A Remark That Struck Me | An Entryway to Cross-Cultural Understanding Between Deaf and Hearing People

I was struck by the following remark in this article by hanasaki.

A perspective I hadn't noticed, even though I don't discriminate

hanasaki attended a sign language interpreter training school to acquire sign language.

The school was apparently quite Spartan, with everything being in sign language, and they were bewildered right from the start of enrollment.
Well, you could say it was like 'suddenly studying abroad.'
They share memories of having a very difficult time.

Several years after graduating from the school, they told a teacher who had helped them about those struggles.

That was when the teacher said the words I introduced at the beginning.

I felt a shock, as if I had been punched in the head.

I had thought that I myself had never held any discriminatory feelings toward deaf people.

However, I had never even imagined that deaf people felt that way.
By enrolling in a school to learn sign language, hanasaki experienced a society where hearing people are the minority.

If I hadn't read this article, I don't think I would have even noticed such a perspective.

My understanding of normalization has changed a little

I had thought that normalization was a society where people could live without being distinguished as deaf or hearing. I don't think that is wrong, either.

However, as I continued reading Hanasaki-san's article, I arrived at the understanding that:
"Deaf people are not so much defined by the disability of being unable to hear, but rather by living in a different cultural society with a different language."
(I am not sure if this is correct, but that is how it felt to me.)

Just as it is necessary to discard Japanese ways of thinking and adopt a 'native English brain' to understand and use English, understanding 'sign language' means understanding a 'sign language brain'.
By adopting that perspective, I also arrived at the understanding that:
Deaf people use a different language and live within a different culture.
I reached that understanding as well.

The currently trending drama 'silent,' which sparked my thinking about the positions of the Deaf and the hearing

The reason I started thinking about sign language and Deaf people here and there was the currently trending 'tear-jerker' drama, 'silent'.

I shed tears every single episode 😆

At the same time,
watching the crossed paths in love, parent-child relationships, and human dynamics between the three parties—the Deaf, the hearing, and those who lost their hearing later in life—
"Even if words are understood (spoken or signed), it is difficult to convey one's 'feelings'"
is something I am made to think about every time.

Through this drama, I encountered cross-cultural understanding between the hearing and the Deaf, something I had never thought about in my daily life.

If one views this drama from that perspective, perhaps new realizations about normalization might be born.

I have that thought as well.

In Conclusion

The ultimate form of communication is likely telepathy.

Without lies or deception, thoughts would be conveyed 100%. (Though I cannot guarantee whether that would lead to a desirable result 😅)

However, in reality, we are doing our best to convey our thoughts through language (spoken or signed) and gestures, even if imperfectly.

The frustration of not being understood.

But precisely because of that,
"Why doesn't the other person understand?"
I have come to think that the arrow previously pointed at the other person might shift to
"I want to understand the other person."
I have come to think that it might change in that direction.

Understanding others who are different from oneself. Whether they are hearing or Deaf does not matter. It is about respecting the other person's position and having a heart of consideration.

It starts there. This might be the entryway to cultural understanding.

☘️ Thank you for reading until the end.
☘️ I am grateful for this wonderful connection.
☘️ It would be a great encouragement if you could 'like,' 'comment,' or 'follow.' I will continue to strive to deliver articles that make everyone think, 'I'm glad I read this!' Thank you for your continued support.

※ To know others, it is important to know oneself. I have compiled my thoughts on such introspection into a book here.