Quote:
Originally Posted by DiracSpike
Deaf is derogatory now? What about blind?
No one wants to be reduced to just a label of a condition, and there's certainly more to any one person than a particular affliction they may unfortunately have...but we need words to describe what goes on in the world. Deafness is a condition that exists, we need a term for that, don't we? I'm genuinely confused, are you saying another, more new age euphemistic term like "hard of hearing" should be used? Or are you saying we should just never talk about people that can't hear at all, which sounds a lot like erasing deaf people and also very counterproductive and not helpful to treating people with deafness. And educating people about how to avoid becoming deaf or assisting family members that are deaf. Respectfully, this take doesn't make a lot of sense.
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I am just saying if you're addressing someone who is deaf just use the first name or learn sign language to communicate with them. We should never label them deaf and dumb, which some of the older generations still does. Sometimes it is because that's the language that they learned at the time. As a deaf person myself, I understand these terms and how they are hurtful; But I am really proud of the people who've become educated, who treat me as an equal just like everybody else.They don't see my deafness, they just see a person. I like that and I hope that that continues to grow so that everyone can enjoy the same experience. I guess I'm just saying it starts with education but it does get better.