Newsgroups: bit.listserv.deaf-l
Date:         Thu, 19 Nov 1992 00:07:38 -0600
From:         /PN=MARVIN.MILLER/O=DEAFTEK/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@SPRINT.COM
Subject:      RE: Cochlear Implant Musings.

 <"GGJC-5520-7260/36"*/PN=MARVIN.MILLER/O=DEAFTEK/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@sprint.com
 >


This message isn't necessarily directed towards to you, Todd.

Everyone, I'm including an editoru ial in this message from
The d Deaf Michigander November Issue. I had a heck of time
attempting to upload the text file to SprintMail. But if this
goes well, I hope you will be reading this intw act.

This is bound to be v VERY controversial, but that's how I
feel about this cochlear implant controversy. I welcome
any comments and opinons. Thanks. Marvin Miller .

Marvin Miller,
The Deaf Michigander

        Recent 60 MinutesU coverage of a deaf girl who received the cochlear imp
lant
 touched off a debate on several issues, such as do par
ents have the right to make the decision for their deaf child? Should the
 implants be even allowed to be marketed? and so forth...
        National Association of the Deaf President Roz Rosen brought up concerns
 about
 the risks of the surgery, low rate of success - on t
he average, fact that the implantee becomes a patient for rest of his/her
 lifetime.
        Those concerns are valid, but will it be in the near future? Since the m
odern
 medicine has made tremendous leaps and bounds in last
 century, it is logical to assume that it wonUt be long before they come out
 with a perfect cochlear implant, enabling most deaf chi
ldren to hear. If that does happen, those concerns probably will be academic.
        The real issue here is do parents or any human being have the right to c
ommit a
 cultural genocide?
        Anybody who took world history class in their high school years will rem
ember
 the Nazi GermanyUs Final Solution to the Jewish Quest
ion. ThatUs where the title of this editorial comes from.
        Zyklon B was crystalline compound developed by Nazi scientists to be use
d
 specifically to kill all Jewish people who were in one of
 those concentration camps.
        But before we go into this analogy, we should discuss the questions that
 arise
 when one wants to implant their child.
One would dismiss the idea of giving a child a sex-change operation if they
 really wanted a girl instead of a boy. One would not acc
ept the idea of changing the color of skin of an adopted African-American baby
 so that the baby can be just like her/his white paren
s and so the child can be part of the majority instead of minority.
        The Deaf community views the deaf child just like the African-American
 community view an African-American baby. The African-America
ns have displayed their outrage when a white parent adopts an African American
 baby. They are concerned that the child will grow up
without an identity. Both white and African-Americans will reject the child.
        The African-American community, generally speaking, will accept the adop
tion if
 the parents intend to raise the African-American ba
by as a part of the African-American culture.
        By drawing this comparison does not mean we should condone this kind of
 prejudice, but unfortunately... our children will bear the
brunt of the damage if we foolishly dismiss the cultural and language elements
 that is unique to the child and the community when gr
owing up.
        The members of Deaf community want very much to RadoptS, in the sense of
 the
 word, that deaf child. We share a very unique bond, cu
lture, language and a proud heritage.
        To many hearing people, it may sound a bit absurd that a loss of hearing
 is not
 considered as a disability.
        To them, they can not imagine a world without sound, voices and music.
        To us, we can not imagine a world without a rich visual expression, voic
es of
 sign language, music of hands flying around rapidly.
        To us, our deafness is a passport to a new world, a world that demands t
o be
 explored. The word, isolation, is the furthest thing f
rom our minds.
        Yet to the hearing people, its the dominant word in their minds.
        Neither the hearing nor deaf world is better than the other. ItUs just t
hat the
 hearing world makes up the majority of the populati
on.
        So did the Nazis. They made up the majority of the population, and the l
eaders
 decided that the Jewish people didnUt fit into their
 grand vision of a master race. The medical technology was not as advanced at
 that time as itUs going to be in near future, so the i
dea of RconvertingS all Jewish people to a nation of blonde, blue eyes,
 fair-skinned Ayran race wasnUt feasible by any long shot. Wh
at was their next best solution? Exterminate them.
        Whereas today its possible, medically speaking, to convert a deaf child
into a
 hearing one. The process might not be perfect, but i
n due time, it will.
        To be fair to the medical profession, this should not be taken as an
 accusation. The probability of an implant doctor undergoing an
 extensive Deaf culture and language sensitivity training is minimal. The same
 goes for officers of the Cochlear Corporation.
        If anything, they are merely guilty of ignorance.
        Yet, ignorance carries a price.
        Most of the doctors feel they are geninuely doing this out of best inter
ests
 for the deaf children. By doing this, they are uninten
tionally carrying out something that looks and sounds alarmingly like the NaziUs
 Final Solution.
No one really expects to have a deaf child, and all of the sudden, the parents
 find themselves holding a deaf baby. Naturally, they
want their child to be like them, and having a deaf child does not fit with
 their RplansS.
        The Jewish people didnUt fit with the NazisU RplanS either.
        The first step in addressing this problem is to have all doctors, surgeo
ns and
 company officals trained in the Deaf culture and lan
guage sensitivity. As Doctor Cohen on T60 MinutesU claims they do not stand to
 make a lot of money out of the implants. What do they
 have to lose by taking Deaf culture training?
        ItUs alarmingly easy to carry out the implant surgery once you rationali
ze this
 by saying, RIUm helping a person to be a whole agai
n.S That implies that the deaf child is less of a person. In order to implant
 the child, the doctor HAS to believe the child is a le
ss of a person without his/her hearing.
The Nazi Germany used the very same rationalization with the extermination of
 the Jewish people, RThey arenUt truly human beings. Th
ey are not our equals, therefore itUs OK to kill them off.S
        To the Deaf community, whether one likes it or not, the parents ultimate
ly, and
 rightfully so, hold the final decision of what to d
o with their deaf children. We must learn to respect their power, and a heavy
 burden, of making the decision. We canUt and shouldnUt
 wrest that control away from them. We should do our best to make sure they are
 presented with all possible information before they
make their decision. In the other words, we, as a community, have a
 responsibility to them.
        Instead of shirking the responsibility by using a wide range of excuses
such
 as, RIf the hearing people are the oppressors, why sho
uld we help them?S, RWhy should I do all the sacrificing here?S, and RI donUt
 want to deal with hearing people because I have had en
ough of them,S we must rise to the occassion and face the challenge.
        To the hearing community, whether one likes it or not, Deaf people consi
der
 themselves a lingustic and cultural minority. To call t
hem a disabled group people is exactly like calling African-Americans or
 Hispanic Americans a disabled group. In order to understand
 deafness, one must be prepared to listen what the Deaf community has to share.
 One can not ignore them just because they donUt fit
with oneUs views on deafness.
        The Nazi Germany thought the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was t
o wipe
 out the Jewish people, using Zyklon B.
        Was it the right solution?
        Hearing society thinks the answer to the deafness is a perfect Cochlear
Implant
 device. Like I mentioned before, it wonUt be long b
efore they do come out with one. The resulting effect probably will extensively
 damage the Deaf community.
        Is it the right solution?

-----------------------

End of editorial. It's a bit hard to read with that wraparound mess, but...
hopefully it'll be readable.

Marvin Miller           The Deaf Michigander ($22 a year subscription)
71302,473 CIS           29880 W. 12 mile Road, Farmington Hills MI 48334
(313) 539-0768 TTY
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