Saturday 5 November 2011

Selective hearing

Urghh...one of the most annoying things that someone could say to me is 'You have such/very selective hearing...'. As if..... I remember numerous occasions when I was accused of perking up when good things are mentioned and being blank/blank-faced when not-so-nice things are mentioned. I sincerely wish it was so and not so.

But that is not to say that I have not deliberately chosen to ignore some people. I had the "misfortune" of spending a few (miserable) years at a NGRn all-girls' boarding school. Oh my word! Many students particularly those in senior classes were so EVIL and derived pleasure from inflicting misery (emotional and physical) on other students. One appallingly bad habit that these students had were to call 'Hey you!' when calling you. Excuse me!! Having been brought up in England to have typical good manners, I found that disrespectful. I have a name, use it! If you don't know it and you genuinely want to get my attention, send someone to run after me to inform me that 'my services' is/are wanted or better still exercise your pretty legs to run after me. Not throw something at me. Yes, I have had an incident when a senior student threw something at me---just to get my attention. Can you beat that incredibly crude behavior?!!! Well, sometimes I hear and sometimes I don't hear. And the times that I actually do hear/notice the mannerless students call me, I plainly ignore them and tell them pointedly that I did not hear them. **shrug**

And don't let me even start talking about the brutish behavior of a prefect, who for NO good reason, slapped my ear so hard that my hearing-aid FLEW in the middle of a crowded (and grubby) dining hall. (And that lady had the nerve to send me a friendship request on facebook and almost succeeded in sending me back into a place that I firmly closed the door at). One bright spot however was when I received an unexpected award for being the most courageous student in the school which was presented to me by the then-Vice Principal Mrs.Nwanuobi (bless her!) which seemed to be the motivation to keep me going in that school. By sheer haaaaaard work, I eventually graduated with 6distinctions and 2credits despite all the naysayers. Believe me, I'm deliriously glad that was all in the past so I feel NO guilt whatsoever in not supporting that school in any form/way/capacity. Full of the most deaf-unfriendly and discriminatory bunch of people that I had the misfortune of sharing breathing space with in my entire life (thankfully I have since met people with great minds and beautiful hearts). I beg to digress....

So hearing people, take it easy on hearing-aid wearers, cochlear implant wearers, hard-of-hearing people, lipreaders, sign-talkers if you think that they are choosing and picking what they hear. Chances are, they are not!

Peace!

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