well...having loads of free time on my hands..and being a completely random person I decided to perform a little harmless experiment...

I have a 5-year old cousin who's mute..she can hear and understand people perfectly fine - she just can't speak..so I wanted to..I don't know...feel how it's like I suppose

so I went to the mall with a little paper pad and pen and did some shopping...

People's reactions were mostly the same- once they discovered that I was "mute" they would raise their voices - even though I repeatedly scribbled on the paper that i could hear perfectly- and use loads of over-exaggerated gestures and simple words...like I was mentally-impaired or something.
Also- has no-one told people that it isn't polite to STARE at others even- especially- if they can't speak?!
And, while I was in virgin browsing the CDs I distinctly heard someone say " Pity she's a tard" ...heh?!!

the only trouble i ran into was when my cover was almost blown (!!) when i ran into a friend of mine- luckily i managed to get him to play along too hah

But seriously, this does not bode well for my lil cousin..& I really hope people's attitudes have changed by the time she has grown up.

hmm..I'm sure you can guess the moral of the story on your own eh?