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Deaf Culture

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Submitted By rxc021
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On Deaf Culture
Deaf culture is usually found in Deaf schools, and Deaf Clubs. Having Deaf culture depends on the person and how they accept being deaf. This is different for every deaf person, depending on their situation. At Deaf school is where culture begins. Here everyone is equal and they can interact with other deaf kids. This gives them a since of actually belonging somewhere. Hearing people see the Deaf schools as a dumping ground for deaf kids. When in actuality it is a place for the Deaf to identify themselves. Deaf of Deaf acquire their culture from infancy, but only about 10% are Deaf of Deaf, others get this culture from attending Deaf schools. And yet there are still others who are put in mainstream schools who aren’t exposed to Deaf culture until college or even when they start attending Deaf Clubs. Deaf communities consider themselves family and believe in taking care of each other, Deaf take care of Deaf.
Deaf value Deaf of Deaf, they want to preserve deafness. While hearing people want to do away with deaf by cochlear implants and even hearing aids, are hearing people’s way of fixing their deafness. Deaf people do not need to be fixed. They are very capable of leading a normal life. They think this would destroy Deaf culture; besides cochlear may improve only environmental sounds but it does not cure deafness completely. To go with cochlear, oralism is not thought highly of either. Being forced to speak or learn to lip read is a waste of time to a majority of the Deaf community. It was said that sign language would make kids lazy, it is a ghetto language. If you can’t talk then you have no rights. This is just another way for hearing people to kill off Deaf culture.
Deaf have folklores like ABC stories-poems, ASL stories, stories and narratives, literature puns, riddles, jokes, theater, and visual arts. Introduction is critical for the Deaf.

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