'NTID people' offensive or not? How do you know if people say offensive things?

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RedFox

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The thread about the word deafie reminded me of some hearies at RIT calling deaf people NTID people. What do you think of that? I was in the college of engineering and then science, so I wasn't just a NTID person.

The first time I remember seeing someone say 'NTID people' was when one of my friends quit NTID after only one quarter and disappeared from a club. I also got busy and wasn't going there, so someone wrote to me that he wondered where the 'NTID people' were.

I don't remember seeing that phase anywhere else. Did anyone else too?

I had a First Year Enrichment teacher at RIT who said she heard hearies say really offensive things about deaf people. I've been there for five years and 'NTID people' was as bad as it got if that even could be considered offensive. Did I not hear what they were saying?

Are there parts of the world where people say more offensive things about deaf people than at RIT and those where they say less of that? Would a lot of deaf people being in one place encourage some people to say such things more often, if they are not so open minded and adaptive? I'm sure it would make adaptive people stop when they realize that deaf people are real.
 
I was an RIT student too. I don't think I can remember anyone calling me "NTID people". I can see how that would happen because everyone at RIT/NTID seems to assume that if you are deaf, then you are an NTID student. So it could be by mis-assumption more than anything else?
 
Maybe they know most are NTID students; beyond that it's kinda hard, never having been there, if they are being demeaning. U would know that more than I........at least sense it....
 
It didn't seem demeaning when it was said, but it looks like it could be used like that. I was wondering if deaf people were described like that in those terrible offensive statements that my FYE teacher talked about and that I never heard.
 
It really depends on how it's being phrased.

Sometimes, they don't quite understand what they're saying when they're trying to identify a particular group.

I had a professor at RIT who was talking about the subject of hearing and how a person can determine where a sound is coming from based on what their ears can hear. She then said, "However, those 'NTID People' over there..." *pointing at us deaf students that were sitting next to each other in the classroom* "... cannot do that sound thing well. Allow me to demostrate." *she called up a deaf friend of mine and started making loud noises around his head while his eyes were closed* "See? He can't hear. He doesn't know where the sound is coming from."

Well, the way she said "NTID People" was very offensive.

There was a hearing student who was hosting a program and wanted some students from NTID to attend so that there would be some interactivity between deaf and hearing students. He asked another deaf student, "Hey, where can I find a good place to get the attention of those 'NTID People'?"

In this case, he wasn't trying to offend anyone. It was the best he could think of at the moment and didn't exactly know how to identify them. If the deaf person thought it was inappropriate, he/she could correct them by saying... "Oh, you mean the 'deaf students'? Yeah, you can post your flyers around Tower A and LBJ."


Of course, there will be times when people are just ignorant and choose to be offended simply because they like the attention of being offended or whatever else is possible in order to make the offender look bad in any way possible. They sometimes do that so that they feel "superior" to others. :roll:

I personally don't see anything wrong with "NTID People". I was a cross-registered student at RIT for two different degrees. I've heard, "Oh, you're one of those 'NTID People'?" I'm never immediately offended because it's usually because they don't quite get it. Of course, I'll kindly respond... "Yeah, I'm a deaf student cross-registered through NTID. But I'm a RIT student."
 
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