When talking about oppression, it is important to understand what such a strong word actually stands for. Various definitions may be used to say what oppression means, yet all definitions add up to sound the same. After doing some research, I was able to come up with different definitions and words that could try and create a meaning for the word oppression. Oppression is cruel, harmful, and unjust. Oppression can affect individuals, or groups as a whole. Oppression is something that can never be justified, and the word could be defined as long-lasting cruel treatment towards a specific group. The act of oppression happens for various reasons, but it all leads back to the oppressors.
Oppressors feel the need …show more content…
In a sense, discrimination and oppression have the same meaning, but oppression means the cruelty has been going on for a long period of time. To those who are uneducated about ASL or even the Deaf community, Deaf people are not usually thought of when oppression is brought up. Oppression is usually thought of amongst the topic of race, or even groups with certain beliefs. Oppression and discrimination on Deaf people eventually got a name for itself. In 1975, a Deaf scholar named Tom Humphries coined the term “audism” so that it would part of discussion on human rights, deaf education, and employment (Humphries, 1975). The term helped bring awareness to oppression on Deaf people and the community. The actual definition for audism, according to the article Audism: Exploring the Metaphysics of Oppression, is, “The notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears” (Bauman, 2004). The more people become aware of audism and oppression on Deaf people, the more people can know how it is just as hurtful as if oppressing race or religious beliefs. While researching on this topic, audism is the word and subject that appeared …show more content…
“As many as 16,000,000 people are believed to have some kind of hearing impairment. As many as 2,000,0000 of these may have losses severe enough they could be considered deaf by educators and professional workers” (Hoemann, 1986). This high number of Deaf people shows the risk that authorities take when handling a situation. For example, a policeman may not know that the person they try to communicate with is Deaf. This could result in aggressiveness from the policeman. If a Deaf person walks into a hospital, and an interpreter is not provided for them, this situation for the Deaf consumer could cause uneasy feelings. The Americans With Disabilities Act protects Deaf people in the hospital setting because the act requires that there are equal accommodations for all within public settings. According to Brunson (2007), “Accommodations are provisions that aid a person to more fully participate in the larger society.” Hearing people forget that Deaf people accommodate this world for them everyday. The only difference between a hearing person and a Deaf person is only one thing: Deaf people cannot hear. The Americans With Disabilities is perfect to refer to when something is being unfair or unjust amongst the Deaf