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Recently I had attended a showing and discussion of the new movie, The Sessions, directed by Ben Lewin. Briefly the movie covers the life of the poet Mark O'Brien who is polio and is confined to an iron lung, and his mission to loose his virginity as an old man. At first the idea may seem a very odd story line, however it is important to note that the basis of the film is very natural for all humans, making the point of inclusivity of all types of people. Not to discriminate against the disabled or based on race. The movie does a good job of doing so through the casting. However what I would like to focus on is the universal appeal of the film. One of panelist at the end of the film mentioned that he felt that "every 16 year old in America should watch this movie" since it covers critical topics for adolescents: the fear of the first time, bad relationships, and the difference between true love and ideal love. I think that his wish is forward only because of the context of which the lessons are portrayed, but I do agree they must be shared. Which is why I recommend this movie as a must watch for everyone, why I think the producers released it in the main stream, this does not only appeal to a group discussing ethics
As I started a search on the use of the word Dumb to describe mute people, it was clear that in today’s word it is not acceptable to use Dumb in that light. The term “deaf and dumb” is no longer socially acceptable. This message was consistent over all the random first links to appear. The Word Federation of the Deaf had officially declared it not OK to use that term (wfdeaf.) The general and logical reason why this term is no longer OK is since in today’s world dumb is commonly used to mean stupid, which does not accurately describe a person lacking speech. One interesting post I found on the blog ‘Ehwhathuh’, a blog written by a speech teacher to the deaf who herself is deaf in both ears, was how frequently reporters are unaware of inappropriateness of using dumb to describe mute people. As (e says she is surprised that professional publishers do not know the term is extremely outdated. An alternative to dumb, would simply be mute, even though some sites have suggested its not the best term, they do not offer an alternative (ehwhathuh.) Going forward to those reading this take this word of caution from North Carolina hearing loss, “today, anyone using the word "dumb" in such context [to mean mute] is .... well ... dumb.”
Although I could not find any chronological trend of dumb’s frequency during the years 1810-2009 and 1990-2012, I did note that there was a significant pattern in the context dumb was published. Over the time period 1810-2009 the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA) showed no constant trend in the frequency of dumb being used. In 1840 it peaked and stayed at that level until 1880 where it began to dissipate, except in 1970 there was a spike whose frequency was even higher than in 1840, but it again started to decrease. In the late 1990s there seems to be a plateau in frequency when looking over a two-century time span, however when I looked closely in that time period (1990-2012), the trend is again sporadic with troughs and spikes.
In reviewing all the definitions of the word Dumb, I came across a slight connection between the origin of the definition and the meaning of the word. In Gothic, Old Norse, and old English, dumb was used to mean speechless or mute. During that time period, the closest adaptation to the definition of foolish I could find originated in Old German. I was looking for such a definition since that is more commonly used in that definition. In Old German dumb could mean to not understand, which was most likely derived from the original sense deaf or mute. In modern day English, the majority of definitions are also medically based like Old German’s original derivative, lacking speech, An interesting definition mentioned in the Oxford English Dictionary was lacking a quality or property relating to disease, and a synonym suggested was even as literal as a fever (OED.)
Dumb: stupid, but not in a classroom sense, more of a social one, synonymous with mistake, and generally seen as benign a word. In my experience dumb is used all too commonly. “Wow that was so dumb, I can’t believe I forgot my keys” could be an excerpt from any young adult daily conversation. I mention the age because feel that in my generation, words that were seen as filthy in the past have lost some of their edge. Previously, I know dumb was used as a medical term for being mute, so the severity of the word must have been derived from this past definition. However like I said before, I think dumb is rarely used in a medical context among younger people. Still dumb can easily also be meant in an offensive way, especially if used directly at a person. TV often even replaces dumb with the less insulting word, stupid. To quote a teenage girl satire, Mean Girls, “God, Karen you are so stupid.” Even when using a modified word, like stupid, I know that I would still be hurt if I were Karen. In my personal experience dumb has uses that range from nonthreatening to nasty in meaning, but rarely is used as its original definition- to have a lack of speech.
You might find me taking a hike next to a waterfall, curing the public of a disease outbreak, or flying to different countries with dear friends. Or at least those would be my ideal vacation, job, and leisure activity. For now I am a suburban girl, last living outside of a major metropolitan city, NY. However this was not always the case. I grew up in South Africa. Though I was lucky enough not to be in the majority of the poverty-stricken population, I was exposed to those harsh realities daily. Today I realize just how privileged my upbringing in First World suburbia has been within a global context. I am grateful for a family that has grounded me and instilled an awareness and respect for diverse cultures, cuisines and perspectives.
In saying that I regard myself as an open-minded person, however, I realize that I did not take into account that disabilities have not personally affected me. When we as a class started our discussion I found myself siding with the general population’s narrow views of disability. From reading Susan Wendell’s essay “The Social Construction of Disability.” noted that I did regard the disabled as a charity case. I thought that since they have unfortunately incurred this disability they have to overcome it themselves. Wendell accredits this to a natural human enjoyment; we love to see people over come obstacles like superheroes. Even though that may be natural I have begun to become conscious of my past understanding, and now want to take steps to create societal improvements, because like Wendell says these changes are essential like basic education. I look forward to expanding my knowledge about disabilities and how to improve our world’s take on these people. Even though this class does not exactly relate to some of my intended fields of study in the natural sciences, it does connect to a basic want to serve humanity, where my academic interests do lay. In the future I could go many directions but all are centered around science. I could major in environmental studies with or without a concentration in global health, biology, veterinarian science, or even explore the human medical field. Giving back to a world that has given us opportunities not matter how small seems necessary and right as a career, so I hope to invest time in English 101- This Disabled American Life to start to give back to our local Emory community. |