Some deaf people feel that there is a Deaf culture, and that things like cochlear implants are a way to diminish that culture. It's stupid, but whatever.

They should have their children taken away and undergoe forced sterilization. Not for their deafness but because their stupidity may be malignant. Gotta cut the cancer.

Kome: Some deaf people feel that there is a Deaf culture, and that things like cochlear implants are a way to diminish that culture. It's stupid, but whatever.

There is a similar debate in the autism community, seriously.

...not "let's have autistic babies (the cause isn't known enough to do that yet) but the whole "it's a culture" thing.

Hmm, some good comments in the article, I'll post them here.

"a small minority of couples would prefer to create a child who is effectively disabled, to fit in better with the family lifestyle."
We only have our children for the first two decades of their lives - what then? How does the child crippled for the convenience of its parents get on in the wider world?

What if a child born to these parents doesn't like being deaf? Imagine finding out your parents intensionally made you deaf? You would resent them forever.

Man's inhumanity to his fellow man knows no limits.

Deaf children will be able to participate in deaf culture, which their parents obviously find fulfilling enough, but it is to the exclusion of so much more. One of my good friends is deaf and she is at a large disadvantage when it comes to managing in the hearing world, which she has had to do most of her life. She is not unhappy, but I think she would have many more opportunities if she was hearing. Unless deaf children plan to live within deaf culture for their entire lives, their parents will put them at a significant disadvantage by forcing this disability on them.

There was a Scrubs episode on last night about this same exact thing

/mmm Sarah Chalke *drools*

What we need is a "smart culture." Where's that, huh? Huh?

I see children suing their parents for forcing them into a life of hardship and silence

The other day at work we were all ordering food from a BBQ joint, the only deaf girl in the office was under the impression that the whole dealie was FREE, I don't know how the lines of communication got messed up but...Anyways, so she orders her food, thinking it's all free and ordered 3 chicken sandwiches and a virgin frozen daiquiri, then we were all, "you owe 23.00 dollars" and she freaked out and started yelling, except in that deaf way.

Madman drummers bummers: What we need is a "smart culture." Where's that, huh? Huh?

Television killed it.

There is actually a very swift and effective procedure to help these people; it's called 'irreversible sterilization'.

Isn't there a state sponsored program?

Forcing someone to accept a disability to preserve a flawed idea of "deaf culture"? Hold on, the Dumbass tag is on the phone...

One of my friends has gone slowly blind over the years and now works as an activist in the National Federation of the Blind. He always has a fascinating story about this kind of thing, all the social dynamics involved in different levels of "sightedness." It's insane.

These deaf people in question are the most selfish farking assholes in the history of the planet. What awful human beings! "No kid of mine is going to enjoy music!"

What a world.

Heh, reminds me of that Tucker Max story about the deaf girl.

Madman drummers bummers: What we need is a "smart culture." Where's that, huh? Huh?

The real question is: Would parents be allowed to make their children smart in order to fit in to this "smart culture"?

/Being smart can certainly be a disability in mainstream culture

If I had to lose one of my five senses, it would be hearing.

I might actually consider getting married if that happened.

a small minority of couples would prefer to create a child who is effectively disabled, to fit in better with the family lifestyle.

That's one of the most selfish things I've ever heard. These parents shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.

You know who else liked designer children?

Embryos should be screened for major diseases and that is it. Selecting embryos that have a major disease is disgusting and should be forbidden. Selecting embryos for anything other than excluding major genetic defects should be forbidden as well.

Kome: Some deaf people feel that there is a Deaf culture, and that things like cochlear implants are a way to diminish that culture. It's stupid, but whatever.

Sorry but I cannot think "whatever" twards this. It is child abuse and they should not be parents. In fact, they should be investigated by Social Services regularly should they ever have children.

Brilliant. I wonder if these people think it would be ok to lop of a babies legs if both the parents require the use of wheelchairs. I mean after all, it is important to have children that fit in with the parent's lifestyle. Just ask any yuppie. Surely the most important thing here is that the parents get exactly what they want.

I used to go to RIT (where the National Technical Institute for the Deaf is) so I really am getting a kick out of these replies.

/Deaf people screaming at the top of their lungs in the middle of the night while you are actually trying to sleep isn't fun

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Wow, the Times Online got Farked? Impressive.

Reminds me of the Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusion.

I assume this would fall under "things you can do/have done/not have done to yourself, but not to your children," thankfully.

They are indeed sick.

My sister is deaf. My parents were informed there was a large population that thought it was horrible that deaf kids be raised by hearing parents, and possibly might adopt her. Also they seemed to detest any attempt to teach lipreading or speaking.

Most people and businesses have no way to communicate with someone who signs. Not that they shouldn't learn, but it's just a fact.

/luckily she knew 130 words by the time she had spinal meningitis.
//22 platinum wires in her one cochlea.
///yay riding elevators with chinchillas?

Why not? People get to mutilate their baby's dick as part of their culture, I don't see why they aren't allowed to shove a screwdriver in their tympanum.

Kome: Some deaf people feel that there is a Deaf culture, and that things like cochlear implants are a way to diminish that culture. It's stupid, but whatever.

I have a Baha Cochlear Implant. I wish I never got the surgery. I have to grow my hair long so I don't look like Frankenstein.

These people are out of their farking minds. Should people in AA be able to get designer alcoholic children to carry on the "culture"?

I hate the deaf. They have terrible tempers.

I'm nearsighted. -6.5/-7.75, and I've met three people worse off then I who hadn't broke down and gotten Lasic. Now, Lasic is not an option for me yet because my prescription keeps changing.

That said, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Yes I can sort-of see without glasses but it's kind of the way Monet understood the world. If I wake up in the night I can't see my alarm clock, I have to sit up and lean within a foot or so of it to figure out the numbers. I am totally dependent on glasses or contacts to get around.

But really, at least I still have use of the sense, no matter how gimpy it is. That parents would inflict the loss of a sense on their children is nothing less then barbaric in my eyes.

FTA: In America a deaf couple deliberately created a baby with hearing difficulties by choosing a sperm donor with generations of deafness in his family.

I remember that case. Those "parents" should have been raped to death.

How about this: why don't we let the child be born normally, then when he/she is 18, if she thinks she would like deaf culture better, they can drive nails into his/her ears.

FTFA: What if a child born to these parents doesn't like being deaf? Imagine finding out your parents intensionally made you deaf? You would resent them forever.

I'm always surprised that people never transfer this realization to their relationship with God. Given that most conceptions of God hold that he's omnipotent he could have created humans with all the same powers and abilities that he has. However, he deliberately decided to create people who are inferior to him in power and ability. To willingly cripple your child is abhorrent yet billions of people worship a Father that did just that to all of his special Children.

itazurakko 2007-12-23 11:06:21 AM
Kome: Some deaf people feel that there is a Deaf culture, and that things like cochlear implants are a way to diminish that culture. It's stupid, but whatever.

There is a similar debate in the autism community, seriously.

I bet their meetings are awesome.

Being deaf is not a culture. It is a disability. Parents who want to harm their children like this shouldn't be allowed to have children.

Greased-up Deaf Guy Approves

Here's an idea:

Deaf parents who so choose could decide to genetically engineer their children to be deaf- provided the process was reversible later. When the children reach an age where they could make an informed decision, they could choose to hear or not.

Until such time as this would be practical, deliberately handicapping children as a "lifestyle" choice is de facto child abuse.

/My brace of small copper coins

fred and steve's steakhouse:

MissDeafWorld.com

I'd hit it so hard it wouldn't hear me coming.

Please, please do not post pix of "MissBlindWorld.com"

itazurakko: ...not "let's have autistic babies (the cause isn't known enough to do that yet) but the whole "it's a culture" thing.

This I've seen but I don't think anyone really cares about people forming a culture around their similarities. The issue is:
a) designer babies, a touchy subject for many
and
b) designer disabled babies, which is vile.

But we have to let them do it legally! We have to let them create deaf children! Because if the child is born with hearing, the parents might not love it as much! And then we'll have deaf parents making deaf children without medical help! They'll be jabbing the child's eardrums out with screwdrivers in dark alleys!!

Somebody think of the children!!!!


/diaf, fundamentalist, uh, deaf people.

I Said: Sorry but I cannot think "whatever" twards this. It is child abuse and they should not be parents. In fact, they should be investigated by Social Services regularly should they ever have children.

THIS (pops).

Religious people want designer retards, what's the difference?

So how to explain to a kid that you chose to fark up their life without their input? I hope any deafened embryos grow up to kill their parents.

I had a roomate many years ago who was deaf, she introduced me to a deaf friend of hers whom I dated for a while. While they participated in a deaf group who did the get-together meals, etc. on a regular basis, there was a subset within their group who basically wouldn't accept any "outsiders" (aka, those with hearing ability).

Its really hard to describe in some ways and in another way it is easy to describe: To those few more radical "believers", if you could hear - well then you might as well been Sammy Davis, Jr. (black AND jewish) and they were the local KKK branch. I never understood it, but they were completely bigoted against anyone who wasn't likewise deaf. I know for a fact that many of them were wishing for deaf children and some were known to throw fits at the idea of cochlear implants. Strange.

Deaf chicks make really cool noises when you fark them. Even more so if it's not consensual.

I'm okay with this. Alternatively, I'm okay with banning this if we also ban forced religious indoctrination before age 12, and circumcision of both genders. However, so long as people can still raise kids however they want, I'm fine with them having them however they want. The little lump of protoplasm wouldn't exist without the parents, if the parents feel the need to not offer the child every possible advantage in the world, so be it. Too many special snowflakes already. Sometimes life is difficult. Given that we're talking about designer kids, any kids born of this literally would not exist without it. Some other kid might exist if the parents choose to procreate in the antiquidated manner, but that child would not exist otherwise.

Hmm...link seems to be fark.

As for the rest - well if some deaf parents get to engineer genetic defects into their kids, then I want to engineer my kids for superior intelligence, good looks and physical superiority, then i'll educate them to believe that their superiority exempts them from the laws of lesser species, and to always act accordingly.

Fair is fair, right?

Being Deaf is not a superpower.

7thVeil: I hate the deaf. They have terrible tempers.

I don't hate the deaf but yes they DO have terrible tempers.