{"id":1919,"date":"2002-04-09T10:55:29","date_gmt":"2002-04-09T15:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=1919"},"modified":"2002-04-09T10:55:29","modified_gmt":"2002-04-09T15:55:29","slug":"a_disability_is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/04\/09\/a_disability_is.html","title":{"rendered":"A disability is not just a cultural identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

The genders involved don’t make a bit of difference to me. It is just plain wrong for a deaf couple to intentionally arrange to have a deaf child<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Washington Post, the women claimed they would make better parents to a deaf child. They believed they would be able to understand the child’s development more thoroughly and offer better guidance, and said the choice was no different from opting for a certain gender.
\nThey also said they were part of a generation that viewed deafness not as a disability but as a cultural identity. <\/p>\n

I’m sorry, but while I have a great deal of respect for people who, with profound hearing loss, have managed to adapt and thrive, it remains a dis<\/i>ability, a defect, a physical handicap. It’s not a moral judgment. It doesn’t make someone less of a human, less deserving of rights or respect. But to pretend that it’s no different from gender or race seems seriously flawed, judgment-wise.<\/p>\n

If the couple were wheelchair-bound paraplegics, and wanted a child born to them with similar limitations, would anyone seriously argue that this was just a matter of “cultural identity”? Sure, they might be able to “understand the child’s development more thoroughly and offer better guidance” under such circumstances, but, damn.<\/p>\n

For that matter, even “cultural identity” is not a blanket blessing for such things. The issue of female genital mutilation comes to mind. Most folks I know soundly reject the idea that it’s part of certain cultures to allow this, and so it should be allowed anywhere.<\/p>\n

Yeesh.<\/p>\n

(Via JillMatrix<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The genders involved don’t make a bit of difference to me. It is just plain wrong for a deaf couple to intentionally arrange to have a deaf child. In an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41656,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/04\/09\/on-the-deaf-as-a-culture.html","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":0},"title":"On the Deaf as a Culture","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 9-Apr-14 10:48pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I've had a vague sense of this issue, but this article really drove it home. It's about Deaf (with a capital D) culture, and the challenge it faces from things like cochlear implants that can provide at least some measure of hearing for kids and adults equipped with them --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24036,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/11\/25\/to-protect-and-serve-and-tase-dangerous-deaf-senior-citizens-on-bicycles.html","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":1},"title":"To protect and serve and tase dangerous deaf senior citizens on bicycles","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 25-Nov-11 12:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Nice use of \"non-lethal\" ways of compelling compliance when you think you're being ignored.I mean, really -- who authorized this yahoo to carry around a taser, let alone a gun, when he thinks the best way to deal with an elderly black man on a bicycle (who happens to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5651,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/01\/30\/hostility.html","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":2},"title":"Hostility","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 30-Jan-04 8:01am","format":false,"excerpt":"We've heard of \"hostile work environments,\" where employers are obliged to take disciplinary action against those whose speech and actions offend other employees based on sex, national origin, disability, etc....","rel":"","context":"In "ZT & PC"","block_context":{"text":"ZT & PC","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/zt-pc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16067,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/10\/22\/congress-passes-hate-crime-protection-for-gays.html","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":3},"title":"Congress passes hate crime protection for gays","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 22-Oct-09 4:56pm","format":false,"excerpt":"And you'd think the sky is falling. Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law Congress approved Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama. A priority of the late Sen. Edward M.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LGBTQ &c"","block_context":{"text":"LGBTQ &c","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/gay-stuff"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20809,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/19\/unblogged-bits-tue-19-apr-11-2331.html","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":4},"title":"Unblogged Bits (Tue. 19-Apr-11 2331)","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 19-Apr-11 11:31pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries .... The child-labor-law fight - \"Remember when there were accepted political norms that helped define the American mainstream? Basic policy tenets that both major parties accepted, largely without question?\" Scott Snyder Uncovers Bizarre Background Character\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1377,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/01\/15\/redefining_what.html","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":5},"title":"Redefining what’s a disability","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 15-Jan-02 8:38pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Maybe it was a matter of sufficient motivation. 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