Just got back from the Deaf Commission meeting in Urbandale. Yet again it was hard to concentrate on the conversation due to the fact I am the only Commissioner that can hear. I have to wait for the interpreter to speak to me and when multiple people are signing (let me tell you they can sign faster than a person can talk) it gets very confusing and taxing. I actually get headaches trying to watch the speaker and then the interpreter. When someone in the public audience signs I never know since I can't see them and conversations get lost. Don't think I will ever get used to it and hopefully this will force me to learn to sign.
So here is what the post is about. I had a member of the community ask why I was selected as a commissioner. Her comment was 'She is from the northwest part of Iowa but she isn't deaf, I want to be represented by a deaf commissioner, the rest of the state is."
I felt bad, because I was not deaf and everyone else was. I felt like I was missing something and I was being judged because I was a hearing person. I assume that is not how it was intended. If that is how deaf and hard of hearing people feel in public it is not a good thing.
This appointment is changing my life. Never thought it would be like this.
Thank you Governor Brandstad and the committee for this opportunity.
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It is truly a different perspective. Similar feeling I assume to when I sat on SAI's Minority Recruiting Committee. That was one of the first times I noticed myself as the minority in the room. Great people on that committee, however, made it very easy to focus on the task at hand. Hopefully you had that same experience too. It does open eyes to the potential discomfort of someone feeling like the outsider. I am sure that if I were deaf I would want someone to represent me that could share in my experiences as well. On the other hand, it is important that everyone understand that we all bring things to the table - pro and con - from every person's perspective.
ReplyDeleteI, at first, was not happy with the comment about my not being able to sign. It felt like I was being judged and rightly so. I do know that I do not judge deaf persons by their ability to communicate with me. Would I be okay with a deaf person representing me in some area such as education. Yes I would. Sounds noble but I would add that I would expect them to be able to communicate. So that being said I am trying to learn two phrases and 5 signs a day. Have the site favorited and just hope that it helps me communicate and mostly helps the deaf and hard of hearing that I do have valuable input to bring to the table.
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