http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/tomato-lichy-audism-and-eugenics contains mild peril Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:48:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7-beta3 hourly 1 http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/tomato-lichy-audism-and-eugenics/comment-page-1#comment-160566 Joseph Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:19:21 +0000 http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/tomato-lichy-audism-and-eugenics#comment-160566 '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. ‘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.

]]>