is anyone taking this seriously?

[fredv3b]

I don't think I have met a deaf person who thinks we should avoid speech altogether; signing includes the use of words. All most of the people I have met seem to want is the same as me, to be left to get on with living life without having to deal with extra obstacles imposed through the igorance and prejudice of others.

But surely if deafness is not a handicap (the proposition we are ultimately discussing) then all the obstacles faced by deaf people are the result of the ignorance and prejudice of others.

[marshlander]

But surely if deafness is not a handicap (the proposition we are ultimately discussing) then all the obstacles faced by deaf people are the result of the ignorance and prejudice of others.

Perhaps, but like the rest of us, some are pretty much self-inflicted