The reason I ask this question is what I had seen since I came here in August and still see often if not daily is greatly disturbing me. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'd be happy to be told I'm wrong, trust me on this.. Deafhood values EVERYONE who are deaf, whether they wear cochlear implants, hearing aids, or none; speaks, signs, or uses both; being comfortable in both deaf and hearing worlds; being proud of being deaf yet NOT being hostile toward deaf people who are not involved in deaf community or aware of deaf culture; is all that correct? If not, clarify deafhood for me, please. There are some deaf students here that feel alienated even here on campus all because other deaf folks look down at them....all because those students grew up in mainstreamed programs (blame the parents, NOT the children), feel comfortable in the hearing world but willing to learn the deaf world, and they sign (believe it or not, I have met many deaf here that speak better than mainstreamed students here). Yet they are racked through the hot coals. You know that sign "hearing" to forehead, as in a negative perspective toward deaf people who are COMFORTABLE in the hearing world- how the hell can anyone want to join the Deaf community if the community itself REJECTS them? I had to hold a student while she was crying on my shoulder earlier today all because they were very cruel to her. I could expect it from undergraduate students, but from GRADUATE students? I would PRESUME that graduate students are more mature than this. I reminded her to remember that militant deaf are a few but they are louder than the quieter majority who accept everyone, from both deaf and hear families, who wear cochlear implants or hearing aids, who speaks or signs. She was encouraged to think- she might counsel future clients who may go through this very same experience, being rejected in the deaf community just because they LOOK hearing (and that's another issue I have with here, but I will not do it in this post). With this experience behind her, she can use this to strengthen her belief in herself and grow. I can't say the same for the ones who belittled her, or others who look down at ones who dare to speak, who wear cochlear implants, or are from hearing families. I have always have faith in the deaf community and the university but this incident had shaken my faith and I would LIKE to see that the faith be restored. I keep telling myself that there are MORE deaf folks out there that accept everyone as equal while seeing the student with tears running down her face. Convince me that there are folks out there that DO accept people like us equally.
**CLARIFICATION** Those are friends of mine. None of those are clients. I published this blog entry with friends' permission.
12 comments:
Thanks for bringing this up and I read this with much interest. First of all, I wholeheartedly agree with you that Deafhood is for EVERY deaf individual.
What I read, I think it is clear that people still do not understand Deafhood in depth. If we look at all blogs and vlogs, it is already evident that people are still processing. Some of the behaviors from BOTH sides are unacceptable.
For example: for the mainstreamed students to continue and label those who oppress them will not help at all. They need to stand up and say we are Deaf people who embraces ASL and work together. It is really tiring to see them blame other group easily.
And on other side, for them to label them as "hearing on the forehead" is totally unacceptable too. They needs to be educated and realize they need to embrace those mainstreamed students as well.
Most importantly, we need to look at the system who put us in this chaos. At residential schools, they were taught that those mainstreamed deaf students are too hearing. And at the mainstreaming programs, they were taught that residential Deaf students were animals and cant read/write well.
We need to look at the bigger picture and get rid of the big elephant in the room.
It's a bone of contention, it's the perception with some deaf pursists to believe you have to act/be a certain way, it is why I challenge the concept of deafhood, because whatever it is SUPPOSED to be, hasn't filtered down to the hard-core sign user.
Like any other sector they take the bits they like and discard the bits they don't. Anyone regardless of degree or communication is like one of the 10 commandments isn't it ? an aspiration but felt an impossible one.
If you are deaf or gone deaf whatever, and learnt sign some can stilll look down on you, I hate this too, it will only drive those who might have added to the deaf community, to go it alone without them, and in the end that hard-core will be extremely small and non-viable.
One day they will have a deaf culture that is based people being deaf...... personally I think deaf pursists and hard-core need us a lot more than we need them, but I'd rather they didn't fight us over this petty 'class' system they invented.
MM
Jules, you may want to watch Ella's crab theory videoclip at Joey Baer's vlog. It will explain your concerns. As Ella asked, WHO put the crabs in the pail in the first place? If they (the crabs) were never put in the pail, they won't be fighting against each other.
What you are seeing at Gallaudet is just like the crab theory story. Deaf people are so oppressed by the majority so they may become angry with other deaf people who look like they are representing the dysfunctional system.
As you may know, Gallaudet is one big dysfunctional family. I suggest that you look at your own department. How many students are deaf? How many faculty members are deaf? hearing? you will see that hearing people STILL outnumber deaf people AT Gallaudet.
It's commonly known that the student body at Gallaudet is hostile to oral and mainstreamed students who wear cochlear implants. NTID/RIT, on the other hand, is much more accepting of these students. You'll find a greater degree of tolerance there.
It always saddens me when I read about situations like this. Why not discuss this with the administration and come up with some ways to change this? Perhaps roundtable discussions, powerpoint presentations, awareness classes? Or have the film department create something?
You describe deafhood correctly. I get so frustrated when I read about any group rejecting any other group. The events you describe are unacceptable, and so are deaf-bashing comments from oralists. Kudos to you for bringing this up! I like the idea of letting the administration know. Perhaps professors as well? The party line might be to sweep it under the rug, but the more often people talk about it, the less they can ignore it.
Bravo! Good piece.
I can certainly empathize with your friend since she’s not alone on experiencing that type of backlash and cruelty. Many others had to experience the same thing as she did. Did this take place at Gallaudet since you were talking about a graduate student? I wonder how many students in previous years left Gallaudet simply because of that kind of cruelty? It’d be funny and ironic at the same time if these people who were taunted got together and did an awareness protest on the campus of Gallaudet saying “Enough is enough!”
Anyhoo...just for the record, I don’t buy into this “Deafhood” notion which gets to be more smelling like political correctness than anything else. I’d rather plainly accept deaf, Deaf, and hard of hearing people for who they are and their preferences and choices in life when it comes to communicating. Identities come with many flavors. Besides, we can’t reject the majority of 30 million people (2/3 of the population are adults) with hearing loss just because they prefer to speak or prefer to use SEE and so on. And that’s fine if they have no problem with it, are comfortable with it and do well in the first place. How many Deaf people actually go out communicate with older adults with hearing loss? Hmmm? Yet I bet many people reject them on the basis of them simply being older and that they are gradually losing their hearing. And that they don’t really count because there is no way to “save” them by getting them to start signing. That’s not reaching out. That’s outright rejection.
As for identity issues, many people with hearing loss relate themselves more with hearing people. Others relate more with deaf or Deaf people. Many are in the middle when it comes to identity issues. It’s a matter of how much hearing loss each of us has and our experiences with that. Why force the issue about alternative modes of communication? That shouldn’t even be an issue at all. Each of us value differently our communication preferences may it be Cued speech, the use of our voices, the ability to speak and listen, writing, sign language whether it’s ASL, SEE, and so on. I see these as various tools we can communicate with. We all have one thing in common and that’s the communication gap we experience with hearing people (and even with other deaf people).
Joey Baer is absolutely right on every issues involving the DeafHood to embrace all kinds of deaf people into big one family.
That's why, David Ebewerin and other DeafHood presentators pointed out to the root of problem who really caused such divisions within deaf community.
Inconsiderate and narrow-minded hearing and deaf people are primarly responsible for the development of classism and communication preferences.
Some people used "comfort zones" as excuses. In reality, people nowaday living in the instant-speed world and do not have any kind pf patience or time for such kind of communication jumbles.
If not for the creation of Signed English (SEE), LOVE, PSE and SEE II, the deaf community nowaday would be more unifed, economically, politically and socially powerful.
Let's not stop yourself from being the part of deaf community.
Many people have misconceptions about me being a deaf miltant or exclude particular group of deaf people. I am NOT!
Joey targeted on the existing problem facing the deaf community from embracing ASL as a whole, unifed language.
The factory owners in the late 1800s America, often assigned factory workers with different language next to each other. So the owners purposefully weaken the workers' connections to other fellow workers from forming the labor union. Owners turned workers against each others. The workers were not likely to form the labor union to protect themselves from being overworked, underpaid and exploited.
You could see that's what same things happened to our deaf communities across America. :)
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
I have heard bits here and there that Gallaudet is undergoing a major transformation, especially in its curriculum which to me as a former college instructor is very important and healthy.
I also hope that Gallaudet will seriously consider basic training in Deafhood for every student, staff member, faculty member and adminstrator and how to look at the bigger picture and direction Gallaudet wants to go from now on.
There are many many potential ideas for Deafhood solutions to issues you brought up...as well as how to describe and analyze and interpret situations people may find themselves in at Gallaudet and other "Deaf" places.
Solutions need to be Deaf-centric especially if it's a Deaf-centric place like Gallaudet...and yet humanistic and supportive for everybody involved.
I would love to see Gallaudet create Deafhood problem-solving sessions. For example, in this case, bring those two students (who said "HEARING-ON-FOREHEAD) and the student who cried on your shoulder together and mediate the discussion (fully conscious of the colonialism's effects on every Deaf person here)...until they both see from each other's eyes and understand each other better. They may or may not continue as friends, but I BET they will respect each other much more.
Hard to expand this discussion in written English so I m hoping somehow someday somewhere there will be some kind of forum on this!
{just for the record, I don’t buy into this “Deafhood” notion which gets to be more smelling like political correctness than anything else. I’d rather plainly accept deaf, Deaf, and hard of hearing people for who they are and their preferences and choices in life when it comes to communicating.}
I do too, if deafhood is the new deaf religion, I'm happy to be an atheist. It's almost evangelical the comments coming out on this defahood thing, only in America !
MM
You know - this is quite common and this has been going on for ages. And this is pretty sad. It always seems like who you are, where you come from , what background you come from that determines your status in the deaf community. What we all fail to realize we are all the same one and the same. But instead some rather to worry about trying to establish superior status. If you came from a deaf family a big plus, if you went to a residential school a big plus. If you come from a mainstreamed school a big negative. So, this is something that needs to be stopped. We all need to work together and bond together - if we keep working against each other like this, then the deaf community will NEVER be strong. We will continue to be bits and pieces and fall apart and our voices will never be heard.
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