a taste of deafness
Here's something that happened to me today that veterans of the Deaf world will understand.
I was getting on the BART train at Bay Fair, trying to get into the middle aisle to stand on because the seats were full. There was a black woman pushing a carriage with her son trying to get through. I moved out of the way, thinking that she wanted to move further back, but not that she was trying to get into the back of the car.
When she kept moving and lightly hit her carriage on my backpack, she turned annoyed. Realizing her intent, I moved my backpack out as far as I could and let her pass. I looked at her. She spoke with that little withering fucktard of a tongue, "Didn't you understand me when I said, 'Excuse me'?" Then that black woman looked away with a pompous air.
I retorted, "I'm deaf!" She continued to look past and found her seat. I walked away back into the center of the aisle that I always stood, knowing that she, a hearing person, heard more than was necessary to newly highlight her insensitivity and ignorance, especially in front of all these hearing people on the car, who all pretended not to be involved.
I noticed she glanced at me with perhaps a shade of regret in her face, but then again maybe that was my imagination; she merely adjusted her hair as if nothing had happened. I saw another white woman who looked at me as if curious.
I felt a little better. Still, how I wish I could say more to her, causing her face to scrunch up the way ignorant people get their comeuppance by fuming at her, "You expect me to understand you with these broken ears? I don't need that bitchy attitude of yours today, you skank ho!"
I was getting on the BART train at Bay Fair, trying to get into the middle aisle to stand on because the seats were full. There was a black woman pushing a carriage with her son trying to get through. I moved out of the way, thinking that she wanted to move further back, but not that she was trying to get into the back of the car.
When she kept moving and lightly hit her carriage on my backpack, she turned annoyed. Realizing her intent, I moved my backpack out as far as I could and let her pass. I looked at her. She spoke with that little withering fucktard of a tongue, "Didn't you understand me when I said, 'Excuse me'?" Then that black woman looked away with a pompous air.
I retorted, "I'm deaf!" She continued to look past and found her seat. I walked away back into the center of the aisle that I always stood, knowing that she, a hearing person, heard more than was necessary to newly highlight her insensitivity and ignorance, especially in front of all these hearing people on the car, who all pretended not to be involved.
I noticed she glanced at me with perhaps a shade of regret in her face, but then again maybe that was my imagination; she merely adjusted her hair as if nothing had happened. I saw another white woman who looked at me as if curious.
I felt a little better. Still, how I wish I could say more to her, causing her face to scrunch up the way ignorant people get their comeuppance by fuming at her, "You expect me to understand you with these broken ears? I don't need that bitchy attitude of yours today, you skank ho!"
posted by Alan at October 07, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home