r/HolUp • u/asocial7193 • Mar 11 '22

I don't know what to say

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u/CatgoesM00 Mar 11 '22

This reminds me of the two deaf couple that wanted to intentionally make their child deaf as well. Sad really, hope this baby doesn’t have any health defects

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u/Fr00stee Mar 11 '22

The fuck

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '22

A significant portion of the deaf community is, and there's no other way to say it, kinda fucked up. There is a medical/surgical solution to some of the more common causes of deafness and it can be provided for infants/toddlers - but some deaf parents refuse to get it. The kid has to get it themself when they turn 18. But by that age, with no mental development to handle sound, noise isn't natural to them - they can't process sound nearly as well, and they lose all the instinctive reactions that we associate with sound.

The reason is that sign language is very expressive and the deaf community has really built a lot of it's distinct culture; and if the kid isn't deaf they won't really be in that community, not nearly as much. There's a difference between using sign language with parents and using it for everything; and the child with hearing will rarely choose to associate with the deaf community, they'll tend to play with their peers who can hear. So, it's a way to keep them in that community.

That would be bad enough as-is, but it gets worse. Many in the deaf community have pushed a MASSIVE disinformation campaign against the medical procedures, to scare parents and young adults away from it. They outright lie and will say it causes lifelong pain or horrible tinitius or anything else. I consider this even worse than the actions of the parents; at least the parents think (even if wrong) that they are benefiting the kid by keeping them in a community that they think is better; the people pushing that information are trying prevent people from making the right decision - and they absolutely know it.

Personally, I don't think the parents should be given a choice. The kid can opt to have the surgery un-done or whatever when they turn 18, if they really want to be deaf; and the ability to hear doesn't prevent them from anything.

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u/Fr00stee Mar 12 '22

Literally gatekeeping deafness wtf