[allmendream]

Being somewhat familiar with the deaf “community”, having previously lived near their big school near D.C., your comment is dead on accurate.

Deaf people have formed such a community in some places that they look upon someone curing deafness as robbing them of members of their culture.

I remember the hearing of two deaf parents with genetic defects screening their offspring to ensure that their child would inherit deafness. To them, it wasn't preferable to have a fully functioning child, it was more important to create a new member of their deaf culture.

Strange.

[bvw]

It's really not so strange, it's common. You thing it happens with just deaf people? No way!

Most gifted people get harassed, beaten down, kicked out of groups, by the average, just for being gifted. They DEMAND averageness.

[a fool in paradise]

I remember the hearing of two deaf parents with genetic defects screening their offspring to ensure that their child would inherit deafness. To them, it wasn't preferable to have a fully functioning child, it was more important to create a new member of their deaf culture.

Yes. They were a lesbian couple. And PBS did a profile on them.

I think that their first child was a boy and they did it a second time to try to deliberately create a deaf daughter (rather than simply adopting one).

[metmom]

That deaf community (Gaudelet) has its issues. They are not repressentative of the entire deaf community.

There’s a whole ‘nother one in Rochester NY, the NTID (National Technical Institue for the Deaf), where that kind of mentality is NOT present.

[MinorityRepublican]

There are extremists in every community.

Having said that, I'm a deaf person myself and I use American Sign Language. So its only natural that I'm part of this so-called "Deaf Culture".

There are a few deaf FReepers around here, just keep that in mind.