"My own daugther is deaf with a cochlear implant. She is much more comfortable in a room with deaf kids,"
I'm sure she is. But the point of the story was that the little girl was the one that wanted the implants and her parents were the ones that discouraged it.She wanted to be able to 'hear' like her school friends.
She would probably still be more comfortable in a familiar environment,but the option of hearing was totally discouraged and she wasn't given the choice.
And 'wanting your children to be like you' may be an ambitious ideal,which almost all parents aspire too,and may be more comfortable for the parents, but I find it to somewhat limiting, to say the least.
You are right that most will not feel 'comfortable' outside of that environment, but the option, if asked for, should be available to allow a person to decide for themselves.
And as far as 'dredging up' that story, it sounds to me that is more uncomfortable for you to hear it because it may hit too close to home. But I also find it odd that you would be irritated by the story considering you made the choice to allow your daughter to at least have the hearing experience.
Sometimes choices can be uncomfortable, especially when you may not agree with them.
Maybe because I wasn't born deaf my understanding of what that life would be like maybe a bit biased. But I have had friends that were deaf, and there wasn't a choice to have their youngest son remain deaf, they decided, probably like you, that at least the option should be available.
Your daughter may never feel comfortable around hearing people, but, who knows, with time that may change.
Children can, and usually do, surprise us.
No, I am actually uncomfortable at this point with the decision I made to get my daughter a CI, something she really does not want. If she takes it off when she is 18 or 21, all the more power to her.
I am well aware of the facts of that story, but it is a very old story - at this point, 8 years old. So much has changed within the Deaf and deaf community regarding cochlear implants. And, its ONE story. While the Sound and the Fury is a good story, it is not the ONLY story, and it is ONE perspecctive.