"None of us believe that being deaf is a handicap" ...

It IS, though?! Not to single out deaf people specifically... but that would be like me saying that I don't believe being in a wheelchair is a disability... An impediment - something others can do that you can not - is a disadvantage... Disabilities don't just go away if you pretend that they don't exist; what's important is that nobody is treated as 'less than' because of who they…