This is a really good essay. Thanks for your insight from the perspective of a deaf person. As someone who also doesn't hear well, I've been annoyed at the comparisons of Fetterman to deaf/hard of hearing people who require closed-captioning. Not the same thing at all!
I have a question for you, regarding deafness/hard of hearing. I never know what to call myself. I feel a little like I'm "being a victim" if I say I'm deaf (because I can hear sounds and never had to learn sign language, though that might have helped), but "hard of hearing" doesn't seem like ... enough. Like you, I require hearing aids (well, just one hearing aid, since one ear is almost completely deaf and doesn't benefit from one). Even with the hearing aid, I avoid talking on the phone because it's exhausting, and I can't understand people with accents. Women's voices are especially hard for me to understand, and if there is background noise at all ... forget it! I depend on closed-captioning when watching YouTube or TV.
Over the years, I've learned to "hear" by watching people's mouths and picking up on context clues. That doesn't always work, so I'm a master of the smile and nod, though I've also gotten less self-conscious about asking people to repeat things or write them down.
Would you call that deaf or hard of hearing? Thanks.
I found this a super helpful explanation of appropriate accommodations. Thank you so much for being so clear, it really helped me understand the issues better. I also really appreciate that you shared your story about requiring extra time to write your calculus exam. It just made so much sense to me and gave me an insight into your experience which is shared by others in my life. It helps me understand them and for that I am truly grateful.
Since I have a somewhat jaundiced view of conditions ending in ism or ist I'm a bit prone to be judgmental, so I am grateful for you taking the time to define ableism and ableist from the perspective of someone with firsthand experience.
> Not Ableist: requiring a type 1 diabetic to test their blood sugar and correct it before starting their shift as a bus driver, pilot, or other job where safety is on the line.
FWIW, one cannot have Type I Diabetes and be a bus driver, at least in the US. It is a disqualifying condition for a CDL. I imagine the same holds true for a pilot's license. I know one can have their flight cert pulled for high blood pressure. As it is, I have to have medical exams twice as frequently for my CDL just because I use a CPAP.
Color blindness is also a disqualifying condition for being a truck driver. I suspect it might be for pilots as well, because red and green lights are used on wingtips to distinguish port from starboard and thus let other pilots know which direction a plane is facing (and therefore traveling) at night from a distance.
So incisive and insightful. Thanks, Holly, for another great article. Hope you're enjoying autumn (as Kiwis like me refer to "fall") in your neck of the woods.
I don't think anyone honestly, in their heart believes this is "ableism". I hope not, because it's ludicrous. I think it's people who spend too much time on Twitter who think discourse is like the high school debate team. Their only objective is getting "points" on the other side, not matter what kind of philosophical pretzel they twist themselves into.
This is a really good essay. Thanks for your insight from the perspective of a deaf person. As someone who also doesn't hear well, I've been annoyed at the comparisons of Fetterman to deaf/hard of hearing people who require closed-captioning. Not the same thing at all!
I have a question for you, regarding deafness/hard of hearing. I never know what to call myself. I feel a little like I'm "being a victim" if I say I'm deaf (because I can hear sounds and never had to learn sign language, though that might have helped), but "hard of hearing" doesn't seem like ... enough. Like you, I require hearing aids (well, just one hearing aid, since one ear is almost completely deaf and doesn't benefit from one). Even with the hearing aid, I avoid talking on the phone because it's exhausting, and I can't understand people with accents. Women's voices are especially hard for me to understand, and if there is background noise at all ... forget it! I depend on closed-captioning when watching YouTube or TV.
Over the years, I've learned to "hear" by watching people's mouths and picking up on context clues. That doesn't always work, so I'm a master of the smile and nod, though I've also gotten less self-conscious about asking people to repeat things or write them down.
Would you call that deaf or hard of hearing? Thanks.
I found this a super helpful explanation of appropriate accommodations. Thank you so much for being so clear, it really helped me understand the issues better. I also really appreciate that you shared your story about requiring extra time to write your calculus exam. It just made so much sense to me and gave me an insight into your experience which is shared by others in my life. It helps me understand them and for that I am truly grateful.
Enlightening, thank you, Holly.
Since I have a somewhat jaundiced view of conditions ending in ism or ist I'm a bit prone to be judgmental, so I am grateful for you taking the time to define ableism and ableist from the perspective of someone with firsthand experience.
> Not Ableist: requiring a type 1 diabetic to test their blood sugar and correct it before starting their shift as a bus driver, pilot, or other job where safety is on the line.
FWIW, one cannot have Type I Diabetes and be a bus driver, at least in the US. It is a disqualifying condition for a CDL. I imagine the same holds true for a pilot's license. I know one can have their flight cert pulled for high blood pressure. As it is, I have to have medical exams twice as frequently for my CDL just because I use a CPAP.
Color blindness is also a disqualifying condition for being a truck driver. I suspect it might be for pilots as well, because red and green lights are used on wingtips to distinguish port from starboard and thus let other pilots know which direction a plane is facing (and therefore traveling) at night from a distance.
/nerd off :D
So incisive and insightful. Thanks, Holly, for another great article. Hope you're enjoying autumn (as Kiwis like me refer to "fall") in your neck of the woods.
I don't think anyone honestly, in their heart believes this is "ableism". I hope not, because it's ludicrous. I think it's people who spend too much time on Twitter who think discourse is like the high school debate team. Their only objective is getting "points" on the other side, not matter what kind of philosophical pretzel they twist themselves into.
It's very Taylor Lorenzian.
You wrote a good piece.