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I used to live in Texas near the biggest deaf school in the U.S. From my understanding, some people in the deaf community do consider the word "cured" to be off

I used to live in Texas near the biggest deaf school in the U.S. From my understanding, some people in the deaf community do consider the word "cured" to be offensive because they don't consider their condition to be a disease. I don't know if that's the dominant view and preference, but if that's the case, perhaps we should all learn to respect their culture, as much as we're all learning to respect (up to some point) people's self-identified identities, preferred pronouns, etc. It's a matter of education and cultural change so that more people are aware and respectful. For those saying that science should not consider people's preferences, that's true but communicating about science definitely should. At least up to some point where they're not offending a large number of people. (..Hmm, but should they really? What about religious people who are offended by the idea of evolution..)

anthony__j 2y ago
this is great thinking. to me, the line to be drawn has a lot to do with lived experience. talking about deafness involved lots of people who live their entire lives affected by deafness, while discussing evolution affects peoples spiritual beliefs, which i see as largely a personal (if cultural) choice.
- lioeters 2y ago
  I guess it's a touchy topic these days. Some believe we shouldn't cater to people's beliefs and choices (is identity a choice? up to a point..); and especially not cater to what people might find offensive. I understand their point, because there are people who are overly sensitive and are offended by many normal things. The use of the word "cure" in this context is a perfectly logical choice of wording. Should we even consider whether some deaf people are offended by this word? It seems like the polite thing to do, but maybe it's a slippery slope that compromises the objectivity of science and clear communication of scientific findings.
southernplaces7 2y ago
>I used to live in Texas near the biggest deaf school in the U.S. From my understanding, some people in the deaf community do consider the word "cured" to be offensive because they don't consider their condition to be a disease. And if these some people want to view it that way to help themselves feel better or for whatever personal motives, that's their right. However, nobody else should be obligated to suspend a rational assessment of reality because of how it might offend anyone's emotional and irrational notion. Whether it comes from a disease, and accident or something congenital, deafness is certainly at least a defect in normal human function and needs to be recognized as such by those who could strive to eliminate it as a problem.
TeMPOraL 2y ago
Respect has degrees too. The issue gets thorny when, every now and then, a story pops up about some members of that community who want to deny their children interventions that would allow them to hear, or worse, want to intervene to take away their hearing, so they can fit in the same community as parents.
boxed 2y ago
The same people who say we should respect deaf culture or trans rights are the same people who got super offended at transracial people (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal). I can't take this too seriously. Either you accept transracial, transsexual, and amputee wannabees, or you don't. I do. Activists generally it seems don't, or at least the ones screaming the loudest. We can also all admit that something is a disorder and still accept those people for who they are. You don't have to go all crazy and try to ban homosexuality. And you don't have to go crazy and try to destroy Rachel Dolezal. We can be respectful.

anthony__j 2y ago

this is great thinking. to me, the line to be drawn has a lot to do with lived experience. talking about deafness involved lots of people who live their entire lives affected by deafness, while discussing evolution affects peoples spiritual beliefs, which i see as largely a personal (if cultural) choice.

lioeters 2y ago
I guess it's a touchy topic these days. Some believe we shouldn't cater to people's beliefs and choices (is identity a choice? up to a point..); and especially not cater to what people might find offensive. I understand their point, because there are people who are overly sensitive and are offended by many normal things. The use of the word "cure" in this context is a perfectly logical choice of wording. Should we even consider whether some deaf people are offended by this word? It seems like the polite thing to do, but maybe it's a slippery slope that compromises the objectivity of science and clear communication of scientific findings.

southernplaces7 2y ago

>I used to live in Texas near the biggest deaf school in the U.S. From my understanding, some people in the deaf community do consider the word "cured" to be offensive because they don't consider their condition to be a disease. And if these some people want to view it that way to help themselves feel better or for whatever personal motives, that's their right. However, nobody else should be obligated to suspend a rational assessment of reality because of how it might offend anyone's emotional and irrational notion. Whether it comes from a disease, and accident or something congenital, deafness is certainly at least a defect in normal human function and needs to be recognized as such by those who could strive to eliminate it as a problem.

TeMPOraL 2y ago

Respect has degrees too. The issue gets thorny when, every now and then, a story pops up about some members of that community who want to deny their children interventions that would allow them to hear, or worse, want to intervene to take away their hearing, so they can fit in the same community as parents.

boxed 2y ago

The same people who say we should respect deaf culture or trans rights are the same people who got super offended at transracial people (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal). I can't take this too seriously. Either you accept transracial, transsexual, and amputee wannabees, or you don't. I do. Activists generally it seems don't, or at least the ones screaming the loudest. We can also all admit that something is a disorder and still accept those people for who they are. You don't have to go all crazy and try to ban homosexuality. And you don't have to go crazy and try to destroy Rachel Dolezal. We can be respectful.