
Originally Posted by
Zansho
Cochlear implants are amazing, to be sure. For a select few individuals, they can work wonders and change their lives for the better. But they're not a magic bullet that will cure deafness. In fact, the majority of the deaf community shun those things, as we view it as the "hearing" attempt to fix something that is in no need of being fixed. We view deafness as something that's normal, and we have a language that gives us our culture, shared experiences and common backgrounds. Cochlear implants is an affront to all of that.
One of the things that pisses me off to no end is when parents put cochlear implants into BABIES. That's not fair to the child, as he/she has no say in what happens to them and it simply cannot be undone. Perhaps if the child was somewhat older and capable of sentient thought - sure, let them make that decision for themselves, as they will be the ones to live with that thing for the rest of their lives. Additionally, they'll be viewed as outcasts by both communities - not really accepted by the hearing community because of that device protruding out of their skull, and not really accepted by the deaf community for the same reason, but also for the "attempted fix."
Let's try it the other way. Suppose that a deaf couple have a hearing child, and they're upset and torn and want their child to be like them. What would be YOUR thoughts, if you found out this couple had the doctor perform a surgery that made the baby lose their hearing? That's how we deaf feel about cochlear implants.