Sorry, I Can't Hear You

In light of the assignment and the more obscure groups that are having their "social snapshot" taken (provo All-stars, instagrammers, athletes), I felt that a snapshot of an international minority like the Deaf community would actually quite effectively fit the requirements for this assignment and so am writing about their tendency to be one-storied.
         While an international Deaf community exists, its tendency is to congregate and group with more like-minded Deaf who are closer in proximity and share similar cultural upbringings and language. The Deaf American community is an inter-connected society of individuals united by a common condition: the inability to hear, or hear well. This one element has, in the last 180 years, propagated an entire culture, history, and story of showing that, despite being able to hear, the Deaf aren't helpless or stupid. In the last 50 years, with the creation of more Deaf-friendly laws and organizations, the Deaf have amassed more rights and tools to better facilitate their life and integrate into a predominately hearing world. They exist and live around us, having their own ways of communicating, their own technology to serve their purposes, hold large cultural events all across the county, and live quite happily without the ability to hear.

           The Deaf, for all their forward effort and progress, are still typically labeled as "impaired", "helpless", or "broken." Things like surgeries, remedies, and fixes for deafness are viewed by the majority of hearing people as progressive and helpful for those poor people that can't hear. Videos posted online of people with hearing loss that hear for the first time, whether it be cochlear implant surgery or hearing aid, are viewed as heartwarming and inspiring. People perceive the Deaf as impaired and awkward, never sure what to do around them when encountered and making great effort to avoid them. The problem with this is that Deaf people are largely fine and get by day-to-day extremely well without being able to hear. They view the heartwarming videos as further declarations that people out there are hard at work, trying to fix what defines them and gives them inclusion.

           I have personally lived with the Deaf for a long time, and have seen what their limits are. Nearly all situations have already got fixes (flashing lights in place of doorbells, vibrating alarms, "hearing" dogs), and most of those situations are minor, at best. It is the general consensus that the Deaf need help and ought to be fixed. But the reality is...they're doing just fine.