Deaf, World Class Whiners

Just wanted to point out the obvious for you.

Numerous so-called culturally and linguistically "D" deaf people are world class whiners.

Thanks to long historic line of Deaf Whiners, the deaf community is known as the society of world class whiners.

Mind you, whining is as contagious as our laughter and smile. When you laugh there is almost certain somebody nearby that's going to laugh as well for absolutely no reason at all. When you smile you will generate smiles on the faces of people that surrounds you. It's no different when you whine. It's so contagious.

There is also a famous saying that goes something like this... who you are depends on who you hang around with. One does not need to look very far to see this proof.

Thinking back and reflecting on my life experience in the deaf community I realized how often I have had to sit down and listen to all the whining done by the capital "D" society through the years. There is always a reason to whine about something. Or is there, really? Or is it a habit forming behavior where people feel the need to whine regardless of the good things that are happening?

I would like to cite a recent event. Amazingly some culturally and linguistically Deaf people found a reason to whine about The Extreme Makeover event at Oregon School for the Deaf. I thought it was a beautiful project that would enlighten our deaf education program but yet there were some of you who managed to find reasons to whine about it! Some of you lodged your complaints at facebook and whined about the promotion of hearing aids by this Extreme Makeover group.

Here it comes again, the same old tiresome sound of waaahhh waaahhh waaahhh. Did I say anything about it? No, not yet. I ignored the whining once more. I sort of expected it and asked myself, so what's new?

And finally yesterday my wife posted a video in her facebook. The video was done by Jubilee Project. She told me about it because she thought it was a beautiful story that promoted ASL. I took few minutes to watch it and smiled afterwards. I liked it and saw the bright side to it. I was never fooled by the notion that the actress might be deaf. As soon as the lady spelled 'deaf' in ASL I knew she was not deaf. But I didn't see a problem with that simply because the underlying message was more important than the details. They were promoting ASL at no cost to us.

And yet, did somebody whine about it? Unbelievably Yes!

By evening hours I saw the return of this whining society who found a reason to whine about the video. There was a blog done by Amy known as Deaf World As Eye See It.

I left a comment under her blog and stated my thoughts;

I could not help it but think about how our deaf community are perceived by this world as world class whiners after producing series of complaints.

FYI, acting means exactly that, a job of acting like somebody that you are not. Acting means pretty much anybody could try and act like somebody else that they are not. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of acting.

End quote.

This well known Deaf Whiner named Shel had this to say to me;

Barry, quit putting down the Deaf community and assuming how Hearing people would perceive us as Deaf people.

Would you have said Blacks were world class whiners when they went on the Civil Rights Movement? When Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus? Was she a world class whiner when she protested racism?

Were women world class whiners when they protested sexism and the prohibition against women voting?

Would you even dare call GLBT community world class whiners when they protest against heterosexism and homophobia?

Nosireebob, you would not, Barry! So kindly cut it out with us, the Deaf community, when it comes to audism!

Amy, pardon me for flaming Barry, but I have had it with his putting down the Deaf community.

End quote.

I responded;

Funny how you saw my comment as putting down the deaf community. I saw it as a form of encouragement for the deaf community to learn how to see bright side to everything. I saw that video and thought it was awesome because it had a bright side to it only to learn that there are people whining about it. Some people like yourself, perhaps, love to bring out the negativity in everything they touch or see. It’s a reflection of sad mentality. I’ve always saw bright side to everything that hearing people do therefore I’ve always thrived where ever I go. And because I see things differently you categorize it as putting deaf people down.

Would I have said blacks were world class whiners when they whined? Yes, if I was a black person I certainly would. Would I have called women world class whiners when they whined? Yes I would if I was a woman. Would I call GLBT community a world class whiners? Yes I would if I was gay. But I’m not black, woman and gay so I’ve not made such claim but if I was that then yes I would because I know there is bright side to everything and there are ways to educate people on these subjects in a positive way, something you seem to struggle with.

End quote.

My message to this so-called "D" society. Kindly remind yourself of how contagious whining is before you whine again. And more importantly, remind yourself of how ugly your "D" society would look every time you let out this waaahhh waaahhh waaahhh whine of yours.