P
pinkster
Guest
What is Deaf Pride? 
It (other than being deaf) has little to do with where you come from or what your parents are: it comes from within. I've seen people who come from all Deaf families and LACK, and i mean LACK Deaf Pride. On the other hand I see people who come from all hearing families, and they *so* support Deaf Pride/Power. Its all in the head, how you are taught to see the world changes how you look at your own culture and whatnot.
By RIT's "rules" I'm disqualified as well. Myself, I was born hearing till I was 5, then gradually lost my hearing over the years. I wore hearing aids from age 5 to 14, which was when I decided I wanted to embrace my Deafness, as I knew my hearing would someday be totally gone. The first hearing test that showed I was profoundly deaf, was when I was 17. My dad himself is deaf, became so the same was as I. His brother and their father, same thing. Dad's mom became deaf thru spinal menigitist (pardon my spelling), and then theres also my grandpa's 2 other children. My birth mom is hearing, my step mom is deaf. My sister is hearing as well. I speak, so clearly (and I take damn pride in it!)I listen to music, but I enjoy silence sometimes. My ASL needs work, true, but in the last 4 years I've improved SO much. I can battle (not so well, but I do try) with other Deafies in ASL with stories and such. I boast my Deaf culture, I embrace it, and at the same time I acknowledge other people's opinions. We live divided - how unfortunate.
It (other than being deaf) has little to do with where you come from or what your parents are: it comes from within. I've seen people who come from all Deaf families and LACK, and i mean LACK Deaf Pride. On the other hand I see people who come from all hearing families, and they *so* support Deaf Pride/Power. Its all in the head, how you are taught to see the world changes how you look at your own culture and whatnot. By RIT's "rules" I'm disqualified as well. Myself, I was born hearing till I was 5, then gradually lost my hearing over the years. I wore hearing aids from age 5 to 14, which was when I decided I wanted to embrace my Deafness, as I knew my hearing would someday be totally gone. The first hearing test that showed I was profoundly deaf, was when I was 17. My dad himself is deaf, became so the same was as I. His brother and their father, same thing. Dad's mom became deaf thru spinal menigitist (pardon my spelling), and then theres also my grandpa's 2 other children. My birth mom is hearing, my step mom is deaf. My sister is hearing as well. I speak, so clearly (and I take damn pride in it!)I listen to music, but I enjoy silence sometimes. My ASL needs work, true, but in the last 4 years I've improved SO much. I can battle (not so well, but I do try) with other Deafies in ASL with stories and such. I boast my Deaf culture, I embrace it, and at the same time I acknowledge other people's opinions. We live divided - how unfortunate.
That's exactly how I feel too. I was born hearing but became deaf. Perhaps, it was destiny or fate that led me to become deaf. Perhaps, it wasn't. That's something I will never know. However, I accept myself for who I am.
POWER!