This is ridiculous that you have to ask many questions about us deafies. I know you want to learn about Deaf Community and Deaf Culture. On the forum, I think it is best to just ask one question at a time like you did with asking what would you do if you were president? You just have to learn through reading the threads or forum to understand where we as a Deaf/HOH are trying to teach you all hearing people about what we deafies had to put up or struggle with. I am deaf from birth and I struggle very badly with mainstreaming in High school meaning no interpreters back in the early 60's. We (deaf classmates) had to study speech and lipreading including the general studies in elementary school and part of Junior High School in a special education class. By the time I was in Senior High School, I had a hard time understanding what the teacher and the hearing students talked about in the classroom; no special education training at all for the next three years (10,11,12 grades). I don't like the mainstream and having to speak and do lipreading. We were not allow to have sign language in our hearing regular schools. Most of my deaf classmates and I want to have sign language so bad so that we can communicate easily and more relaxing. We try to start a protest to let the principal and the hearing teacher that we want to have sign language and have interpreter, but no they would not listen to our plea for our rights and needs. I start learning sign language after I graduate from High School in the middle 60's and my whole stress on my shoulder was lift up and I was very happy to have sign language to communicate with deafies where I belong. Many hearing people don't understand us deafies struggle with speech and lipreading and think we will make it just fine by lipreading and talking to hearing people. That is not the way we want to do for you hearing people. Being deaf is great and we need ASL for visual which we are very happy to communicate. I went on to two different community colleges where they have Deaf program like interpreters and notetakers ( I don't remember close or open caption for film in the classroom, but we have interpreters interpret what the film is saying). I am married to the hearing native (this is my second marriage). My ex-husband was hearing, too. I don't know why. I come from all hearing family which mean I am the only deaf person. Both of my parents want me to go to the regular school and learn how to speak and lipread, so that mean I have no choice but to do that for them. They never sign for me which I was not happy about. My sister knows how to fingerspell, no sign words. I taught my son baby talk years ago and he can sign to me when I come to visit him in New Mexico now that he is 30 years old. My sister want him to learn to become an interpreter, but he said no, thanks. But that is all right as it is his choice. I am very happy that he still remember the signs words very well as a grown up. He is excellant at it. Sorry about the long thread. 
