Deaf Culture - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry about the documentary "Sound and Fury". The movie discussed the controversy surrounding cochlear implants. It explores the emotional decision-making process required to determine whether to have a cochlear implant or not. Some in the deaf community feel that the procedure should not be performed on children. The children are not allowed the opportunity to become a part of the deaf community. In that blog entry, I wondered about the difference between the deaf culture and the hearing culture.

Last week, I was in the library looking for some new books to read. I came across a book titled "Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human" by Michael Chorost. The author describes his experience of getting a cochlear implant and how it has changed his life. I snatched up the book and started reading it. Before I got out of the building, a librarian snatched it back and told me that I could not have this book! It turns out that someone else had put a "hold" on the book, so I submitted my name as next in line to get the book. A day later, I got an e-mail that a copy of the book was available for my use. On Friday, I made a beeline to the library, checked out the book and devoured it in the next two days.

"Rebuilt" is an easy to read and enjoyable book. Chorost was born "hard of hearing" due to rubella fever. At an early age, he was fitted with hearing aids and was able to function well in the hearing world. In his mid-30's, Chorost suddenly lost all of his hearing. Over the next several years, he decided to get a cochlear implant and worked hard to adapt to it. Chorost is most interested in talking about what it meant to him to become a cyborg. A human that has a computer implanted in him to help him function in the world. I was hoping that this book would talk about the controversy surrounding the procedure and the deaf culture. While the book is mostly Chorost's personal experiences, it does devote one chapter to the controversy and the deaf culture.

In this chapter, Chorost states, "The warmth, intimacy and cohesiveness of the signing deaf community are legendary." The author largely attributes this to American Sign Language (ASL). He points out that "ASL is an emotionally expansive language for an emotionally expansive community, marked by wide gestures, big smiles, big hugs, and endless talking at parties that go on late into the night. It requires eye contact (to communicate) " Furthermore, deaf communities have developed at different spots around the country. These locations provide services for the deaf community and the hearing people are sensitive the challenges that the deaf people face. As a result, deaf people feel like they are a part of a unique community with a rich culture.

In "Sound and Fury", one deaf woman is asked if she would have a cochlear implant, she replies, "Why would I do that, I don't want to be a robot!" At the time, I thought that she was suggesting that a cochlear implant would make her more machine-like. Later I found out that deaf people often refer to the hearing community as being robot-like. They point out that communication between hearing people is mostly oral with little expression and may not even involve eye contact.

Chorost points out that many in the hearing world have lost the sense of community in their lives. His grandparents suggest that this stemmed from the inventions of air conditioning and television. Before this, people would spend their evenings on their front porches. They would meet their neighbors and become involved in the community. Others have attributed this solely to television. Studies have shown that involvement in community organizations has dropped drastically since that time. Blaming this all on the introduction of the television seems too simplistic to me, however I do agree that we have lost a sense of community over the last several decades and I can understand the deaf community's fear of losing its culture.

In 1991, the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) put out a position statement on cochlear implants. In the statement, they accused the medical community of conspiring to commit "cultural genocide." A year later, a deaf proponent wrote, "surgical efforts to enable deaf children to hear were morally indistinguishable from efforts to dye black children white or straighten gays." This is an extreme statement, however in the 1880's the medical establishment decided to try to suppress sign language and in some cases to tie deaf children's hands together. The medical establishment believed that deaf people would become a more productive part of society if they learned to lip read and speak English. As I pointed out in the earlier blog entry, the NAD has since considerably softened their stance on cochlear implants.

Regardless of the NAD position, Chorost suggests that the deaf community will disappear in the next several generations. The number of deaf children getting cochlear implants is rising rapidly. In "Sound and Fury", one family was very strongly opposed to getting a cochlear implant for their daughter. Two years after the movie was made, the family reversed their decision and got a cochlear implant for their daughter. Six months later, the mother of the family got a cochlear implant as well.

Although the controversy is going away, I have enjoyed learning about it and learning about the deaf community and the deaf culture. It has also caused me to think about the loss of community in our society. I think this is one of the reasons that I have enjoyed volunteering for Little League. I have enjoyed the sense of community surrounding this organization. It also helps explain the great sense of loss that I felt when Nokia closed the Scotts Valley site. This group was a vital community with a unique culture.