Ignorance is NOT bliss

Part of my future career goals is to bridge the gap between the hearing world and the deaf world. And inherent in this rift (as in ANY rift) is communication. Duh. But another issue underlying this is ignorance. As I have said before, I cannot blame most people for their ignorance of deafness, hearing loss, Deaf culture, etc. No one told them about it. No one sat them down and chatted about the challenges people with a hearing loss have to face DAILY when interacting with the hearing world. Nor about how effortless communication is with sign language (maybe). And I can understand that. Why would they have had that talk?

BUT if you are someone who works with the public, someone who is constantly going to be interacting with all kinds of people, you really should be more AWARE of these differences and their implications. Here is a short anecdote:

A hard-of-hearing friend of mine (for those ignorants out there, this is a self-identifying term for someone how has SOME degree of hearing loss (HL), typically less loss than more, who likely relies more on speech than signing (if any), who definitely relies on auditory reception, blabhalh. ask for more details)- this friend of mine was pulled over for speeding one day. Now in this situation, there are a few anticipatory strategies a person with some HL can apply. There is a finite number of comments this officer is going to say to you. And if you pay attention, you can figure out what is going on. Something like "License and registration, please" is likely to come up. Also, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Responding appropriately to these questions may intentionally or unintentionally trick the officer into thinking you can hear normally.

My friend had a moment where he did not understand the officer's speech (which is done easily- a mustache, an accent, a car drives by...). He explained he is hard-of-hearing, and he asked him to repeat himself. Apparently the cop thought he was being a smart ass, accusing him of even lying on his license, which reads "hearing impaired." What the fuck?? Who the fuck is he? Because my friend speaks well and efficiently and appropriately employs communication strategies, he accidentally convinces people he is of normal hearing. The thing is that he isn't. There is a fine line, true, between normal hearing and mild loss, but at the same time, there is a difference. And for him, communication can be exhausting and a struggle, depending on the speakers, of course. Or it can be effortless and smooth.

No fucking help to that ignorant cop. He doesn't know what he is talking about. And he isn't making anyone's life easier. Nor is he protecting the liberties and justice of this land by being a dumbass.