Today I went to a store to get a pair of this high heels I've been craving to get. Once I walked out of the store (of course, after purchasing the shoes), the store alarm went off.
Now, that's one thing about being in Rochester with the awareness of deaf community. I walked out, and I always have the tendency to walk slow anyways ONLY because of that. A lady pushing her baby in a stroller motioned me to look behind me which I did and the cashier apparently forgot to remove the security sticker on shoe box.
I experienced this in my hometown at Victoria's Secret store. I walked out after purchasing several things from the semi annual sale (yay!) and the alarm went off. Of course I didn't know, and kept walking. Later on, there had been two ladies that I knew through my mom in the store when the alarm went off and apparently the cashier yelled non stop at me while I wandered off clueless. That's what I despite. People always assume that EVERYONE is hearing. You can not always depend on that. After hearing that, my immediate reaction was that I felt humiliated for being that clueless girl walking off from someone yelling. I shouldn't even be feeling humiliated, when it should be that cashier girl from Victoria's Secret because she is the one who yelled at a deaf person!
I cannot say how many incidents I've came across in my entire life when people assumed that I was hearing. Another incident that I recall was at the grocery store parking lot, where I was walking the cart to the drop-off area for carts. An older man was yelling at me "Miss, I will take that cart", "Miss!" then after several attempts he yelled "Jesus Christ!" which at that point, my mom heard him and yelled "SHE'S DEAF!". I recall turning around after dropping off the cart, the only thing I saw was that man raising his hands in the air out of frustration but I had no idea. Then I saw my mom yelling at him, then I saw his face sulk from the expression of being frustrated. He apparently was embarrassed and continued walking towards the store.
Also in Virginia on a family vacation, I was using the computer at the guest house office at my hotel resort. My brother was sitting on the couch behind the computer desk where I was IM-ing my friends. At that time, I was perhaps 15 years old. A girl who was around my age came in, and I was focused on IM-ing with my friends, clueless that she had begun to talk to me. She was asking how much longer I would be on the computer. After getting no response from me, she said "whatever" with an attitude and stormed out of the room which got my attention. I looked at my brother in confusion and my brother told me what happened. Although, my brother sat there and didn't say anything... I was upset at him that he didn't put the slap in her face that I was deaf.
How am I suppose to feel every time these incidents occur? It always make me feel like it is my fault, after all I am the deaf person. This wouldn't have occurred if I was hearing. This kind incidents have always brought me down because it makes me feel like it is my fault and it also keeps shoving the fact that I am different in my face. For these people that did got the slap in their faces that I am deaf, who knows if it changed their perspective? I think people may forget after a while, and go back to doing the same thing - assuming that everyone is hearing.
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