Society, Did You Know?

by Contributor | December 14, 2015 8:48 am

Letter to the Editor,

Earlier tonight, I was sitting here listening to some Christmas music, like most of us normally do around this time of year, when the song “Mary Did You Know” came across the radio.

Okay, now mind you, I must of heard this song 100 times over the years.

I’ll admit, probably not really fully listening to each and every word to the song.

Well, tonight I made a point to, and I gotta tell you, I was in complete shock with what I had heard.

I even replayed it several times, just to make double sure, that what I thought I had heard, was indeed correct.

There is a particular line in the song, that I found a little disturbing, and even a bit offensive.

The line goes as follows:

* The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.

* The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

“The dumb will speak.” Really?

According to Webster dictionary, the word “dumb” refers to someone as showing a lack of intelligence or not having the capability to process data.

Also listed on Webster, it states, there is evidence that when applied to persons who cannot speak, dumb has come to be considered offensive.

Does anyone else find this just as unsettling as I do, or am I over analyzing the composition?

Disability Activist, Poet, and two-time world record holder,

Robert M. Hensel

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/society-did-you-know/

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