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The clerk in this case is a criminal for his actions both during the incident and especially afterwards. He obviously has an attitude and anger management problem that he can work on while in jail.

I can see race becoming a component if he, the black cashier, was assuming that the white customer’s determined silence was a refusal to acknowledge him as a human being. Racists, on both sides of the racial divide, routinely do this. Of course, even encountering REAL stony silent contempt doesn’t justify a crowbar blow to the head if no other aggresive act accompanies the silence.

However, the attacker’s “Oh” in response to being told the victim was deaf atleast hints at a realization that he had made a whole lot of wrong assumptions on his way to assaulting him.

I wonder if this entire incident could have been avoided if the deaf person, on becoming aware that someone is trying to speak to him or her, signed back to the speaking person (essentially talking back to him or her in the language that they speak) the words “I’m deaf” (or some similar phrase). Such an act would serve to acknowledge the speaking person’s attempt to communicate and put them on notice that their assumptions (that the deaf person can hear and speak) are wrong.

“I wonder if this entire incident could have been avoided if the deaf person, on becoming aware that someone is trying to speak to him or her, signed back to the speaking person (essentially talking back to him or her in the language that they speak) the words “I’m deaf” (or some similar phrase). Such an act would serve to acknowledge the speaking person’s attempt to communicate and put them on notice that their assumptions (that the deaf person can hear and speak) are wrong.”

I understand your point on the “what if” question here and I don’t disagree with you, however, why must anyone, deaf or hearing, feel obligated to go into a store to spend money and have to be concerned about striking up a conversation with a store clerk? I agree people should not be rude, but in my case I happen to be deaf and I use ASL to communicate. I can use my voice and can talk reasonably well because I was born hearing and became deaf later in life. The situation that this deaf man encountered is something that I encounter almost every week when I go into a store or restaurant. When I pay my bill I’m focusing on getting the money or credit card out of my wallet and not looking at the clerk. Often when I do look up at the clerk after putting my pin number in the swipe thing or getting my cash together I look up to find the clerk staring at me as if I said something offensive to him/her. Because I have encountered this so many times I know it’s usually because the clerk said something to me (e.g. how are you, nice day, etc), and I did not respond in a timely manner. Normally I just smile and say thank you unless they act like they are still waiting for me to answer them then I will tell them I’m deaf and to please repeat to me if they said something. That generally takes care of it and all is well. But sometimes I just get a rude cold stare from them and go about my business because I don’t feel I need to spend the rest of my life explaining to clerks that I’m deaf and I’m not ignoring you, etc, etc. I’m the customer—I give them my money and all I want back from them is a smile and thank you. I owe the clerk nothing beyond a smile and thank you back. Why should I have to look over my shoulder and hope someone doesn’t bash my head in just because someone is offended by my non-response to their comment to me that I did not hear? On rare occasions when the clerk asks me something and I didn’t answer them they sign “thank you” to me as I leave because they assumed that I was deaf. In my opinion the clerk should either assume their customer is deaf and smile and wave goodbye, or they could assume that their customer is rude and simply ignore their "rudeness". Is that asking to much? Apparently for the guy who bashed the deaf guy’s head in it was.