Tomato Lichy, audism and eugenics.
March 10, 2008 12:37 pmHere’s something that deeply disturbs me.
Now, according to the Wikipedia page on eugenics:
Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler was infamous for eugenics programs which attempted to maintain a “pure” German race through a series of programs that ran under the banner of “racial hygiene”.
. In a modern context, it would mean selectively discriminating against a gene which the parent didn’t see as pure. For example, imagine a desperate couple wanting IVF treatment, but stipulating that it must be blond with blue eyes, because anything else would be defective and therefore not pure in your idea of a master race.
Fast forward 70 years and have a listen to this:
Here’s a transcript provided by Stop Eugenics. It doesn’t say what its stance is on this matter - I’m assuming it would be against embryo selection.
I’m glad to see I’m not alone in being utterly appalled at this according to this BBC Have Your Say.
He sees anyone as having all five senses as being inferior. How sad it is that we can’t appreciate a deaf play. Every single comment had him looking down at the inferior beings with their wretched sense of hearing. For he wants to make the pure, superior race with their master language and ability to need a translator to interpret everything for them.
Clearly, this Tomato Lichy is a very selfish, self-centred individual. Let’s just hope his next child doesn’t suffer because of his mental illness.
UPDATE: The Moral Maze covered this - here is the audio
Link to transcript
Notes: Here’s an interesting blog, showing the kind of in-fighting that this so-called “audism” brings about.
What’s he saying in the videos? I have no idea. And I’m very sorry I don’t use BSL, but I can’t read Braille either. But then, I don’t speak Urdu either - does that make me a racist?
Related: The Guardian - “I hoped our baby would be deaf“
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One Response to “Tomato Lichy, audism and eugenics.”
‘He sees anyone as having all five senses as being inferior. How sad it is that we can’t appreciate a deaf play. Every single comment had him looking down at the inferior beings with their wretched sense of hearing.’
This commentator completely misinterpreted Lichy’s view and is taking the the point that was made out of context. In the original interview John Humphries made the point that Lichy could never appreciate Beethoven and so was to be pitied at the same time maintaining that hearing and deaf people are equal. I personally have no problem with this aggressive interview technique but I have little sympathy with Humphries when the interviewee fights back and says ‘no, I pity you as you will never understand our culture.’
If we don’t assume anything then there is nothing selfish in that repartee, Lichy isn’t saying that all hearing people will never understand deaf culture, just that Humphries won’t. I believe this lack of understanding is less to do with the fact that Humphries can hear and more to do with the fact that Humphries views deaf people as disabled and pitiable. If you pity someone then you see yourself as superior and you will never understand them.
Lichy wasn’t saying that Deaf culture is superior nor was he being selfish, he was just saying that deaf culture is not pitiful.
Care to comment?