How Cochlear Implants Are Being Blamed For Killing Deaf Culture

First time accepted submitter Maddie Kahn (3542515) writes "Deaf culture has its own language, its own social norms, its own art forms, its own theater. But it's under threat. Why? Because most parents of deaf children now choose to use technology to help their kids hear. This piece explores why a revolutionary technology stands accused of killing a culture."

Comments

Let it die

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean seriously. There is no down side to going from not hearing to hearing except for having to listen to contemporary "music".

Re:Let it die

[narcc]

This. Deaf "culture" is significantly responsible for many of the problems facing the deaf community, such as the outrageously high unemployment rate, and abysmally low literacy rate, and unimaginably poor deaf schools.

Deaf "culture" can't die soon enough.

Re:Let it die

[Mikkeles]

Not to forget how modern antibiotics is killing leper culture!

Re:Let it die

[Spazmania]

Yeah, we don't send them to the colony on Molokai Hawaii any more. We've deprived the poor lepers of their tropical paradise.

Re:Let it die

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I mean seriously. There is no down side to going from not hearing to hearing except for having to listen to contemporary "music".

The technology is neither that good, nor that cheap, so 'no downsides' is a bit much; but I do find the notion that lacking access to useful world-state information would ever be a good thing rather baffling. If anything, I am always a bit disappointed that the 'visible spectrum' is as small as it is, that humans appear to lack the magnetic sensors some other species have, and so forth.

As for the cultural aspects, it seems like it's the usual battle: somewhere between most and all cultures have an interest in continuity(or at least some new people because being the last few survivors dying off alone would pretty much suck); but continuity demands that a steady supply of children be given to the culture(and while people can achieve some degree of fluency in multiple ones, you can't be 'native' in more than a small number, given that being 'native' is pretty much a full-time job) and, by so doing, denied some or all of whatever other cultures are on hand.

Even if you wish to assert that having an additional sense is 'different' rather than 'better, you still have the fact that 'culture' is something where network effects count. There are certainly niche cultures with interesting and unique features; but unless something about a specific culture turns standard humans into fantastic superhumans at abnormal rates, the bigger ones are going to tend to have better opportunities on tap.

I'm certainly sympathetic to the people who get the sense that they are probably going to enjoy the notable nonpleasures of being the dwindling survivors of a dying breed; that has to suck; but I'm much less sympathetic to the notion that this entitles them to a replacement-or-better supply of new members.

Re:Let it die

[meerling]

So I guess we've already killed the paralyzed polio victim culture, and disfigured by smallpox culture. Does this mean we have to stop curing diseases and physical impairments? Don't be stupid.

By the way, and ass is an ass no matter what 'culture' they claim.
I used to ride the bus that went by the deaf school, so there were always deaf people on the bus.
A rather attractive deaf lady was visibly upset, but she didn't do anything. So I asked her what was wrong. She kept insisting nothing, but it was pretty obvious what was going on, so I asked her, "Is it the two assholes there that keep insulting everyone because they think nobody else can understand them?".
She was shocked that I knew what was going on and turned even more red. I explained that I wasn't fluent, but I knew enough. She then confronted the two idiots and chewed them out thoroughly. I never caught anyone doing that on the bus again.

That just goes to show, that separation breeds contempt.
There's no reason that the art and other positive things from 'deaf culture' need to be left behind, just the discrimination and hate that isolation invariably brings.

Re:Let it die

[thunderclap]

And that is what is so deeply wrong with political correctness. All handicaps are debilitating You are deprived of something that others have and its ability. It should never be equated for beauty considered a power or believed to be fostering a culture. These people are crippled in the worst possible way. They actually believe that makes them special. If that was true then those with PTSD, austism and having lost limbs are special too. I seriously doubt they would agree with you. (especially those who have to care for the autistic.)

Re:Let it die

[rossz]

A good friend of mine has two autistic sons. She would give anything for them to be cured. Alas, she knows that isn't going to happen.

As for the deaf, one of the activist's arguments is "we aren't broken." Uh, yes you are. It's great when you can overcome a handicap, but it is still a fucking handicap. Here's a few reasons why you don't want to be deaf:

1. Beethoven's Ode to Joy
2. Children laughing as they play
3. Birds singing
4. A smoke alarm waking you from sleep and saving your life
5. The best part of farts

Re:Let it die

[SvnLyrBrto]

A written guarantee that my uniform would be either gold or blue, and that I'd not have to accompany the captain on landing parties until my own rank is at least Lieutenant Commander; and I'm in.

Re:Let it die

[erroneus]

In so many ways this mirrors black culture and I'm willing to accept down-modding for this. But it's basically true.

1. Self-improvement is viewed as traitorous.
2. Entitled to royal treatment and royal public assistance.
3. Highly exclusive.
4. Views others with suspicion and contempt.

I think point #1 is especially important. EVERYONE, myself included, are perfectly comfortable around people who simply want to join in and be one of the crowd. We've got common interests and what have you and that's okay. We're co-workers and we can get along, work and play well together. But the moment words like "traitor" or "sell-out" get asserted by their other identity groups, things get pretty screwed up.

I don't mean to say being black is a disability. I don't mean to say being deaf is a race. I mean to point out that identity groups can be harmful at times. ID grouping is NATURAL. I'm a man. I'm white. I'm southern. I'm [fill in the blank]. And I like to do and share things with people who are like me. That's natural. But I might also identify with groups which tend to disagree with my other ID groups such as being atheist. Being atheist does not 'require' that I hate anyone else. Being white does not require that I hate anyone else.

But in the case of certain, let's say 'radical' members of these ID groups, they believe it IS license to hate.

Re:Let it die

[jcr]

You're saying that he's racially disqualified from making accurate observations about groups other than those to which he himself belongs?

That's a racist premise, sunshine.

-jcr

Re:Let it die

[boristdog]

To be honest, that's pretty much ALL cultures.

Really? Who the fuck cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

What a BS reason to get angsty. Technology has enabled clidren to hear so a new generation can NOT have the problems of being deaf. Rejoice that children dont need to be deaf, rather than mourn the disappearing kludges they had to do.

Good?

[geekoid]

I'd like to see deaf culture go away because there are no more deaf people.
Also:
I'd like to see paraplegic culture go away, blind culture, Amputee culture, and furries culture. That last one may be tricky

I wonder how many people were angry and vaccine destroying the polio culture?

Yes I did.

Re:Good?

[Livius]

Pretending the handicapped are just "differently-abled" is perhaps the cruellest form of bigotry by low expectations. People who have disadvantages that are not of their choosing deserve sympathy and support, but celebrating disability is condescending to the point of madness.

I had deaf friends.

[Oligonicella]

And yes, they were adamantly supportive of the view that "for many Deaf people, every implanted child is a person stolen from their culture." But, keeping in mind that "More than 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents", they are effectively laying claim to other people's children.

Re:I had deaf friends.

[steak]

it takes a village.

to create wheels squeaky enough to get money handouts.

Re:You really can't be serious

[geekoid]

There are a lot of great videos of people hearing the first time do to this technology. Some of them gave me an allergy attack, or maybe there happened to be some dust in the air. I certainly was NOT crying..um.. sports reference!

Vaccines killed measles culture...

[Anonymous Coward]

Cars killed horse culture.
Airplanes killed passenger rail culture.
Woman's rights killed (harmed) misogynistic culture.
The civil war killed slave culture.
The Internet killed letter-mailing culture.

Seriously, what the fuck is the point of this?

Oh I'm so sorry

[crioca]

Sorry that giving children the ability to enjoy the use of their senses is interfering with the proliferation of your culture.

If you want to be a deaf person, that's fine by me, but it doesn't give you any moral imperative to suggest that parents should deny their children their right to hearing.

Jealousy is a bitch

[BitZtream]

That and fear of change are the only reason to make such statements.

I cherish the thought of killing deaf culture, just like I cherish the thought of killing the smallpox and malaria culture. I get that some are proud of what they've accomplished while deaf, but that's a selfish reason to hold against someone who chooses not to have a disability.

Suddenly starting to hear does not detract from the accomplishments of the deaf, it just opens doors to accomplish new things and new possibilities. It doesn't make their art any less valuable or beautiful, it doesn't make their language any less valuable. My 11 month old son knows som sign language! He can hear fine, but kids can sign before they can talk! My family now knows a bit of American sign just for that alone.

Sure, it's not going to be as common, but implants don't fix every reason for being deaf either.

Simple fear of change is all it is.

I understand the fear, all of us have it to some extent in some form. I fear rapid changes in technology that make me out dated and behind younger software engineers, but that's just my fears, not the end of something great. As a result, though I still fear those changes, I adapt and take on a different roll from that 20 something, code for 72 hours straight until I can't see straight age to leading those 20 something's and guiding them with my experience so that they can be more effective.

I don't know what that means for the deaf, but I'm certain those that remain have other things of value ... Being deaf didn't make them worthless, neither will implants. The fact that they can create culture without the ability to hear is proof enough of their alternative skills.

Bloody HELL!

[Ol Olsoc]

You want to try something fun? I'm just about deaf. I have raging tinnitus in both ears, and two different tones to boot.

Deaf culture Destroyed? These parents are assholes, and I'd never write a story about them other than that letting people know I turned them into child protective services.

The fucking nerve of doctors and their trying to help people. What's next, People wanting to let paralyzed people rot because we don't want to destroy Quadriplegic Culture?

And what about the always jolly brotherhood of cancer culture? Gotta preserve that.

And if the child were to need something simple like glasses, hell, there is a blind culture too. Wouldn't want to miss out on that. As a (nearly)deaf person, All I can say to these parents is that if you did that to me, I'd seek emancipation as soon as possible, and then have your sorry whack-a-doodle asses arrested for willfiul negligence and child abuse.

This pisses me off.

[Lord Kano]

Maybe, for me, this is more about "minority culture" in general than "deaf culture" in particular. "Deaf Culture" is an adaptation for people who can't hear. Once you can hear, you no longer need the social adaptation.

I'm a member of a minority. For those of you who don't know, I'm black. At one time, black people were denied access to educational opportunities an that in turn lead to fewer career prospects. My parents and grandparents worked very, VERY hard to give me opportunities and I took advantage of them. I finished high school. I attended college. I earned a Master of Science degree. Consequently, I have a pretty good job. I've been accused of turning my back on "African American culture" because I speak like I paid attention in school. I don't use the "What up dawgg?" vernacular that some other people (who happen to look kind of like me) do. I have been accused of having "forgotten where you came from", as if I didn't come from a middle-income, racially diverse suburb.

Once we were no longer denied access to quality education, it was no longer necessary to speak AAVE (African American Vernacular English) or "Ebonics" that some people like to call it. We were able to learn standard American English and it benefits one to do so.

I understand the desire for deaf people to adopt the mantra "There's nothing 'wrong' with the way we are." but in reality there is. You can't hear!

I'm sorry if people take it personally that their social adaptation is becoming less necessary for future generations. I'm sorry that they feel lonely or abandoned. This is a good thing. This is progress. This means that fewer people will have to live with the handicap(sorry for the loaded term) of not being able to hear.

LK