Amy's latest vlog posting (Skullchick's World) is very irrational and illogical to call any deaf people "hyprocrite" whom not considerate themselves "disabled" and draw the monthly SSI benefits.
Deaf people in general, must NOT allow the society at large to define what and who we are all about. Pathologize anyone with such definition or societal label is NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!
What's matter with the general society to call us "deaf", instead of drizzling on "hearing-impaired", "deaf with CI" or "hard of hearing" or "person with disability"?
Seem like that Amy do not really understand the language power of definition and label. Didn't Amy read various academic-style books like "Language of Oppression" how the language definition/label could be a powerful impact on the societial perspective of particular minority.
Amy of "Skullchick's World" needs to understand that many of us, deaf people rather seen as just individuals than lumping us altogether with "disability" label.
Let's deconstruct the meaning of "disability" within the general masses!
DIS-ablity or DIS-abled term lend to the concept of deaf people as physically incomplete or incomptent. Our inability to hear just overshadow the existence of culturally and linguistic-vibrant minority NOTHING to do with any severe physical disabilities.
Amy of "Skullchick's World" have to embrace the necessity of "cultural and linguistic" identification to our own existence as deaf people than let others pathologizing us for who and what we are all about.
Amy needs to provide the statistical information about HOW MANY culturally deaf people are on the SSI or "disability insurance". Many culturally deaf people are emotionally-balanced with excellent EQ (emotional intelligence) and interpersonal skills than anyone drilled with CIs.
The disability community at large DO NOT NECESSARILY SEEN us, deaf people as one of them. This very same disabled community keep us, deaf people from fully achieving our socioeconomic and political powers like the implentation of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) law. The disability community didn't endorse the concept of full accessibility for deaf people at the movie theatres.
No questions about many and many disabled individuals look down on us, deaf people or not seen us as "DIS-abled" individuals, because the large numbers of deaf people are able to WALK, RUN, JUMP, WHOOSH, NOT SPEAK THEIR SAME LANGUAGE AND WHATEVER ANYTHING YOU HAVE IN MIND.
How an interesting experience with one Gallaudet student whom refused to pay the disabled fare for the bus ride, because she rather treated as an equal one than being perceived as "disabled".
Sadly, the American society at large, still have societial prejudices and misconceptions about deaf people. Some of the deaf people turned to the safety net like the SSI benefits.
WHY the society at large ought to pay A LOT of $$$ on cochlear implant surgeries and devices, then let the cochlear implantees keep defining themselves "disabled"?
We must mobilize for the federal legislation to de-certify all cochlear implantees as non-disability. So the cochlear implantees could not possibly decline the armed services - "front lines" or draw any kind of disability benefits. PERIOD!
The American society at large still fail us, deaf people in many ways like the shoddy educational system of the deaf and socioeconomic inequality due to the existence of "AUDISM".
Deaf people in general, MUST be seen as "cultural and linguistic" minority than letting the society at large to define and label us according to the disability status. That is up to each deaf individual whom wish to identify hirself.
ASlize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog
Thursday, May 1, 2008
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She's still young. She has a lot to learn to do.
ReplyDeleteI saw her vlogs but don't bother to comment. In her recent, I was kind of offended by her remark, "hypocrisy". I was tempted to tell her that we (Deaf) didn't even come up with that word, "disabled", only hearing people did. So I ignored and moved on.
Misha :D
She's up to par. The deaf community is going to be gett a hard lesson on "Hypocrisy" from many fronts.
ReplyDeleteRLM - She's a young and articulate. Hearing people/parents label the deaf people/child as a disabled when it comes to a loss of sense. She will face problems when getting older and smarter. Caspice?
ReplyDeleteOne thing that might interest of you. Just came across and discover that there will be a D/HH program to disappear in Orange County, California, I believe. The school is oral-method school and will be transferred to a nearby total communication based school. You can read the information and contact the reporter to validate your research, etc., and share other members who might want to know.
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2008/05/01/education/dpt-dhhprogram042508.txt
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2008/05/01/education/dpt-schoolboard042308.txt
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2008/05/01/education/dpt-phasedout041908.txt
Thanks,
Anonymous
I guess she doesn't realize how difficult it is for deaf people to find jobs and that SSI provides a safety net. Imagine if there was no SSI, what would happen to some deaf people? The worst part is that they could be homeless, there are no interpreter services for homeless programs, it would be a very difficult path for a deaf person to live, and to struggle to communicate and make their needs known. I don't think she realizes this as I guess she probably has never worked with this population. I have worked with a lot of disadvantaged deaf people, their barrier is language, they cannot read/write, they are very limited as to what they can work in, they also may not have been taught how to live independently and many more. Other disabled people get benefits, the blind people get way more benefits than deaf people, do hearing people complain, probably not so why should we complain. It is their business and the SSI will decide if they qualify or not and it is not up to us to decide. Should she find herself jobless and not having enough money, she may find herself wishing that she had SSI to tide over the rough times.
ReplyDeletelet her say her peice, she lives in a country that entitles her to speak freely, will be interesting to see her viewpoint when she's old enough to join the "rat race" tho. With an attitude like that, I would bet that she would succeed at it too ;) Shes prepping herself well for the dog-eat-dog world we all live in ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat having CI drilled in my head have to do with anything? I grew up with culturally deaf and I am one too and had asl only method of education because my parents wanted it. They were against CI.
ReplyDeleteAlso I was dirt poor whole my life half of the time growing up our cabinet and fridge was literally empty so I didn't have it easy at all.
And I'm appalled that you had to be so immature to set up an bashing against my vlog in your blog. I don't need to say any more. Because your action said it all.
Nothing irrational about what Amy said, RLM.
ReplyDeleteTypical disablism and ableism and reverse audism going on here!
And to have done it on a BADD day, this puts icing on a cake!
I agree, and this is a great example of why we seriously need DeafSide or DeafCenter because implanted people are coming around, telling us what is right and wrong.
ReplyDeleteMan... Michael Jackson had surgeries to "look" more white and he didnt tell black people to do the same. I admire him much more now.
In some ways, I think the implanted regret getting implanted because they are pretty pushy around here. If they were so happy and having a better quality of life, they wouldn't be doing this.
-Ali
Misha,
ReplyDeleteGood point about how young Amy is! I read the "Language of Oppression" at age of 21 at my own convienence for a leisure reading.
Anonymous #1, #2 and #3 - Your comments were well-said and well-taken.
Amy, I really wish not to bash you in any way. You should use "third-person" reference, instead of pointing out to all of us on your vlogcast.
You need to learn how to use the subliminal message like "Are Deaf People Being Hyprocritical or What?" than targeting us, deaf people as a whole, etc.
That is a "boomrang effect" from anyone deaf while you and others purposefully label us in any ways.
The United States of America got the "boomrang effect" for what our country done to many countries and countless individuals in the ideal of freedom and democracy. Our country is more interested in imposing their philosophy and ideals upon other countries and people what they ought to do.
So you get the taste of what will happen in the future without your presentation of any empirical research, etc.
Candy,
Many thanks for the response. Your point is well-taken. :)
Sojourner,
You made an excellent point about someone like Michael Jackson and other individuals being not imposed their individual beliefs upon their own given community/minority group.
RLM
'WHY the society at large ought to
ReplyDeletepay A LOT of $$$ on cochlear implant surgeries and devices, then let the cochlear implantees keep defining themselves "disabled"?'
The federal definition of "disabled", whether or not a person considers themselves disabled, and whether or not society considers a person disabled are three different things.
Not everyone who has an implant gets 10-20 db results (though lots of people do). Devices fail, sometimes only some of the electrodes can be inserted, sometimes cochlear malformations limit the results, sometimes people bail out of the therapy process due to financial constraints and don't get as much out of the implant as they could. 40 % of people who are hearing impaired (including me, I use that term to describe myself) have other significant medical issues, that, when combined with the residual hearing impairment after a CI, can make the person legitimately categorized as disabled.
Just a few thoughts to expand on your comment . . .
Latest Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for sharing your inner thoughts.
You made some good points. :)
RLM