Very good post shel, and somethingthat certainly needs to be discussed. I think that the whole attitude is the result of historical injustices that have been perpetrated on the signing Deaf for so long. For many many years, it was oral deaf or signing Deaf. The signing Deaf have been treated historically as if their deafness and their language made them inferior not just to the hearing, but to the oral deaf as well. We've all heard and read the horror stories of the treatment that signing deaf children were exposed to near the turn of the century when schools for the Deaf began to switch to an oral philosophy of education. Unfortunately much of Deaf culture; Deaf clubs included; were founded as a way to combat the injustice Deaf individuals felt at the hands of the larger society. These measures were very adaptive, as Deaf clubs, and associating with other signing Deaf, were one of the few ways that many individuals had to maintain any sense of identity and feelings of worth. The hearing point of view had been forced on Deaf individuals for so long, that many didn't want anything that could be remotely connected to hearing society intruding on their Deaf world. It is a very natural and understandable reaction.
The sadness is that the world of the Deaf has changed, but some of the attitudes have not. That happens in all cultures--technology advances at a much greater rate that the individual's ability to change with it.
I do think, however, that changes are happening. Most Deaf I know are much more accepting, for instance, of CI now than in the past, and that is an attitude change that I have witnessed first hand since first becoming involved with the Deaf community. While, 15 years ago, the attitude was one of hard lined rejection, the prevailing attitude now is cautious acceptance. Unfortunately, for those of us who remain cautious, we are often seen as being totally opposed by those who haven't seen the change in attitudes.
I do believe, however, if we keep communicating in an open way, and being tolerant and understanding of each individuals belief system and where that belief system came from, we will all make progress--in the hearing world's attitudes toward deafness, and in the Deaf attitude toward the hearing.
