I just have no words after reading this horrific news story. It's amazing how incredibly stupid humans can be, and it makes you realize that there are people walking around with this sort of total lack of common sense. It's rather disturbing.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Two hearing-impaired men are recovering after, according to police, their means of communication was mistaken for gang signs.
The incident occurred at the Ocean's Eleven Lounge, located at 800 N. Federal Highway, early Saturday morning.
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According to Hallandale Beach Police, 45-year-old Barbara Lee confronted Stewart and his friends, because she thought they were throwing gang signs at her. Lee threw up gang signs at the victims, who motioned for Lee to leave them alone.
The police report said Lee left the bar but returned with a juvenile and 19-year-old Marco Ibanez, who allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the victims. "The suspect obtained two other suspects, they came inside the bar and started fighting with our hearing-impaired victims," said Hallandale Beach Police Officer Sonia Quinones.
I wasn't aware that gangsters will mistake deaf people using ASL as rival gang members until I read this story. I've talked to my best friend who uses ASL, and she said that this does happen quite a bit in D.C.
Since I predominately hang out in the oral deaf community, I hadn't experienced that since I speak orally, and do not use sign language. It's scary to think this could happen to my Deaf friends who use ASL to communicate.
We need to educate people about ASL, and that it is a form of communication, NOT a bunch of gang signs thrown together. The more educated people are about ASL, the less chances that something like this incident will happen to any of my Deaf friends.
I'm still amazed by this story, and that total LACK of common sense by that 45 year old woman. How in the earth do you reach forty-five years of age and not know how to tell deaf people are using ASL? She must've been living under a rock all this time, apparently.