Deaf Man Attacked for Not Speaking
Friday October 5, 2007
The Star-Telegram (Friday, October 5, 2007) has an article "His silence mistaken, deaf man attacked" about how a store cashier hit a deaf man in the head with a crowbar simply because he thought the deaf man was being disrespectful. The store cashier didn't know the man was deaf and when the man didn't respond after the cashier made "friendly" overtures, the cashier struck the deaf man in the head. Unbelievable...I routinely do not hear hearing people in stores if they try to talk to me...do I have to fear being struck in the head if I go into a convenience store? What if the cashier had used a gun instead of a crowbar?
I've always had this little fear of "what if" someone became angry because I did not hear them? It is very easy to mistake my not responding to someone saying "hello" for rudeness. Now "what if" has happened.
Comments
Yes, it is a common occurance but in a smaller scale. One time I was enjoying a meal at some luncheonette. An elderly man was sitting next to me at the counter. He was trying to ask me to pass him a salt shaker which was next to me. Unfortunately I didn’t hear him. He fumed and leaned over to reach over my meal to pick up the salt shaker. His elbow touched the omelette I was eating. Then I realized he was repeatedly asking me. Being polite, I didn’t inform him of my deafness.
Two things bother me about the article…
-That his family translated for him with the cops. The cops should have gotten a professional interpreter. I wouldn’t want another misunderstanding to take place.
-That the videotape was erased before cops arrived. The guy knew he did something wrong, he should be charged for it.
*sips milk from a small glass*
Okay, the clerk was a jerk. Chances are, he has a history of violence, too. Or maybe he just had a really bad day and made a mistake. Or maybe he hated the deaf man for some unknown reason(s).
In the end, the only reason why this issue is important to many deaf people is simply because the guy hit a deaf person. If it’d been a black man and the clerk was white, Al Sharpton would be pimpin’ in style.
Oh, and I hope idiots don’t start chiming that this is audism, either.
*shrugs innocently and kicks a small pebble*
Paotie
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That’s really sad. When my parents nag at me in the car while they are driving (I’m in the back) they will turn around with a really angry look on their faces and ask “Are you listening to me?!” And I tell them “I didn’t know you were talking to me.” People can talk to me, but i need to be facing them reading their lips. When I go to stores or where ever, I prefer to go with my friends. That way people will see us signing and will know we won’t hear them. Life’s tough. I hope to write a book someday to make people in the world more aware of the deaf culture. It’s sad how ignorant the hearing world is.
The cashier’s an idiot for doing assault on a customer, but what bothers me the most is that they erased the videotape before the officers arrived. That tells me that they know they did wrong, and they should be charged for hiding evidence.
Well this happens to me about once a month or so, minus the crowbar, when I go shopping or out in public. I do not have the advantage of having deaf friends to help me out, so those of you that do, that is a big help. People here in the Chicago land do not respect other people’s personal space as it is. I have been pushed into a shelf and got a bruise on my forehead, when a girl pushed me and said, “move!” Deaf people shouldn’t have to wear a sign on them saying “I’m deaf.” Unfortunately, I could not do anything about that incident and went to the store bathroom and cried. I needed groceries and couldn’t go home yet.
HI, I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT WHATS HAPPEN TO ME WHOLE MY LIFE SINCE I WAS BECAME DEAF 2 HALF YEAR OLD.I RAISE UP HEARING SCHOOL WITH READ LIP. I ONLY HAVE ONE CLASS WITH 6 DEAF KIDS, THEN I MOVED TO DEAF SCHOOL FIRST TIME IN MY 11 TH GRADE MANY DEAF.. IT SHOCK ME BUT LEARN MORE,,, SO SINCE MARRIED HAD TWO KIDS FOR 15 YEARS MARRIED, SO WE HAD ALOT PROBLEM WITH HEARING PEOPLE WHILE WE GO OUT EAT OR SHOPPING. WE NOT HEAR THINGS WHEN PERSON SAY HELLO OR EXCUSE ME OR YELL US.. FUNNY THINGS I TOOK HIM TO RIDE BIKE, SO I WALKED TO CURIUS WHAT IS LOOK LIKE, THE GUY WORK SAID HEY EXCUSE ME!! MY SON SAID HEY MY MOTHER IS DEAF AND SHE CANT HEAR IT,, THAT GUY TURN RED BLUSH UP!! I SAID WHATS WRONG? MY SON SAID HE TRIED TALK ME , I SAID OHHH REALLY.. HEY EVERY TIME HAPPENED TO ME, IT NOT HURT ME ANY WAY., GOOD THINGS I NOT HEAR THEM WHEN THEY SAYING OR RUDE, NOT HURT ME.. WE ARE DEAF ANY WAY SAME AS HEARING ANY WAY ARE EQUAL DEAF AND HEARING. I KNOW HOW IS FEEL, I USED BE HEARING SCHOOL THEN DEAF SCHOOL. UNDERSTAND CLEAR COMPARE MY FEELING.SO IT HAPPENED OFTEN ALOT DEAF PEOPLE SAME WAY,,..WELL WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE MY TWO KIDS WHO TOLD THEM , MOM AND DAD ARE DEAF, BUT MOM CAN READ LIP SLOW AND GOOD SPEECH ANY WAY. I KNOW POLICE SHOULD KNOW BETTTER IF THEY TROUBLE THEN THEY NEED INTEREPTER, THEN MUST BRING IT AND COMMUNCATION BETTER.. ANY PLACE WHERE NEED INTEREPUTER MUST I KNOW.. I AM HOPING I WANT WRITE A STORY ABOUT MY LIFE IS RAISE HEARING BECAME DEAF LIFE.. ALOT THINGS I HAD…
There is absolutely no excuse for violence, never! I have been accused of being rude, stuck up, and yelled at to face me so you can hear me. There is no excuse for rudeness either. We have to stand up for our own selves and each other, take complaints up the ranks to management and if we have to sue, do it with the end settlement being disability awareness training for every person that enters the store. I encountered rudeness as a hoh and now I have lost most of what hearing I had I still encounter it. One thing I do speak up and say I am deaf. I try to educate people when I can. I too have had my hearing son and hearing husband step in when they are with me and explain I am deaf. I did have a good experience last weekend at the laundry where I had no pen and paper and the attendant found some and wrote a note to me after we tried and failed to communicate with lip reading. She did this on her own without my asking!
I think the store should be forced to give all employees disability awareness training and the perp should do time in jail plus disability awareness training plus anger management, an apology and anything else anyone can think up.
Kevin, that old person was being very rude to you and you really should have set him straight after he reached over you. I would also have demanded a fresh omlette after he stuck his elbow in it! One time I was in the laundromat and some guy was wandering around in my area and saying something I did not have a clue what he was talking about or if it was to me. I chose not to respond, a few minute later his wife was literally in my face yelling why did I not talk back to her husband. I looked her straight in the face and said I am deaf lady! I don’t talk to anyone I can’t hear! She was still mad but at least she did shut up and leave me alone!!
I always get that problem. At stores or supermarket, a lot. Some people get mad and think they’re being ignored. Sometimes when people are behind me and say excuse me, but I don’t hear them. And silly men strangers that just want attention and to say hello. When someone gets too mad, I get mad right back and yell at them very loudly to tell them I’m deaf. No one ever got violent about it. But I try not to get so angry. Sometimes, they apologize. Some people don’t know what deaf is, and I have to tell them that deaf means that I don’t hear them. I can hear some and talk, but I know my voice is a deaf person’s voice. Some people are not so mean and don’t overreact and if I see their lips move and they are talking to me, but I don’t know what they said, I will ask them and tell them that I’m deaf. Then, they think just because I said that, I will begin to hear them
Yes, I have hear almost the same story but a friend of mine, shes deaf also ( so am i too) travel east but stopped by at the store to rest and she walked in lady restroom. then came out and sat down with hearing interpreter male person then the other hearing lady came out of lady restroom and yelled at her ” WHY DIDNT YOU PASS THE TOLIETS PAPER UNDER THAT I ASKED AND KNOCK AND WAVE UNDER BESIDE HER , SHE DIDNT HEAR HER SAYING OR SOMETHING.”
whoa!! what u think? oh geez
there is no excuse for this, the person who did this, shows us how some in society act, he did it because he felt disrespected, that is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard, while this has to do with deafness I feel that this also shows problems in society. Let people get upset, I often don’t vocalize or whatever in public places, and oh well, if someone actually wants to wasted time and get upset about the fact I have been silent and not responded when I am at the cash register for a shot time and am one of many they will serve, let them its their problem, hey I dont know them so why should I care if they want to let that ruin their day, but the violence has to stop, this guy is just stupid, because he ” felt disrespected “
I’m shocked. This clerk ought to be charged with attempted murder! This is an act too often seen upon us! It must stop!
There is no excuse for this store clerk abuse this guy, period!! it is unprofessional behavior!! My gawd…
I have had a lifetime of stories to share; have often thought of writing a book, but….. one, from being a child growing up in Bklyn, NY, was having big kids pick me up and hold me into the fire hydrant to see if my hearing aids would go off like fireworks…. while I was wearing them, of course.
Paotie, I must agree with your comment about the significance being that one person hit another just because of feeling disrespected. That should NEVER happen. And, yes, the significance of it being a Deaf man is important in this circle because we subscribe to this blog. The difference between a Deaf man and a person of a different race is that person may have “seen it coming” by making a disrespectful comment or indicating they were purposefully ignoring the clerk. This Deaf man had no way of knowing he was about to get hit by a crowbar. I in no way believe that just because this man was Deaf that it is a worse tragedy than a person of a different color/ethnicity being hit over the head with a crowbar. It just means that we Deaf folks have to be even more on edge…wearing our deafness as a badge, if you will…in order to avoid any misunderstandings…and crowbar beatings!
~ JW
This is absolutely unthinkable. I was sooo flabbergasted, when I about this.
Obviously this clerk was brought up in a gang like atmosphere where violence was a sign of respect. Many of us not in gangs thinks this is horrible. The fact the clerk threw the coins at the Deaf man first for being
‘disrespectful’, and then used the crowbar for continuing to be
‘disrespectful’ clearly shows he was brought up in that enviroment. Many comments mentioned ‘Race’: Did anyone notice that the Deaf man was white, and yet most ppl raised in gangs TEND to be either Mexican or Blacks, I wonder if that is the case here??? The clerk obviously knew how to erase the tape so that either means he was a management, probly a supervisor. The reason I wonder is that most store employees will not know how to do, yet he did. Why? Cause he did it and knew it was wrong or cause in the gang world, “if there is no evidence, there is no proof he did it”. Yet he admitted it when the cops came, opps! I agree at the very least he shd be charged with Battery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Attempted Manslaughter, and destroying evidence. I would not be surprised if the company will fire him to avoid the bad publicity storm that will be coming. A personal note, I have been attacked (tackled) by the Mall Security after I made a purchase and when thru the gray alarms by the front entrance. I did not know that the item I purshase was not deactivated, and set off the alarms. The cashier knew I paid for it, but the manager standing by the alarms did not know. When the alarms went off he saw me continue out the store. He shouted and followed me. I continued to window shop, and he never caught up to me, but he did summon the Mall Security to report a theft, and continued evasion. It seems when the Security came up behind me, they started yelling at me to stop. Of course I never heard them, or even seen them in the window reflections. They tackled me for evasion and refusing to stop after a lawful verbal contact. When they tackled me, I did not know they were security ppl, so I started wailing on them. I inflicted injuries on their faces. When I finally got out of their grasps, I started signing very angerily. Never once did I approach them. Yet when the police arrived, I was charged with battery on law enforcement officers, and the officers said that I attacked them after they idendified themselves as Mall Security. I was immediately handcuffed and taken to jail. The clerk testified that she tried to tell the manager I did pay for the items, but the manager ignored her and took off after me. She further testified that sometimes even after the items were rubbed against the magnet to turn off the alarm device, sometimes it doesnt work. The Judge dropped all charges against me and lambasted the manager and the Mall Security firm for their insensitivies. In this city, U can not sue them for doing their duties or for them inflicting injuries on me during the process of them doing their duties. Whats worse is that we have a Deaf Chat at that Mall every 2 weeks, and the Mall Security ppl know we r there. At the very least the two “officers” shd have known to approach a person who is not responding to verbal commands to stop, to come up beside the person and get their attention first before tackling someone from behind. Its been a year, and those two ppl r still working for the Mall.
My wife was once at a corner store buying some candy or pop.
The clerk asked her if that was everything. She wasn’t looking, so she didn’t know he was talking.
Then she looked up just in time to see him say “Listen, b*tch!”
Admittedly, before I met my wife, I was very ignorant about Deaf culture.
But I wouldn’t have sworn at someone or hit them because I thought they were ignoring me (I probably would have gone home to fume about it).
This kid with the crowbar DEFINITELY needs to spend some quality time in prison. Not only for striking and causing possible future problems for Goodnight, but for tampering with evidence as well.
This boy had a very pathetic reaction to Goodnight’s deafness.
How ironic I should receive this email today…I wrote my frustration out only yesterday of what happened.
i.e.
10.10.07 BLOG GRIEVANCE
Gosh, was someone rude to me today. OK! eventually I received an apology, but only after an explanation. It seemed she was suffering with her back – but because I didn’t at first hear her speak – she patted me – or rather a bit heavily and said could I talk (precise words) – I said yes after asking if she said that – yes, she said – I thought you were deaf or something – I showed her hearing aids. She did nothing but moan after that – patting me when I wasn’t listening – moaning about the boys cos they were noisy – saying she just wanted peace cos of her back – I told her she didn’t want a list of mine, they were hidden. Completely spoilt what I was eating and drinking. Thank goodness she said when they left – I said they were only talking.
Then she wanted the loo, asked me where it was – I showed her. Watch my tea she said – I told her I was going. Gosh she wound me up.
OK! – I am in severe pain too, but I don’t take it out on people. If I was as bad as she made out, I would have gone somewhere quiet, not a place its obvious out of hours kids would be. I got the impression she played on her back, but who am I to judge – just a person that tried to have a meal.
am i the only person that sees how rediculous this is? even if a man was rude, would you hit him in the head with a crowbar? people are beyond stupid.
I am a Behavioral Health Nurse, Master’s Social Worker and an Ordained Minister. I went deaf 3 years ago. I can not believe in just these 3 years how the world has turned upside down for me. I have been cussed out, punched in the back and a door slammed in my side because I did not respond to the “men” who I guess were speaking to me. I now only go out late at night with my German Shepard or at 6am to do my shopping. I am so tired of people abusing me through misunderstanding. My neck hurts from constantly looking around to make sure that I am out of everyone’s way and to see if someone is wanting where I am. Then I got tired of this. Being in Behavioral Medicine I thought can’t I do better than this. So I started a Blog http://www.findingourway.org so I could ventilate and educate. That has helped but is not enough. Now I do like Teddy Roosevelt and walk softly but carry a big stick and K-9 dog in my car. I refuse to give up my life and keep apologizing for being deaf. I also am not going to make all the accommodations. I do my part but I expect society to do their part. Deaf or not Deaf you do not hit me or even cuss me out period. Three years of playing the “I am so sorry” victim doesn’t work for me nor does hiding in the shadows. I use to take someone with me every where I went. My mother would say “you never see just one deaf person alone Mary-Anne so you should do like they do.” Well then everyone started talking to the “hearing” person I was with and I became invisible. I would just sit there in awe and found where deaf equals stupid came from. Forget it, I go alone now and if you have to repeat something 4 times because you won’t follow my look at me when you speak instructions tough for you I am not going to give in. Education, respect and do we stand together and not do business with places that do not respect the disabled, start speaking out Loudly, because I don’t know about you but I am deaf so I need to shout it out (smile). Let’s educate and let’s prosecute. Heck I may be ill and deaf but I will be glad to get into a good fight for a good cause and frankly I can’t think of a better cause than one that I have myself
.
We are too quite and I know I am getting to irritate people but just like with children who have tantrums they will just have to learn I am not going to tolerate Hitler type profiling of me anymore. I am not imperfect which I have been told many times, I am different. Just because I am not in the majority doesn’t make me less. What if the Afro-Americans stayed with that mindset or the Hispanics. The world is big enough for all of us and no one should assume anything ask and make allowances because we never know what someone else is truly going through. The man could have been having a stroke at that moment and the hit on the head could have killed him. Man’s inhumanity to man is a book my greatgreatgrandfather wrote and the saying has stuck. Let’s start changing that horrid saying to unconditional love and tolerance. Help all of us and let’s get out there and no matter how frustrating teach people how to treat not just the deaf but just each other period. For those of us deaf we have to be a little more patient but I am determined there is room enough in this world for me as a disabled deaf woman and I am going to take my place among all women. Either learn from me hearing people or get out of my way because I do have the teaching tools and will use them when necessary to get your attention because I may not hear you but you are going to hear me loud and clear.
God bless us all for our diversity.
I am Cody’s step dad, I just wanted to say Thanks for all the concern about Cody, I am keeping a Blog because so many people are interested
http://codyg.info
i am deaf. some people never met deaf before. sometime happen to me when they tried talk to me until they realized i am deaf. always they said “oh sorry u are deaf” i thought how so rude to said it. they felt sorry for me. true they sad tue idiot that i felt sorry for them.