Young Writers Society

NOTE: This is an essay I wrote for my Diversity Class a year or two ago.

For the past three consecutive years, my family and I have attended the Statewide Conference for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This year, the conference was held March 11-13th at the Concourse Hotel &Governor’s Club in Madison. Every year, information regarding diversity, discrimination, and normalization is shared, in addition to resources and various coping strategies for the challenges Deaf and Hard of Hearing people face. The most exciting aspect of this year’s conference was meeting 2010 Miss Deaf USA, Michelle Koplitz.

Michelle Koplitz is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She was born Deaf, but it never slowed her down. There has always been a negative determination of Deaf people’s abilities based on their disability. Ableism promotes the belief that people with disabilities are inferior to able-bodied people. This, of course, is an incorrect and ignorant way to think. Deaf people are capably of anything, other than hearing. Michelle was mainstreamed in her school distinct and used an interpreter in all her classes. In high school, she was involved in sports and clubs, and the National Honor Society. She graduated from with a 3.8 grade point average.

Although Michelle worked hard, she still struggled to fit in and discover her identity. She was deaf, but she felt too involved in the Hearing world. After high school, she went to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she began to finally feel comfortable in her own shoes. This is when she finally began to fully embrace Deaf culture. She hosted events with the NTID Student Congress and worked as a lifeguard. And then she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and a minor in Psychology. After graduating, she pursued her master’s degree in Health Education and Health Communication at John Hopkins. Michelle traveled with Deaf organizations and studied in Sussex, England. She also traveled to Thailand as a Global Outreach Delegate, and she is a certified yoga instructor for the Deaf community.

Michelle talked a lot about her decision to become a full-fledged member of the Deaf culture. Deaf culture is a social, communal, and creative force of, by, and for Deaf people based on American Sign Language (ASL). It encompasses communication, social protocol, art, entertainment, recreation, and worship. It’s also an attitude, and, as such, can be a weapon of prejudice—“You’re not one of us; you don’t belong.”

I’ve seen this prejudiced attitude among many people of the Deaf community and Michelle talked about her experience, which is a little different from my own. Michelle is 80% deaf and used technology to help her hear. This is viewed as unacceptable by many members of the Deaf community. If you’re Deaf, you are Deaf. There is nothing wrong, so using technology to “fix” your hearing is like betraying “your own kind.”

Michelle was torn between the Hearing World and the Deaf World. Despite the mighty efforts of generations of Hearing people, deaf people still prefer to communicate and mingle with their own kind. That is the psychosocial basis of Deaf culture. Deaf people in the United States have faithfully resisted the generous attempts of Hearing people to eliminate the use of sign language and assimilate them into the hearing mainstream. The simple fact is that deaf people who attend the common residential schools for the deaf—no matter what mode of communication is forced on them in the classroom—tend to seek out other deaf people and communicate in sign language.

I understand all of this extremely well. Personally, I also seek out people who are more like me. Deaf people are more likely to understand one another and have a common ground. Communication with other Deaf people is also much less frustrating than communicating with Hearing people. However, I also believe that Deaf culture is a political concept and it's limiting rather than inclusive. It encourages a certain elitism, a snobbery. For example, in Deaf culture, a person is considered “strong-Deaf,” and is accorded respect, if they have Deaf parents. Since I am the child of hearing parents, and the only deaf person in my family, I’m not considered “strong-Deaf” enough by certain Deaf-culture purists. My status in Deaf culture is, in this view, lower than that of persons with Deaf parents and/or Deaf siblings. I’ve had a few encounters with gung-ho Deaf-culture types who have told me that they don’t consider me part of Deaf culture because I’m from a hearing family and didn’t attend Gallaudet University. I suppose that they consider me second-class, according to the strict Deaf Culture criteria. Or maybe third-class. Since the vast majority of deaf people have hearing parents that would mean that only a mere handful of Deaf people can rightly be considered the “elite.” Not by one’s personal accomplishments, not by one’s contributions to the community, but simply by having the “right kind” of parents. To my view, this is as snobbish and restrictive as the views circulated by the Hearing people, who excluded deaf people from the respect accorded to all other groups, communities, and societies. In defying the norms of Hearing culture, Deaf culture has set up a view that is, in its own way, just as exclusionary.

Michelle saw how the Deaf community excluded certain people, but she felt that it was a culture that she was comfortable in and she didn’t have the desire to attempt to fit in with the Hearing world. I also understand this concept, but I see it differently. I can’t fit in with the hearing world entirely and I can’t fit in with the Deaf world entirely. I’m in the middle, which makes it difficult to be part of the Deaf community.

The term “community” indicates a group of people, or a segment of the population, that has shared goals, beliefs, experiences, or simply lives in proximity. Although most deaf people are geographically scattered, they do comprise a distinct community with ASL and the schools for the deaf as their socio-linguistic heart. Thus, “Deaf community” includes people from mainstreamed backgrounds, alumni of oral schools, persons with cochlear implants, and those whose first language in English—all of these disqualifying factors to membership in Deaf culture. The Deaf community also includes hearing families, friends, supporters, and advocates of Deaf people—even if they’re not native-ASL signers.

Instead of continuing to focus on the negative aspects of Deaf Culture, I would like to point out some positive things—the things that attracted Michelle to embrace the Deaf culture entirely. Deaf Culture has many publications: Silent News, DeafNation, SIGNews, Deaf Life, and tons of others. There are catalogs chock full of books written by Deaf authors covering a wide range of topics. Some have really interesting accounts of Deaf history and folklore. In addition, there are numerous Deaf performing artists such as Clayton Valli, Patrick Graybill, Bernard Bragg, Mary Beth Miller, CJ Jones, Rathskellar, and many others. There are countless organizations such as the National Association for the Deaf and its many statewide affiliates. There are tons of Deaf social clubs and athletics organizations where Deaf people socialize and compete in sporting events.

Like Michelle, I agree that some cultural aspects of the Deaf World are vital in providing a healthy sense of well-being. It focuses on what Deaf people CAN do, as opposed to focusing on what's wrong. More than anything, there's a sense of belonging, and of validation. Interacting with hearing people can be exhausting. It's not uncommon for me and other Deaf people to attend a gathering and come home totally wiped out from the effort it took to communicate with the Hearing people. However, at Deaf social gatherings, it could be 2am and nobody wants to leave. Club owners actually have to turn the lights out and herd everyone out the door. Conversations continue outside under a street light or after hours in a coffee shop. Communication in sign language is fluid and effortless, which is why these gatherings last until the early morning.

Michelle is the perfect role model for Deaf people, which is why she was crowned Miss Deaf USA in 2010. She is an example that Deaf people can do anything, except hear. She was successful in high school and got her Master's degree. She has traveled all over the world and is dedicated to bettering the Deaf community.

Michelle and I have different views when it comes to Deaf Culture. If you're not Deaf, you don't belong--that's blatant prejudice. I'm not Hearing, but I'm not completely Deaf. I'm somewhere in the middle. Without my hearing aids, I hear nothing. Michelle stopped using her hearing aids because being a member of the deaf community usually requires no technology "fixers." If I wanted to immerse myself fully into the Deaf Culture, I would most likely have to discontinue using my hearing aids. This is a perfect example of being torn between both worlds. Deaf people have always resisted the attempts of Hearing people to eliminate sign language and assimilate them into the Hearing mainstream. No matter where you go, it's common for Deaf people to seek out other Deaf people and prefer company of Deaf people. In Deaf culture there is a sense of elitism, and I don't necessarily agree with this attitude. I am proud of being Deaf and I like my Deaf friends and I like using sign language, but I don't like the attitude that some people are better than other people.

Deaf Culture can be seen as positive. There are support groups, clubs, organizations, events, literature, and countless of other resources and materials for the Deaf people. There is a sense of belonging and validation. I think that's the biggest aspect of Deaf Culture. It's all about respect, unity, understanding, and validation.

Michelle Koplitz is an inspiration to all Deaf individuals. She works hard and is able to accomplish whatever she sets her mind to. She has the acceptance she desires from the Deaf Community. She advocates for others and has a passion for life and spreading understanding. Meeting Michelle and her family was so wonderful and it really made me think long and hard about my views concerning the Deaf Culture and community. Diversity is a long-stretched issue that can be pondered upon for a very long time. Currently, I am happy with where I am at and with my place in both the Hearing and the Deaf world.