Page 131 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

116 Reading Between the Signs

the merits and disadvantages of a proposed course of action. This
may happen, however, before the motion is formally proposed. At
many Deaf community meetings “votes are virtually foregone con-
clusions before they are taken. Each member has had an opportu-
nity to make both opinions and feelings clear. The vote is not
taken until everyone feels comfortable or at least resigned to the
pending decision” (201).
On a more personal level, Deaf people ask their friends for
opinions before they make a major decision, such as what car to
buy or which job offer to accept (Philip 1993). At a party, the host
might canvass the guests to gauge what most of them would pre-
fer to do next, instead of just announcing an activity. The mem-
bers of an organization expect to be consulted even on relatively
minor matters. It has happened more than once that a president
of an organization who was judged to be making too many deci-
sions on his or her own was thrown out of office.

Importance of Getting Together
One aspect of collectivist cultures, which does not seem to be
examined as often as the way they vote or their patterns of shar-
ing, is the sheer enjoyment of doing things with other members
of the group. The essence of Deaf culture is events: sports tourna-
ments, bowling leagues, plays, panel discussions, parties, and com-
munity meetings, to name but a few. “Events are in one sense an
excuse to get together. Getting together provides social opportuni-
ties for people to celebrate, exchange news or practical informa-
tion, conduct community business and simply share company”
(Smith 1996, 50).
In past generations, each major city had a Deaf club, which
may have been the only gathering place for regulars as well as
visiting out-of-towners. As mentioned before, for a number of rea-
sons these cultural institutions are on the wane, but that does not
mean that getting together is any less popular. Recreational orga-
nizations are booming. Sports events are a major draw and have
the added benefit of enabling people to travel and keep up on old
ties. The event itself is not always the main draw. After the game
is over many attendees will stay on for hours socializing. Scores
of Deaf people who are themselves “not on the team or officially
involved will even travel hundreds of miles to attend such events.
These events…serve to nurture, preserve and maintain the Deaf
Community and its culture” (51).

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