Newsgroups: bit.listserv.deaf-l
Date:         Fri, 16 Oct 1992 08:59:39 EDT
From:         "(Esther A. Paris)" <esther@DEMAND.ED.RAY.COM>
Subject:      hype or realism

This question about whether

	"Deaf people can do anything except hear"

is hype or realistic has really made me mad.

Anyone see me mad before?  It's not a pretty sight.  I get this
"Medusa look" where my jaw sets and my eyes get glassy and my
whole face turns a weird shade of maroon. My hands quiver and
one can see my pulse in the veins at my neck.

(Normally I'm a smiling cheerful person, pleasant to look upon
and converse with.)

Why can't deaf people be TextTelephone-to-Voice relay operators?
Because they can't hear.  You haven't turned the statement into
useless hype with the claim that deaf people cannot be relay operators.
Do they lack anything else to prevent them from doing it?  Can deaf
people not type?  No!  Can deaf people not construct English sentences?
No!  Can deaf people not know when a phone needs answering?  No!  Are
deaf people unable to be employed by a phone company?  No!

Why can't deaf people be music mix / studio recording specialists TODAY?
Because they can't hear to do the job.  You haven't turned the statement
into useless hype with the claim that deaf people cannot be music mix /
studio recording specialists TODAY! What other skills or facilities do
deaf people lack?  Are they unable to run electronic equipment?  No!
Are they unemployable by studios?  No!

I'd rebut every one of your claims but I'd get a stroke from the rising
blood pressure.  You're not worth it to me.  I love my husband too much
to die at my desk typing more of a reply about this hype stuff.

Some of the best sign language interpreters I've met are deaf.  Some
court cases with a deaf defendent require a deaf sign language interpreter
to interpret the hearing person's English-to-sign to sign language that
is native to and clearly unambiguously understood by the defendent.
I cherish few things more than a deaf sign language interpreter who
will mediate between me and a deaf person (who doesn't understand my
heavily English-influenced signing), or between a deaf person (who's signing
is so free from English that I cannot understand it) and me.  A deaf person
who is very fluent in both the indigenous signed language of the area and
the common oral/aural language of the area may be an excellent interpreter
for court situations, medical situations, etc.  (An interpreter needs more
skills than mere fluency in both languages, of course.  An interpreter
needs cultural awareness and the kind of brain that can do real time
buffering of language-based information being delivered at normal language
rates, plus the ability to process that information into a new language
with appropriate vocabulary, correct syntax, and cultural sensitivity
simultaneously.  That's MUCH more than mere fluency in two languages!)

Harrumph!  So name something that no deaf person can do that a hearing
person can do that doesn't require hearing!

BTW, recent scientific investigation here in the USA has uncovered that
there is something OTHER than giving live birth to human infants that
women can do and men cannot do.  I shan't tell you what it is.  If I have
galled you enough to ask, you can start doing some research to find it
out.  I'll give you one hint: this thing women can do and men can't leaves
women FAR superior to men and means the United States Constitution should
be amended so that ONLY women can run for President of the country.

Esther Paris, Raytheon EDL, Marlborough, MA  esther@demand.ed.ray.com