Chapter 22: Watching and Approaching ASL Users in Public

This is not a topic I had thought about before.  I suppose someone eyedropping on a conversation would be much more obvious than someone eavesdropping on a conversation since the first requires your visual attention.  I think that whether or not eyedropping is rude depends on what the conversation is about.  If it is something private I think it would be most polite to look away.  According to the text ASL users know that it is very difficult to have a private conversation in public, though.

"For all practical purposes, there is no such thing as a "private" ASL conversation in public--that is, within eyeshot of other people.  What two Deaf people are discussing is out in the open for everyone else to see."--pg. 139, p. 3

 Since the ASL conversations we might see in public will most likely be on topics that are not private, I think it is fine to watch if your reasons for watching are purely because of your interest in the language.  I also think common sense should be used when deciding whether or not to attempt to join a conversation, just as we use common sense when deciding whether or not to engage hearing strangers in conversation.

I do not have a name sign but I think it is nifty that they are given by peers instead of parents.  I wonder if Deaf parents give their children name signs or wait for other Deaf friends their children will develop to do the honors.

I imagine it would be frustrating to not have a form of whispering.  Using a jacket as a "sign-shield" (pg. 140, p. 1) sounds cumbersome and it seems like it would be much less subtle than whispering.  This is definitely a down side to purely visual communication.