. My friends with CIs are humans, too.
In terms of language, let's start by defining "deafness." The English language has a very strange inference of deafness, and the speakers of English assume from their own inference that deafness is pathological. The English language dictionary defines deafness as the deprivation of the sense of hearing and associates it with "refusing to listen, heed, or be persuaded; unreasonable or unyielding." The speakers of English may or may not be comfortable applying the word. They prefer to describe those dear to them with other terms -- "hard-of-hearing," "cochlear-implanted," or "audio-verbal."
ASL, on the other hand, suggests that by lacking the sense of hearing, the remaining senses become acute and applicable. The users of ASL find their language not only befitting, but also beneficial. ASL has led me deep within. Things have surely come up that I don't expect, especially my stories about ASL Dragon.
In this journey of Deafhood, I am actually cultivating two most important things in my whole life--ASL and deafness as my own human rights.
I like this man's view!
