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The couple is not only deaf and dumb but also ignorant.
No, I'd bet they know exactly what "dumb" means and are quite familiar with the term "deaf and dumb." However, in the deaf community terms like "deaf and dumb" and "deaf-mute" are considered offensive. All deaf people know this, but many hearing people (which is most of us) don't. Hence the employee should not be fired but everyone needs sensitivity training to keep up with what's offensive in 2014. And they'll need it again in 2015. And again in 2016. Etc.
Right, so very year we're going to have to add new verboten words and/or phrases depending on the new sensitivities are that year? Rather than insist that people be better educated and less ready to take immediate offense ?
In a year when the Scrabble makers are adding new words, we should be eliminating some.
My brother is deaf. Their community is hyper-sensitive. Not the best choice of words to call someone "dumb" when you mean they can't speak, but I don't think the intention of the employee was to insult so they shouldn't get fired.
This reminds me of the outrage that pops up occasionally when someone uses the word "*****rdly". Personally, I would never read the phrase "deaf and dumb" and think that it was a statement declaring that a person couldn't hear and was also stupid. There are certainly synonyms that could be used, though "mute" is also apparently offensive (making the title of this thread ironic), but the word was used correctly in that context. Intent matters to me, and I can't imagine the person who wrote that did so as an insult.
Right, so very year we're going to have to add new verboten words and/or phrases depending on the new sensitivities are that year? Rather than insist that people be better educated and less ready to take immediate offense ?
In a year when the Scrabble makers are adding new words, we should be eliminating some.
Unfortunately that is the nature of the society in which we live, and both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of jumping on the false outrage train...hence, political correctness.
I don't think the employee intended to offend so I don't think he/she should be fired. However, sensitivity training is just a side effect of the reality in which we're all forced to live...one where constant insincere apologizing is now a requirement of daily life.
I wonder if the airline employee even knew any better. Perhaps English is not their first language, and they struggled to find the right word. Maybe the real culprit is Google Translate.
When used in conjunction with deaf, the meaning of dumb is pretty clear. It was surely easier to write on the tag than "hearing and speech impaired".
Typical supersensitive overreaction. The expression simply means these people cannot hear or speak. The employee was making it more convent for the couple by informing other baggage handlers of the situation.
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