As a youngster, most of us are taught what is
considered rude and what is considered, shall we say, “politically correct.”
But one question might be, do those rules apply for everyone in every
situation? I high doubt that every single situation calls for the same response
or behavior.
I was teaching a sign language course a week ago
and the subject of “Deaf people being blunt” came up. One student spoke out, “So
it’s impossible to offend a Deaf person?” Ha! I sincerely doubt there is anyone
with normal emotions (Hearing, Deaf, Black, White, Female, Male, etc.),of whom
it is impossible to offend. Tell a Deaf person they can’t do something because they’re
deaf. I think that might rattle a few cages. In general Deaf people and Hearing
people feel things the same way. We’ve just experienced life differently and
respond in different ways. It doesn’t make us easy targets for rudeness or
bullies.
At a Deaf gathering a while ago, I had a friend
ask me how I felt about being so fat. I knew he wasn’t trying to be rude. So I
told him, It sucks being fat. I’m working on it.” And let it go. What I wanted
to say was,”How’s does it feel to be ugly?” But THAT would have definitely been
rude…and politically incorrect (Whatever the heck that means).
Although Deaf and hard of hearing people may have
a slight reputation for being blunt, that doesn’t make us a group of people who
have no feelings. So, yes, you can offend a Deaf person. And yes, a Deaf person
can offend a hearing person. That’s just how life goes. So the next time you
feel like testing this theory out, take a moment and think, How would I feel if something asked or said
the same thing to me? You might decide to push your OFF button and rethink
what you have to say.
