I modified the previous two posts a little to try and make them more clear. It is somewhat of a nightmare writing this blog and helping people understand. I surely hope people are reading the comments as well as the posts because some of the comments are a LOT better. For those who are reading the posts backwards because chronological order starts from previous posts, it is easier to understand my ramblings if you start from the beginning. (See Destination EARth or EYEth.)
One thing I’m learning is how complicated being deaf is. It is far more than not being able to hear. When people ask me questions about Steve (which they should be asking him as well), they must understand that we are both still learning. In order to get the full picture of what it means to be deaf, you have to learn and understand the person’s background; how they were raised and taught. There is no such thing as a typical deaf person or a typical Deaf (cultural) person.
Using my limited understanding of the planet EYEth, it seems there are different concepts of this planet depending on the deaf or Deaf (cultural) person’s life experiences, desires, and understanding of our world. It seems to me that Steve identifies with being abducted onto EYEth because he was born hearing and was raised as a hearing boy until age 7. He became ill with meningitis and the antibiotics caused him to become profoundly deaf (97% in both ears). You can imagine the trauma that would cause a young boy.
He continued in mainstream schooling with hearing children. He continued with his oral skills of speaking, writing, and studying in English, but his world was no longer on EARth. He was now on EYEth. Later on he attended a deaf school where he learned Sign Language and his world opened up to other possibilities. I believe one reason he is unable to identify with the Deaf Community is because his language is English while most of the Deaf use ASL (please correct me if I’m wrong). I know he has difficulty understanding ASL. So in essence he really was abducted into a world where he feels he does not belong.
(I will let him comment when he gets home. I REALLY miss him!)
Filed under: Destination EYEth
yes, I agree the comments can make the blog as well.
I’ve been personally blown away by different perspectives on my postings for which I’m grateful for, because through discourse I learn!
I like your analogy about there not being a typical deaf person! Wow, what a statement. I truly believe that. There are so much language written about the typical deaf person needing these typical services, when in reality it is the deaf person making the services, not the other way around. Thus propelling us to be independent and self-advocates.
I’m not understanding your analogy about eyeth. I need to know more about what eyeth and since you said you had limited understanding, I guess we both need to figure this out. Was this made up by Mark Morales on the Through Deaf Eyes show? Well, I think I’m going to see him at Deaf Nation Expo on Saturday in Pomona. Maybe I can something from the horse’s mouth.
Okay. I was seeing Eyeth as the planet that an entirely Deaf human species would come up with.
For example, I went to a Silent Weekend this past weekend with a friend of mine (BEG on Deafread). One misconception I had about ASL was that it would be 1) easier to have conversations obviously, if you’re D/deaf, but 2) impossible to have one of those rolling, 15-person sized conversations that happen around a dinnertable.
I was wrong, and for purely ergonomic reasons. I was thinking of the semi-oval dinnertable that most people have. But if you use a long cafeteria-style table, you can actually have much, much larger conversations with ASL. You can talk in depth with someone from clear across the room and someone sitting right across from you.
On planet Earth, dinnertables are naturally shaped semi-oval to facilitate our style of conversation. On Eyeth, furniture stores would naturally sell long-style tables, and it would never occur to anyone to ask why. Oval tables would be like those mod-art “chairs” you see in museums that are called chairs, but no one in their right mind would actually sit on one. Round or oval tables would be considered cool-looking modern furniture that people would buy then stick in their garage when they learned how impractical it was.
On planet Eyeth, alarm clocks would ALL flash, and the first invented telephone would have included video but no sound by default. And no one would question it.
That’s how I was seeing Eyeth — as a place that doesn’t exist. I’d like to learn what the inventor of the word thinks of it, the person who made the movie. What did they mean when they used the word “eyeth?” Then see how different people interpreted it, deaf, Deaf, hearing, whatever. Hm!
It is interesting. I see Eyeth (only heard of the concept within the last month) as an invisible, ignored, overlooked planet that exists side by side with Earth. And I see myself on Earth, kept away from Eyeth for fear I’d be too curious about it.
There’s probably quite a few visualizaions of this concept.
(Born profoundly deaf, orally educated.)
I swear, I had no idea Janis’ post was just before mine! Ha!
I’m sure I don’t have an understanding of EYEth from the author’s point of view. I’m trying to help the people in my ward understand that they are going to have to stop trying to communicate with him like a hearing person and start communicating with him visually. Since our Church has several concepts of other worlds, this seemed like a way to help them understand. (I know that EYEth is an imaginary world.)
I ran it by our Relief Society President and she didn’t get it either. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.
Maybe this has been discussed in your previous posts, but Eyeth is a very old idea – the story about a deaf person being frustrated with Earth and boarding a rocket to Eyeth where he finds a world populated by people like him/herself has been around for decades.
As for your husband having trouble fitting in, I can’t comment on his experience since I do not know him personally, but here are a few general thoughts based on my observations and life experiences.
We, most of us culturally deaf folk, at least, are very accepting of just about anyone, no matter how well they sign and what their background is like. But we do draw the line at people who act like they think they’re better than us, say the hearing way is better and/or put deaf culture and signs down, and generally make it clear they think we’re not as good as hearing people. I have seen so many people complain they weren’t accepted, but they came in acting all supercilious first. (Now, I know that’s not always the case. Some sweetie pies have tried to become part of us, only to be cruelly rebuffed by the few jerks who insist on only one “acceptable way to be deaf.” But most of the time, it’s someone who came in all arrogant then whined later.) Bottom line – attitude makes all the difference in the world.
Not understanding ASL is definitely a deterrent, but if he keeps going to deaf events and gatherings, that should become less of an obstacle over time.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts – it’s neat to learn about a different perspective!