There is a tall, thin high school freshman with big blue eyes and shaggy dark hair. He appears to have it all, good looks, confidence, and a strong sense of self. However, if you look closely under his mop of hair, he wears hearing aids. It is the only physical sign of his hearing impairment which has been a source of discrimination and bullying throughout his younger years. In his own words, “I am hearing impaired and because of that I have a speech impediment and been bullied for it” (01:03). Thankfully he had the support to overcome his hearing impairment, a luxury that was not afforded to the those like him, or in similar predicaments, throughout history. For proof, look no further than Nazi Occupied Germany. In their attempt to fulfill their vision of a perfect society, they discriminated against those with physical and mental differences or disabilities through sterilization and systematic killing.
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The young man in the story above is not some fictional character in an anecdotal story designed to highlight the all-encompassing nature of the Nazi’s destruction of life. He is a living human being. He is my younger brother, which amazes me because he is hearing impaired and I have perfect hearing. He has been hearing impaired since the day he was born. He started having ear infections starting as early as six months. Between the ages of nine months and seven years old he had seven ear surgeries. He has also had multiple vestibular tubes, close to a dozen, inserted into his ears in an attempt to limit his number of ear infections. He said, “I have been in speech therapy since before he can remember” (1:35). This was done to improve his speech, which was impaired as a result of not being able to hear. Dealing with the complications and health issues that come with having poor ears was such a commonplace part of his life, he and his parents didn’t realize he was hearing impaired until second grade. He explained, “I didn’t know I was hearing impaired because it is how I always heard. I didn’t realize it until second grade when we started doing a bunch of spelling tests and it got very difficult for me and I wasn’t doing very well” (01:35).
Two questions must be asked in order to understand why this would occur. The first being why would they do this? Are they intentionally malicious, and believe that people different than themselves are inferior, or do they simply not know better? If they do not know better is it because they are a byproduct of an ignorant environment? The second being what triggered these individuals to act out in this way? Was it because the hearing aids formally marked their classmate, my younger brother, as different and therefore he was an easy target, or rather was it because the hearing aids were unique to him and marked him as an individual in a sea of conformity and therefore made them (the perpetrators) uncomfortable?
The bullying and discrimination he faced was multi-faceted. “I was left out of game and from playing,” he reflected. “They would play kickball, football, and basketball and they wouldn’t let me play. If I tried to play, they would start making fun of me and then make sure I never got to touch the ball” (08:03).
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He thought back to a specific time in fifth grade and remembers the mental impact the discrimination took. “There were these twins,” he said, “they started making fun of the fact that I wore hearing aids. They started being really mean, like verbally abusive and I just ended up getting actually depressed” (4:32). Because I have an identical twin brother as well, I can speak to why these twins might have bullied him. As a twin, you feel constantly compared. At times it can feel like a competition to see who the superior copy is because people forget that even though you look the same, does not mean you are the same people. Therefore, these twins might have bullied because they felt resentment that they were not treated with respect to the fact they are unique individuals.
The bullying affected many aspects of his life, including his physical and mental health. He came to believe that perhaps he really wasn’t equal to his peers. “I felt bad, like something was wrong with me, like something was wrong with me, like it was all my fault. Why is this wrong with me. Why are they so much better than me?” (05:41).
The psychological stress caused him to be ill frequently. Ultimately, bullying and discrimination affected his mental and physical health to the point that he needed to switch schools. And he did just that between fifth and sixth grade. The difference that being in an environment where he was accepted for who he was, regardless of the fact he had a physical disability, was monumental. “I moved schools and I started becoming self-dependent,” he recalled. “It made me realize that my hearing is not something I have any control over, so screw what they think. I am my own human being. I am my own person. I can be whoever I want to be, and it doesn’t matter what others think” (15:07).
Four years later, as a freshman in high school, he is in a much better space mentally and physically. He has accepted and embraced the fact he is hearing-impaired, “I look back on the time where I was bullied as a very dark time, but there is a part of me that is very thankful for it because it helped me grow as a person and made me stand up for myself” (06:31).
He said his battle with discrimination helped make him a better person, “I would say I would not be the same person if I didn’t go through it, and I wouldn’t get rid of it because it gives me my individuality. I just wish I had moved to a more supportive place sooner” (14:03). He also stated it helped him learn a number of life lessons, “Being hearing impaired has helped me weed out the people who say they are my friends but actually are not. The people who [see past my hearing and speech] are such great friends. They like me for who I am, the person I am, not my abilities or what I have” (12:53).
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He said his battle with discrimination helped make him a better person, “I would say I would not be the same person if I didn’t go through it, and I wouldn’t get rid of it because it gives me my individuality. I just wish I had moved to a more supportive place sooner” (14:03). He also stated it helped him learn a number of life lessons, “Being hearing impaired has helped me weed out the people who say they are my friends but actually are not. The people who [see past my hearing and speech] are such great friends. They like me for who I am, the person I am, not my abilities or what I have” (12:53). He added that anyone who was or is in a similar situation is “to not listen to other people. Who cares what they think, don’t worry about them. Be the best you that you can be” (15:07).
Having a disability or knowing someone who has a disability can reveal how close-minded society is. My mom, sister, and brother have a hearing disability and cannot hear properly without the help of hearing aids. They have experienced mistreatment by society because of a condition they have no control over. People with hearing disabilities are usually exempt from social affairs, government assistance, and employment opportunities. This is similar to what the young man in James Higgins’ interview experienced. In the interview, the teen mentions that in fifth grade, children were making fun of him because he wore hearing aids, and after this, he became depressed and withdrawn (4:32). This kind of discrimination starts at an early age. Whenever a child sees something that they are slightly unfamiliar with, they are going to point it out. The teen also stated, ”I felt bad, like something was wrong with me…like it was all my fault. Why is this wrong with me? Why are they so much better than me?” (05:41). Having a disability often leads to bullying, which leads to other psychological issues, like depression and anxiety. This can lead to dangerous consequences if not treated. There are many people who are closed-minded that don’t realize the detrimental effects that occur when they discriminate against someone. Another instance where the hearing disabled are constantly mistreated is how the government won’t assist them financially. People who have impaired vision don’t struggle financially because most insurance companies cover these expenses. However, according to hearing aid clinics, hearing aids are not insured by the government (healthyhearing), even though it is a disability that prevents one from living a normal life. It’s unfair to provide insurance to one disability and not another. Many hearing disabled people have to buy hearing aids with their own money, which can cost up to thousands of dollars. It seems like hearing aid companies are looking to gain profit off of this disability without caring for the individual’s needs. Lastly, discrimination against people with hearing loss is shown through employment, which is proven by statistics. Although more than one million people suffer from full hearing loss in the United States, 70% are underemployed or unemployed and one in four people have quit a job due to discrimination against their disability (Communication Services for the Deaf). One would think that after all of these years, society would help deaf people assimilate, but today it seems quite the opposite. Although there are anti-discrimination laws for hearing impaired people, they still face problems that laws cannot fix. Through all the evidence, one can truly see that discrimination not only occurs in their personal life, but also through the government and workplace, which should not be the case in today’s modern society. Hopefully people with impaired hearing, like my brother, sister, mother, and James Higgins’ interviewee, will eventually receive respect in all areas of life without their disability holding them back.
Right away i was able to understand and relate to this blog post as i dealt with a similar school situation as the author James Higgins as i too was bullied by my classmates for a physical condition i had no control over. I feel that it is not only impossible but wrong to try and compare negative and traumatic events to the holocaust, however i do feel that being bullied in school has its similarities and can better help a person understand their plight. In any event where groups of people or individuals are treated poorly by another group such as the holocaust the cause for this behavior is almost always the same, they do this because the targeted group or individual is different from them. During the holocaust people were discriminated, hurt or killed for a number of reasons from there religion, race, or physical difference. but all of these showcased how they were different from the german soldiers who were treating them this way. Bullying in schools is often the same in my case i was treated different for having dyslexia and dysgraphia and the authors brother was treated like this because of his hearing aids as they state “hearing aids formally marked their classmate, my younger brother, as different and therefore he was an easy target” (higgins 2019). As i stated before i never want to compare tragedy but i still do believe that because of this similarity it can be easier for someone who has been through an experience like the authors brother to understand the events of the holocaust. Being attacked by other for any reason can be harmful let alone for reasons that are out of your control and that are a part of you. Similar to how the event s of the holocaust scared those involved being bullied can scare someone as well. Some might say that bullying can in no way have any similar impacts as the holocaust did to its victims. However when i was bullied i was depressed and had suicidal thoughts as well as other health problems and from what i could tell the authors brother had similar reactions stating “The bullying affected many aspects of his life, including his physical and mental health.” and “The psychological stress caused him to be ill frequently.” (higgins 2019). Because of these events a person can be forever changed. However this post highlighted how that change does not necessarily have to be bad and id have to agree. I went through many dark times because of the bullying however i feel that it has overall helped me and id say it has also helped the authors brother as they stated “He said his battle with discrimination helped make him a better person.” (higgins 2019). I think this post gives a important look at just how discriminating someone because of there differences can impact a person.