People with deafness, like every human being, have emotions and are easily aroused to anger when the wrong button is pressed. In fact, deaf people are arguably some the most misunderstood people on the African continent. Most of the issues attributed to them are mostly superstitious and do not hold any truth in them.
However, to a large extent, these stereotypes are believed by many to be true mainly out of ignorance. For instances, there are several reasons why abusing or using abuses on deaf people is totally wrong and absurd- symbolic abuses that have the potential to cause great outage.
The society need to be educated on the fact that to every action, there is always equal and opposite reaction. Every action we take in this world has got a rebound, and when it does come, it usually comes with a severe consequence.
There are three well-known types of abuses exhibited against the deaf by some silly hearing individuals. Although, they look harmless but they carry some certain signs which are only known, interpreted and felt by the deaf folks themselves. These are:
1. Making a heap of sand and inserting a broken broom/stick on top
2. Putting your both hands in each of your ears and sliding downward and up towards a deaf person
3. Putting/holding a broken stick/broom or leaf on the lips towards a deaf person.
These essay highlight six reasons why doing so is totally wrong, and uncalled.
1. It equates them to an animal: Nobody wants to be associated with an animal for whatever reason. But with one of these manual abuses- directly or indirectly, the deaf folks are associated with them. This is done when a person holds a broken leaf or stick on his/her mouth towards a deaf person. This kind of abuse compares them to an animal. Doing so makes them feel less of a human, and are thus tend to cause potentially grave outrage against the perpetrators of this heinous “crime”.
In the eyes of God, all men are equal; and every individual regardless of his station in life, is deserving a treatment that is brews dignity and respect.
2. It gives an impression that they are as good as dead: Harmless as it might look, a heap of sand that is inserted by a person with a broken broom or stick on top, they are indirectly comparing the deaf person to a dead corpse. The heap signifies a grave and the stick/broom signifies a cross. Comparing an individual to the dead is one of the highest form of insults that can be hurled at a human being who is still breathing and walking on the face of the earth. Such abuse is something that shouldn’t be used against a person with deafness, and should be condemned and frowned upon by all and sundry.
3. It gives the wrong signal to the world that deaf people are unimportant, unworthy or useless: Already by far the most underestimated, unheard and least represented in the society, people with deafness are tended to be associated with failure, riffraff and imbeciles- so many misconceptions against this population segment. But In fact, the society, time and gain, has been shown that there is immense ability in a disability. One’s inability to hear shouldn’t be diminished on the altar of unworthiness, unimportance or uselessness. Let us face it, ambition and intellect are not determined by hearing ability. A deaf person can lead a successful life and be able to impact positively on the society and the world at large.
4. It is an insult to their pride and ego: Sigmund Freud has said that man is egoistic; we all have pride inside of us. But nobody wants to have their pride and ego bruised. Disrespectful or denigrating conduct certainly deflate one’s self-esteem, and self-worth. It kills whatever they carry inside of them. It’s worthy of note that some people live their lives based on the opinions of others. Weak people will bank on that, on the opinions of others and consequently devalue themselves to a point where they completely lose faith in themselves. Rather than bring each other down, we must strive to encourage others to believe themselves and explore the opportunities around them to become who they want to be.
5. It could invoke a great anger in them: Being deaf alone is enough trouble to mess with somebody. Yes, that is funny; but it is the truth. But adding such insults to their already sullen situation could be potentially disastrous. The resultant consequences could be catastrophic. Insulting a deaf person with one of these instances could ignite a certain degree of rage inside them. So we have to be courteous with the things that we do when it comes to people with deafness.
6. There is always the law of karma: Like stated earlier, to every action, there is a reaction. But Karma they say is real- real as the air we breathe in. Everything and every action we take has a consequence. Deafness is not purchased from the market; it can affect anyone regardless of sex, station, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation. Hence, it is important to be mindful of the actions that we take- actions that directly or indirectly affect others. we might never know- it might come back to haunt us-it always does.
The society is encouraged to play good neighborliness to their deaf counterparts. We all need each other. But persons living with disabilities are also part and parcel of the society. What the deaf community needs from the society are not abuses, and certainly not endeavors to create a gap between them and the world. Rather, it all tarries on inclusiveness. A closer look at this population of people, what we see is people who are great; deaf people are wonderful, intelligent, loyal, and they possess fine expertise and attitude that is required to make the world a better place if given a level playing field.
As a deaf person, you obviously have had an annoying, patronizing behavior from a hearing individual. We would like you to share it with us.