EYEth

Deaf people across Canada and the U.S. held a convention and took a vote. It was unanimous--the oppression had become unbearable. They hired a number of space ships and set out en masse to establish a new planet--one that would be based on their cultural norms! After flying for several years, they landed on an uninhabited planet which they named EYEth. Things were great! The language of education, politics and media was ASL. The laws established reflected the cultural norms of the new inhabitants; police, judges, and lawyers were Deaf. Homes and businesses were arranged to maximize visual access. Children were born and things seemed ideal.
Then to the dismay of all, a child was born who could hear! Specialists were brought in and tests conducted, but it seemed nothing could be done to eliminate this unexpected disability. The child was sent to special schools and was required to wear large ear muffs which emitted "white noise" and a mouth piece to prevent inadvertant utterance of spoken words. Still, in the privacy of his home or when he thought no one was looking, the child spoke and reacted to sounds around him.
One day, scientists from the EYEth space program contacted the parents with good news. They had discovered a distant planet where there were others like their child. With mixed feelings, the parents sent their son to EARth.
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