While the majority of us are fortunate enough to experience the full sound and vision of the Star Wars story, not every fan of the GFFA is in such a position. Corey Burrell is one such fan, a die-hard who is profoundly deaf and wears a cochlear implant to heighten his hearing. Here he speaks about his experience as a deaf fan of the galaxy far, far away.
COREY’S STORY
I want to do my best to get others, especially within the Star Wars fandom, to understand about what it’s like to be deaf, and the challenges that come with it. I am someone who is deaf, but wears a hearing aid and cochlear implant. I was born with a medical condition that required surgery. Unfortunately, the antibiotics I was given had side-effects that destroyed my hearing in both ears. My parents didn’t find out that I was profoundly deaf until I was around two years old. When I was three years of age I got hearing aids in both ears, and it wasn’t until I was eleven years old that I received the cochlear implant in my right ear.
I went to a preschool-kindergarten for the oral deaf community called “HEAR In New Hampshire”. It was home away from home to me. I loved all of my teachers and I was always treated with respect. I got along with pretty much all of my peers, and I owe so much to them. After I left I continued to support the school by raising money. From my experience, whenever people see a deaf person they often judge them by what they see on the outside – like ASL/BSL or their hearing devices – but often fail to realize what makes many of us within the deaf community unique on the inside as well. What I’ve always struggled to get others to understand is that many of us in the deaf community have different ways of socializing, or invisible disabilities that makes us unique from others.
SCHOOL DAYS
After I left “HEAR In New Hampshire”, I went to a public primary school in a rural southeastern New Hampshire town. It was an awful experience. I was bullied by kids who struggled to adapt to my unique mentality, and by teachers who didn’t have the patience to learn how to work with someone who was deaf and has other invisible disabilities. They never took the time to understand some of the invisible challenges that came with being deaf, and none of the teachers took the time to get to know me or show any sort of compassion towards me. I felt like an outcast, and I was made fun of constantly by my peers. There were times in primary school when my classmates purposely tried to get me expelled from school, and my teachers would take their word over mine. I found myself struggling with a choice – embrace my deaf culture, or be a part of the hearing crowd. I begged my parents to move to another town or homeschool me. I went to five different schools, and never found any comfort at any of them. I was on what’s called an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), which put simply is an education plan for those with a variety of disabilities for their entire school tenure.
My IEP did not help from a social or educational standpoint. I had no friends or support when I was at school, and there were times when the bullying was aimed at my deafness. I was peer pressured by my classmates into doing things simply to entertain them. I thought that what I was doing would help me be accepted. In the end, they were just making fun of me.
When I was in junior high school I was assaulted by a classmate in the men’s locker room and my cochlear implant was knocked off my head. My implant is a very expensive device, and my insurance would not have covered a new one if it got broken. I recall crying in pain. My classmates in the locker room had just witnessed me be assaulted and left the locker room as if nothing happened, and no one reported the incident. Thank goodness my cochlear implant wasn’t damaged. When my Mother picked me up I told her everything. We went to the police station and I had to file a report detailing the incident. The police came to the school and spoke to all of my classmates who were in the locker room. The student that assaulted me was suspended soon afterwards. I’ve always wished that I could’ve had a teacher in a one on one environment, who would show patience towards all of my challenges instead of being in a classroom with classmates that didn’t know how to treat me humanely.
During my Junior year in high school I wrote and published a fictional book at the age of seventeen called “Never Misjudge”. The story is about a deaf teen who goes through bullying at school but finds a friend who accepts him for who he is. I had to endure bullying until the end of high school. My experiences were so bad that I didn’t attend the graduation ceremony with my class, and that has led to multiple unfortunate consequences into my adult life. Despite what I’ve gone through, I refuse to let anyone change who I am as a person.
After high school I thought things would change, but instead I experienced similar things in the workplace. A co-worker who didn’t treat me with much respect made fun of my deaf accent, and I was deeply hurt by that. I reported it to human resources, but they did nothing to resolve the matter. At another place that I worked, there was an incident where I didn’t hear my supervisor’s instructions and because of that I was accused of “dereliction of duty”. I was written up with a formal reprimand. I was shocked. The next day I had a meeting with my supervisors and advocated for myself explaining how, in certain scenarios especially if it is loud, that a deaf person needs to be told directly or else they won’t hear it. My employer refused to understand this, so I resigned.
No one who is deaf should be penalized because of their deafness. As a result of my experiences I suffer from multiple mental health challenges including chronic anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, and depression. I’ve had anxiety and depression ever since I was in primary school. What many don’t understand is that sometimes, mental illness presents itself differently in those who are deaf compared to those who are not
THE GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY
I’ve loved Star Wars for most of my life. It was my escape from reality when I was being bullied at school. My favorite film will always be Attack of the Clones, because it introduced so many relatable characters in comics, novels, and video games. I also love Revenge of the Sith. I wish that I could have witnessed in person what it was like to be on the set of the prequels. It’s mind-blowing how the prequel trilogy was made. I appreciate the new films that have come out, but I will always feel most at home with the prequels, because they’re what I watched the most growing up. My dream is to one day work for Lucasfilm and attend Star Wars Celebration, and I’d love to be on the set of an official Star Wars project one day.
I’ve appreciated Master Aayla Secura since I was nine years old. I find her to be very inspirational. She’s my favorite character, and a happy part of my childhood when most of it was very dark. I’ve read all of her major comics, novels, and watched her animated appearances. What I appreciated the most about the character is her ability to show compassion, empathy, understanding, and patience. I see her as the greatest example of a teacher/mother figure, and I admire her morals and values. My favorite quote from Master Secura is “The galaxy is wider than your prejudices.” This is something that I always say to others whenever they bully me.
Her two major appearances in The Clone Wars episodes Jedi Crash and Defenders of Peace really inspired me. Master Secura is extremely gentle when she associates with her peers by demonstrating empathy and speaking in a gentle tone of voice, like she did with Ahsoka. Jennifer Hale did a fantastic job at nailing her voice in the series. I also like her ability to think abstractly. That’s a hard trait to find when we live in a world where so many think concretely. Jon Ostrander, Katie Lucas, Steward Lee, Scott Murphy, and Bill Canterbury have all done such a phenomenal job creating and developing her story. As a young child I’d often fantasize being her student, because I was alone without any friends or teachers who would treat me with respect. She was that teacher and friend who treated me with respect. That’s how I coped with bullying when I was a child.
I was bullied at primary school because I was vocal in showing my appreciation for Master Secura. My peers couldn’t understand my reasons because I struggled to express them when I was little. What disappoints me is that I still find myself being bullied because I am still vocal on how much this inspirational character has impacted me growing up as a deaf person who struggled to find acceptance from my peers. I still receive comments and messages from the fan base that make me feel very uncomfortable. I don’t think many fans would expect a male with various visible and invisible disabilities to have such sincere reasons to appreciate what Master Secura represents. I’m not drawn to the character’s physical appearance, but rather the values and morals she represents. One of the main issues is that her story isn’t generally well known throughout the Star Wars fandom, so I hope to see more respect from the fandom towards the character.
When people with disabilities struggle with the lack of acceptance from their peers, many connect with fictional characters. Sometimes my generation struggles to comprehend that. Without Master Secura, I would’ve had much more difficulty coping with bullying at school. I ask that people treat those who have visible (and invisible) disabilities that make us unique with respect.
I was glad to see inclusivity towards the deaf community with the Tusken Raiders in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Troy Kotsur did a great job bringing all of that to life in front of the camera, but I believe that deafness and disability in Star Wars can be expanded into something more. My personal dream is to see a deaf padawan trained by Master Secura develop their own awesome story in the Star Wars universe. That character could have other unique challenges as well.
