How can a hearing person fit in with the Deaf comm.?
I have been wondering the same thing. I go to public Deaf events and often feel left out. If I see an interpreter I've met before and I try to chat in sign with them, sometimes they act barely tolerant of my presence. I can understand that they want to converse with Deafies, but still. When I go to these public Deaf events, I feel ignored by the Deaf people as well. I try to participate, but it's like they've known each other for years, and I'm just not all that welcome. A lot of Deaf people say that they don't like interpreters that don't socialize with Deaf, but I'm trying to and I'm not accepted. I'm an advanced interpreting student. I only moved to this area 9 months ago. I want to be involved with the Deaf community, but I don't know how much longer my self-esteem can take the unfriendliness.
It's weird, because when I was an ASL beginner living in a different town, I actually felt more accepted than I do now. Does anyone have any opinions or suggestions about this?
