But the species as a WHOLE has hearing - individual defects aside. Why do you suppose that is?
Oh? Since when a dog is a defect? The dog can do anything except hear.
Okay, and if she had the choice at birth to have been able to see and hear her whole life instead of being blind and deaf, don't you think she would?
I asked her about that. She has had no complaints. She's very acceptable of her deafness and blindness. She asked me why people can't accept people for who they are regardless of their disability. She really doesn't view her disability really a disability. She said if it were, she wouldn't have a wonderful life like she has now. She's happy and doesn't understand why people think she isn't.
And, in fact, that isn't even a fair question because she has no point of reference. She doesn't realize what she is missing, so she may well still choose the known quantity.
Oh she's aware of it. She knows she's missing what she can't see. But the fact of the matter is, it doesn't bother her at all. She can "see" some things that is considered wonderful and beautiful. She sees the beauty of people who treat her as a human being. She sees the ugly of people who pity her and it ticks her off.
Let me phrase the question differently:
You know what it is to see. You can see just fine. Great.
Now, assume you couldn't. You were born blind. You've never seen a sunset or sunrise or beautiful woman. Never seen the majestic mountains, rolling clouds, the first snowfall in winter. Never seen any movie, TV show, or read - really READ - a book. Computers are next to useless to you. You DO know what you'd be missing if you couldn't see.
Now, what if you couldn't see because the treatment to enable you to see was denied you at birth? They COULD have treated your blindness, but someone didn't want to because it would diminish the 'blind community'.
What would you say to them? Knowing all you would have lost in this example?
How can you inflict a similar decision on somone else?
Let me answer this question with a question if I may....if you lost both your hearing and sight TODAY. Does that mean your life is over? Even when the damage is too exensive to be repaired?
Now, to answer the question, if I became blind today, my life is not over. I will learn to overcome my new disability and live a normal life as the best I can.
And, you know what's amazing?
Absolutely everything you listed after that quote - HEARING PEOPLE CAN DO TOO. Only BETTER.
Why is inferiority something to be cherised WHEN IT CAN BE FIXED?
Hitler considered any form of disability to be inferior and he killed a good number of them in Germany. He even steralized them as well. Do you think what he did was a good idea?
Hitler saw black people to be inferior. He saw homosexuals to be inferior. He saw Jews to be inferior. And he killed alot of them. 6 million Jews plus 4 million non-Jews for various reasons as stated above.
Why the notion that we need to be fixed? Are we not part of nature? Why fix nature when we are part of it? Nature has variety, why oppose a few of them and say it needs to be fixed?
Let me assure you - the ability to hear perfectly is just as wonderful. If you don't think you need it - fine. If you want to appreciate the 'culture', as you call it, that has arisen from people trying to cope with a disability, fine.
We aren't trying to cope with it, we are coping with it. It's the hearing people that can't cope with us. I know that first hand.
