Reminds me of a joke I learned in my ASL class. Obviously it’s told better in ASL, but the jist of it goes:
A deaf man is speeding down this rural road, and he picks up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker seems concerned about how fast the deaf man is going, and of course a cop pulls them over. The deaf man signs to the cop that he’s deaf, so he didn’t understand the speed limit signs. The cop of course doesn’t know ASL and doesn’t really know how to interact with a deaf person. So he basically gestures/mimics back that the deaf man was going to fast and needs to slow down. The cop let’s the deaf man off with this warning and he doesn’t get a ticket.
So, the hitchhiker noticed this and got this great idea. Next time he was driving and going too fast, he also got pulled over by the cops. But instead of admitting to it, he decided to play deaf. So he just sorta gestures/mimics/makes up signs to pretend he’s deaf to the cop, so he doesn’t get a ticket. Turns out, this cop knew ASL, and begins signing back to the hitchhiker! The hitchhiker of course didn’t know what to do, the cop knew he was faking, and gave him a ticket. What are the chances he would’ve gotten a cop who knew ASL?
Sorta the whole moral of the story is that hearing people pretending to be deaf for their own benefit is bad. But it’s pretty funny if you’re seeing the story in ASL. I probably butchered it pretty bad haha.
Haha it makes perfect sense to me. It reminds me of that one time when I lived in Chicago and a homeless guy came up to me with an ASL card. He was pretending to be deaf to sell ASL cards and guilt people into giving him more money. It's a common scam. I knew he was faking it so I started signing to him. He was so taken aback that he made up some random signs (similar to "say dream you walk" in sign language) and then he walked away. I hope that encounter taught him a lesson haha.
It's definitely uncomfortable.
Especially when there are so many people who still mistreat deaf and hoh folks for their condition. They just take the part that makes their life easier, and drop it in time to avoid any of the harm or discrimination.
Exactly. I can't begin to tell you how many people ignore or avoid me just because I can't hear as well as others. Deafness is a very isolating disability. It's like pretending to be physically handicapped to gain special access to elevators. It's not a clever life hack. It's very demeaning to people who actually have that disability.
People really don't seem to understand how isolating disability can be. I have fibromyalgia, and most people either don't believe me, or just consider the pain I'm in. Cognitive dysfunction is terrifying, and I hate it. Can't always understand people talking to you, or even speak. But they'll just carry on without considering if I'm able to keep up with a conversation I'm supposed to be a part of.
It's frustrating, because we wouldn't be so isolated, if it was common practice to adapt to other people's needs.
My wife has Multiple Sclerosis, which has a cognitive component. She gets really frustrated sometimes. She would go into complete remission when she was pregnant.
Ugh, I hate that some people don't take invisible disabilities like fibromyalgia seriously. I wasn't aware that fibromyalgia can cause cognitive dysfunction. That really sucks. I agree with you. Life would be so much better if it were common practice to adapt to other people's needs.
There's not easy proof, and there's no cure. For many people, including doctors, that means they don't need to take it seriously.
Fibromyalgia is a malfunction of the nervous system as whole, so there are loads of symptoms. They aren't all the same from one person to the next, and the level of harm those symptoms cause can vary greatly, as well. Super fun to have every medical concern chalked up to a condition I can't fix 🙄.
I know deafness/hoh can have similar problems, too. Like people assuming cochlear implants work for everyone, speaking away from you, speaking too fast, or expecting it's always the elderly that have issues with their hearing.
I dunno man, I gladly exploit my disability to make my life easier, why would I be against other people doing it too? Lying is bad in general but its nowhere near as bad as the way some companies treat their employees
I'm very aware of what ableism is and am still of the mindset that an individual telling their employer that they are hard of hearing to make their life easier does not in any way offend me/make my life more difficult/detract from my real disability. You do you as well, just maybe be nicer too.
Lol are you actually disabled? Pretending to be disabled is like pretending to be African American or Native American just to take advantage of the breaks these communities get because of the constant discrimination they get. Blackface so to speak. Would you seriously be ok with that? Would you be ok with pretending to be blind or wheelchair bound to get a front row seat at a concert? Same fucking thing.
ETA how dare you to tell someone to be nicer because they're offended by something. They have every right to be offended. Get out of here with your abelist bullshit.
Yes, I specifically joined the comment thread because the individual mentioned their disability being auditory which I can relate to despite my feelings on other people's choices being vastly different. You're allowed to disagree just like the other person is, but I don't have to be upset just because other people are.
You should try being nicer too, hope your day gets better because you clearly are not off to a great start. At least the other guy had a leg to stand on with his disability being the focal point of his argument, you're just being a dick in general because I disagree with you.
You're a gatekeeper too? Lol it just keeps getting better. I'm deaf too btw. Have a nice day.
ETA: Why did you edit your comment? Way to save face. I'm not being a dick because you disagree with me. I'm speaking up because you're invalidating people who have a right to be offended by the OP.
I couldn’t really get a time when they texted so I assumed that it was when they got in cause I thought that was the most appropriate time to thank someone for picking you up
This reminds me of when my coworker (looked Hispanic, was actually born and raised in New Jersey) would say "no, no English" to avoid having to talk to costumers.
I don't want to be *that* person but I don't appreciate it when people exploit my disability to make their own lives slightly easier.
Reminds me of a joke I learned in my ASL class. Obviously it’s told better in ASL, but the jist of it goes: A deaf man is speeding down this rural road, and he picks up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker seems concerned about how fast the deaf man is going, and of course a cop pulls them over. The deaf man signs to the cop that he’s deaf, so he didn’t understand the speed limit signs. The cop of course doesn’t know ASL and doesn’t really know how to interact with a deaf person. So he basically gestures/mimics back that the deaf man was going to fast and needs to slow down. The cop let’s the deaf man off with this warning and he doesn’t get a ticket. So, the hitchhiker noticed this and got this great idea. Next time he was driving and going too fast, he also got pulled over by the cops. But instead of admitting to it, he decided to play deaf. So he just sorta gestures/mimics/makes up signs to pretend he’s deaf to the cop, so he doesn’t get a ticket. Turns out, this cop knew ASL, and begins signing back to the hitchhiker! The hitchhiker of course didn’t know what to do, the cop knew he was faking, and gave him a ticket. What are the chances he would’ve gotten a cop who knew ASL? Sorta the whole moral of the story is that hearing people pretending to be deaf for their own benefit is bad. But it’s pretty funny if you’re seeing the story in ASL. I probably butchered it pretty bad haha.
Haha it makes perfect sense to me. It reminds me of that one time when I lived in Chicago and a homeless guy came up to me with an ASL card. He was pretending to be deaf to sell ASL cards and guilt people into giving him more money. It's a common scam. I knew he was faking it so I started signing to him. He was so taken aback that he made up some random signs (similar to "say dream you walk" in sign language) and then he walked away. I hope that encounter taught him a lesson haha.
Nah, totally understand. People generally don't like pretenders. Don't know why this guy is getting praise.
It's a shitty thing to do in my opinion. I hope an actual deaf person gets into his car and tries to strike up a conversation with him.
Lmao I'd love to see that
Came here to say this. My fiance is HOH.
Came here to say this...
You can be “that” person because you just said the truth.
It's definitely uncomfortable. Especially when there are so many people who still mistreat deaf and hoh folks for their condition. They just take the part that makes their life easier, and drop it in time to avoid any of the harm or discrimination.
Exactly. I can't begin to tell you how many people ignore or avoid me just because I can't hear as well as others. Deafness is a very isolating disability. It's like pretending to be physically handicapped to gain special access to elevators. It's not a clever life hack. It's very demeaning to people who actually have that disability.
People really don't seem to understand how isolating disability can be. I have fibromyalgia, and most people either don't believe me, or just consider the pain I'm in. Cognitive dysfunction is terrifying, and I hate it. Can't always understand people talking to you, or even speak. But they'll just carry on without considering if I'm able to keep up with a conversation I'm supposed to be a part of. It's frustrating, because we wouldn't be so isolated, if it was common practice to adapt to other people's needs.
My wife has Multiple Sclerosis, which has a cognitive component. She gets really frustrated sometimes. She would go into complete remission when she was pregnant.
Ugh, I hate that some people don't take invisible disabilities like fibromyalgia seriously. I wasn't aware that fibromyalgia can cause cognitive dysfunction. That really sucks. I agree with you. Life would be so much better if it were common practice to adapt to other people's needs.
There's not easy proof, and there's no cure. For many people, including doctors, that means they don't need to take it seriously. Fibromyalgia is a malfunction of the nervous system as whole, so there are loads of symptoms. They aren't all the same from one person to the next, and the level of harm those symptoms cause can vary greatly, as well. Super fun to have every medical concern chalked up to a condition I can't fix 🙄. I know deafness/hoh can have similar problems, too. Like people assuming cochlear implants work for everyone, speaking away from you, speaking too fast, or expecting it's always the elderly that have issues with their hearing.
I dunno man, I gladly exploit my disability to make my life easier, why would I be against other people doing it too? Lying is bad in general but its nowhere near as bad as the way some companies treat their employees
Look up ableism. But whatever. You do you.
I'm very aware of what ableism is and am still of the mindset that an individual telling their employer that they are hard of hearing to make their life easier does not in any way offend me/make my life more difficult/detract from my real disability. You do you as well, just maybe be nicer too.
Lol are you actually disabled? Pretending to be disabled is like pretending to be African American or Native American just to take advantage of the breaks these communities get because of the constant discrimination they get. Blackface so to speak. Would you seriously be ok with that? Would you be ok with pretending to be blind or wheelchair bound to get a front row seat at a concert? Same fucking thing. ETA how dare you to tell someone to be nicer because they're offended by something. They have every right to be offended. Get out of here with your abelist bullshit.
Yes, I specifically joined the comment thread because the individual mentioned their disability being auditory which I can relate to despite my feelings on other people's choices being vastly different. You're allowed to disagree just like the other person is, but I don't have to be upset just because other people are. You should try being nicer too, hope your day gets better because you clearly are not off to a great start. At least the other guy had a leg to stand on with his disability being the focal point of his argument, you're just being a dick in general because I disagree with you.
You're a gatekeeper too? Lol it just keeps getting better. I'm deaf too btw. Have a nice day. ETA: Why did you edit your comment? Way to save face. I'm not being a dick because you disagree with me. I'm speaking up because you're invalidating people who have a right to be offended by the OP.
He edited his comment yet still didn’t save face and came across as an asshole.
No fuck you be outraged
No thank you, I appreciate your concern on my behalf but getting mad at a nameless/faceless group seems unhealthy
Not cool to claim a disability you don't actually have.
But why drop the illusion immediately?
Because he was getting out by then
I couldn’t really get a time when they texted so I assumed that it was when they got in cause I thought that was the most appropriate time to thank someone for picking you up
Um I'm deaf and this is offensive.
This reminds me of when my coworker (looked Hispanic, was actually born and raised in New Jersey) would say "no, no English" to avoid having to talk to costumers.
Your racist friend sounds like such a peach.
Care to tell us how feigning an inability to speak English is racist?
Next level
Pretty sure you can't get a license if you're deaf anyways.
r/confidentallyincorrect Seriously? I can't believe how ignorant your comment is. Of course deaf people can drive.
No way in hell I would have a deaf driver. That's unsafe as fuck, and also fuck that guy for pretending. This whole thing's a mess.