Deaf Regional Personality Traits Across the U.S.

Any of you wonder whether we really have our deaf regional personality trait development within our former alta mater schools/universities and neighborhood?

The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported the scientific study of regional personality traits across America - "The United States of Mind".

The research study shown that the residents of North Dakota are most outgoing as compared to neuoritic Kentuckians and conscientous Floridians.

http://wwwonline.wsj.com/article/$B122211987961064719.html?mod-yhoof#articleTab%3Dcomments

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/05/04/where-do_all_the_neurotics_live/

www.toddshackleford.com/downloads/Schmitt-JCCP-2007.pdf

My recall about handful of deaf people informally label the graduates and students of California School of the Deaf - Fremont are most likely to be cliquey among their own kinds. Any proofs about deaf Fremontians?? Probably true or not!

When I came to Gallaudet for very first time. Many students thought that I was a Californian myself. I said "What?" I asked those students why I was considered "Californian". I was told that I was too confident, dress casually and signed pure ASL. How interesting about the first impression I made on Gallaudet students.

After telling Gallaudet students that I was from West Virginia. Many students said "Really?" I was not look like a typical hillbilly. I laughed so hard.

From my own personal observations, Maryland School for the Deaf graduates are intentionally involved in deaf activism later in life. Look at Joey Baer, Carl Schroeder and other mores.

I noticed that many deaf North Dakotans have superbu English writing and reading skills at Gallaudet University. Isolated and chilly environment contributed to their eventual polishings of the dominant language usage- the English language.

Deaf Floridians and Texans tend to be more party-minded people. Don't you agree?

Former graduates from Rochester School for the Deaf, NY and American School for the Deaf , Connecticut seems turn out most pathological liars and troublemakers from what I socialized with those people.

That seems the deaf residential school/university neighborhoods area greatly influenced the personality formations more than parents of deaf youngsters.

Fremont, California is really a modest small-town which contributed to the feelings of close-knit community and resulted in more cliquey mentality among deaf Fremontians compared to the graduates and students of Riverside California School for the Deaf .

Deaf West Virginians are noticeably overdependent on hearing people and seek their approvals more than anyone deaf across the United States. They intentionally believe that hearing people know more than deaf individuals or being right than deaf people. Of course, deaf West Virginians are politically passive as compared to Northern California deaf community. Deaf West Virginians are more likely to use the Language Contact (PSE) and SEE more than other deaf Americans.

Some deaf people consider many deaf New Yorkers to be arrogant and boasteous. Any truth to this one?

My own Deaf Regional Personality Traits Across the U.S., are purely speculational, not based on scientific observations. Any personal observance or speculation of yours?

ASlize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

Real Shame on Laura Bush for Excluding Deaf Authors

Real shame on Laura Bush, the current First Lady for excluding deaf authors from being part of the 2008 National Book Festival this September 26th and past bookfests- seven straight years!

First Lady Laura Bush never made any attempts of being inclusive with the deaf community like inviting any deaf authors to the Texas Book Festival and National Book Festival. We have plenty of deaf authors in our literary circles!

Our first lady of America is supposed to bring out the best out of the diverse America! She never did at all. Laura Bush schmoozed the Library of Congress to support the National Book Festival at the expenses of American taxpayers! Not every American taxpayers benefit from the National Book Festival since it is in the Nation's Capitol!

The past National Book Festival usually provide the ASL interpreters for deaf attendees, not this year. Huh?

Please check out the Library of Congress web site for the 2008 National Book Festival -

http://www.loc.gov.bookfest/

Laura Bush the First Lady, never bother to visit Gallaudet University or Model Secondary School for the Deaf or any school of the deaf. Have Laura Bush or Georgie visit the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin before??

Bill and Hillary Clinton have been regularly visited the Arkansas School for the Deaf in Little Rock, AK as Governor of AK. Bill Clinton stepped on the ground of Gallaudet University to give the Gallaudet commencement in the 90s. Hillary Clinton made one or two informal visits to Gallaudet University as the First Lady.

Deaf America's Librarian - Alice Hagemeyer, a tireless advocate of library access and uses for deaf people across the United States. Ms. Hagemeyer once told me that Laura Bush was her personal favorite. Hasn't Laura Bush help anything in DC-area libraries or any deaf library programs? Nope!

Laura Bush just lend her personal support to the creation of DC City Museum at the former Carnegie Library next to the brand-new Washington Convention Center on 7th-9th and K Street, NW. Guess what? The DC City Museum suddenly closed in a year due to lack of interests among local DC residents and tourists. Laura Bush doesn't know how to choose the projects more carefully. How typical of her own hubby, Georgie for screwing up our country beyond imagination!

Not many people realize that Laura Bush is a smoker herself! She have been shamelessly promoted her own daughter, Jenna Bush's book at this year's 2008 National Book Festival. Jenna Bush's name have been omitted on the list of 70 authors featured at the 2008 book festival website. Why??

Several authors like Bob Schieffer of CBS-TV News and Salman Rushdie are being featured as this year's selected authors. Many people did not realize that Bob Schieffer is a close pal of George W. Bush's brother. Journalistic integrity with Bob Schieffer? Nah!

Salman Rushdie do not deserve to be on the list of selected authors since he is not an American citizen at all.

We must demand that some deaf authors to be featured at the 2008 National Book Festival or Laura Bush herself is really anti-deaf .

Deaf America's Librarian -Alice Hagemeyer should get some recognition from President George W. and Laura Bush for her never-ending library advocacy for deaf people. She founded the Red NoteBook directory for librarians across the United States and tirelessly pushed libraries to provide the library programs/lectures and books related to deaf people . Hagemeyer founded the Friends of Libraries for Deaf Action. She have been the current outreach coordinator for the National Literacy Society of the Deaf lately.

Alice Hagemeyer ever is a registered Republican herself. I am sure that she is rooting for John McCain this year. Despite her political party affiliation, I dearly love Alice for who and what she is.

For more info about Alice Hagemeyer's past accomplishments and awards -

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=archives&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay-cfm&ContentID=151

www.folda.net/libreading.hmtl

I look forward to see President George W. Bush to award Alice Hagemeyer the Presidential medal before he and Laura leave the White House for the new occupant.

ASLize yours,

Robert L. Mason
RLMDEAF blog

What About Deaf America's Misgivings Toward Racial Attitude?

 What about any of you, deaf voters have any misgivings about the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama's color of skin (race)? 

  The latest Associated Press (AP) and Yahoo Poll found out about too many white and Republican voters have misgivings about Democratic President Barack Obama's color of skin (race). How shocking about the American society in 2008!

  I already thought that the majority of American people were past the racial misgivings of other ethnic and racial people. I was totally wrong! 

  Of course, I keep seeing many white and black deaf people still have the racial attitudes toward black people or white people in general. 

  I must admit that I have some deaf friends, who are genteel racists themselves. I usually dismiss their racist or prejudiced views of different people.  Those friends are really great people, but happen to have the mischaracterized view of the society from time to time. My personal viewpoints are more liberal and progressive than most people I know of. 

  I seldom use "N" to test deaf people's reaction as part of my own informal sociological study. At the first glance, deaf people would get little uncomfortable and look around, then show their real-self and openly used "N" with me. 

  Most deaf people I encounter or socialize with, are likely to have a progressive views of ethnic and racial minorities. Deaf white people in DC area, usually have negative views of African Africans whose happened to be living on the street or being the panhandlers or thugs lurking on the street. 

  Are those deaf white people being racist or look down on the downtrodden society? 

  Kinda troubling about the handful of American people have such a skeptical views of Barack Obama, because of his color of skin. 

  Nothing new about the deaf America being racially formed due to their own color of skin. Is that part of the comfort zone or purely a societal prejudice? 

  The past sociological studies about the deaf America and racial attitudes shown that there were many deaf clubs of the past tend to have the segregated cliques. 

 From the past observance of deaf social gatherings like the Deaf Professional Happy Hour (DPHH) or deaf gay (GLBT) social gatherings in DC, there were still kinda a racial cliques. 

  Deaf DC GLBT social gatherings hardly have seen deaf African Americans on the scene. Why??

  I told several deaf African American gay guys about the monthly deaf GLBT coffeehouse or social events. They ever don't know about the events at all. Deaf African Americans were kinda reluctant of coming down to the predominately white social gatherings. Who would blame them? 

  I was seldom accused of being a racist from time to time, because I never expressed any interests in African American guys or other ethnic guys. I was confronted by one hearing African American last spring 2008 that I was not interested in him due to his color of skin. That African American was really a nice-looking, but I frequently seen him at particular places. I was totally shocked that I was being accused of racism. I told that hearing African American guy that I came down to this place to enjoy myself with a drink and had a conversations with patrons. Nothing more than that! Of course, this hearing guy was a sexoholic. 

One friend of mine during the Gallaudet years- late 1980s. We often talked about the issue of racism. That friend hitched from the Deep South. He often harmlessly said about African Americans. I returned with progressive views of people in general. That friend turned to me with a simple question - "Have you been with any black people in bed?" I replied nope! My friend said "See that! I already had sex with several black women. Their pubic hairs were like steel wool pad. I replied 'Come on!" 

After frequent discussions with my friend about racial issues got me really think of who and what I was. I found some African American, Latino and Asian guys to be truly attractive, but I was kinda reluctant of those ethnic and racial guys. I still kept on the straight course what attracted me to gay guys - their intelligence, social courtesy, behaviors and appearance of how they took care of themselves. That was it!! 

  I personally find male foreskin to be much unappealing (ugly). That's why I hardly expressed any interests in any ethnic and racial guys due to their cultural upbringings for not having the circumcised male genitals. Yes, white guys do have foreskin genitals. I still am not interested in any white guys with foreskin genital. Of course, I was often called "prejudiced" by some deaf guys for finckling toward male foreskin genital. I could not help it at all! 

 I do not find Barack Obama to be any handsome or appealling. I also am not really impressed with his thin resume and debate skills and leadership issues. I either do not like McCain and Palin at all. Nothing to do with racism and ageism!  

 I am much aware of many deaf people being discriminated and prejudiced because of us being deaf. We, deaf people have to get the college Bachelor of Arts degree to obtain the entry job to prove ourselves to be worthy to the audistic society or PhD degree for B.A. employment position. 

 Should we give Barack Obama a chance to lead our country or what? John McCain is surely a "bipolar" person due to his often changing positions. Obama is not really perfect at all.

  My deaf  friend often emailed me that he worried about Barack Obama would have a revenge on white Americans for the past racist practices. I don't think so! 

 I noticed about many deaf Christians have such a prejudices toward Muslim people in general. They often emailed me about Barack Obama in Muslim attires. I tried to explain that was not accurate about Obama being a Muslim. Obama just wore the Muslim clothing while he conducted the Senate business trip to the host country. He had to wear the customary attire not to offend the host for the reception, etc. 

I am no "bleeding heart" liberal myself. I hardly bother to give any changes or $$ to the African American beggars on DC-area street, because I always am annoyed of their misassumption of us, white people have more money than well-off black people. 

What about you??

ASLize yours,

Robert L. Mason (RLM)

RLMDEAF blog

  

Tap on Hearing People's Shoulder or Wave Your Hand Over Their Face Could Get You in Legal Trouble!

The well-known and respectable film "hearing" critic, Roger Ebert of Chicago, IL, seems understood what we, deaf people were going thru everyday life. Ebert's knee got whacked by another film critic during the film screening. Ebert couldn't see the subtitles of the new foreign film to be reviewed. He got the cancer on his mouth area few years ago. The main part of his mouth area had been heavily removed due to cancerous region. Ebert had to tap on that hearing man's shoulder to move his shoulder blocked Ebert's view. Guess what?

http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=330303

Any of us, deaf people have the tendency of tapping on hearing people's shoulder or wave hands over their face to get their attention. We would get in legal troubles for so-called physical assault.

No questions about the difference of cultural and linguistic upbringings between deaf and hearing Americans how to get someone's attention. Deaf people usually tap on someone's shoulder or wave their hands in front of someone's face.

Many hearing Americans dislike this kind of manual communication approach by deaf people.

What we should do with hearing people's misunderstandings of us, deaf people to do the outreach to any hearing people?

In the past, I did gently tapped on one hearing lady to get her attention. She became squeamish and shouted to me "Don't touch me!" I tried to calm that lady, but she seems frantic all over the place.

Hearing Americans seems little paranoid about physical touchings on shoulder area, ex. tapping.

I hope that Roger Ebert will be more sympathetic toward deaf people and feel solidarity with us.

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

"Biological Weapon" Scare at Gallaudet University

There was the "biological weapon" scare at Gallaudet University this Wednesday morning at the North Ballard dormitory which found later to be the plant food for growing marijuana in the undisclosed empty dormitory room. The Gallaudet Physical Plant Department (PPD) done their regular heating/AC cleaning tasks and found those chemical containers and heat lamps and called upon the FBI agents, DC Metropolitan Police, bomb squad technicians and firefighters.

The Washington Post newspaper accurately defined this incident to be the "chemical scare".

300 Gallaudet students had to be evacuated from both Ballard dormitories. The heightened concerns about the possibility of chemical/biological attacks due to the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks across the country.

For more info, click attached links -

www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/5522221.htm

www.wusa.9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=75945&catid=158

www.nbc4.com/news/17438124/detail.html?d=headlineclick

www.washingtonpost.com and look for Gallaudet chemical scare.

Dallas VOICE, Inc. Being Audistic Toward Martin Ritchie

Dallas VOICE magazine, the Community Newspaper for Dallas Gays and Lesbians, was being audistic toward Martin Ritchie like asking questions -

"Can you hear anything at all?"

"If you have a perfect hearing for four hours, what would you want to do?"

Check out this link -

http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/printer_9613.php for Martin Ritchie's replies to those questions.

Please tell what you really think of this audistic questions toward Martin Ritchie?

ASLize yours,

Robert L. Mason (RLM)

RLMDEAF blog

Martin Ritchie Appeared in "Instinct" Magazine

Culturally deaf Martin Ritchie get more press exposures almost daily. Ritchie's celebrity interview appeared in the September 2008 edition of "Instinct" magazine.

Here is the link -

http://instinctmagazine.com/celebrity-interviews/the-boys-from-janice-dickerson-modeling-agency.html

  Click on Cover Story heading and will take you to the Celebrity Interviews and click on the latest attachment - Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency ...  Okay? 

or www.instinctmagazine.com

"Instinct" g a y magazine have about the 100,000 subscriptions and 300,000 readership.

Hooray for someone culturally deaf like Martin Ritchie, who do not resort to the audistic behavior to please any hearing people on the reality TV! We need more deaf people like Martin Ritchie!

ASlize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

(PIC) Janice SLAPPED Christian for Making Fun of Martin Ritchie

Janice Dickerson of Oxygen TV's "Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency" SLAPPED Christian, one of the male contestant for making FUN of Martin Ritchie. Oh boy! Holy Mackeral!

Check out this attached link with PICTURE -

http://www.afterelton.com/taxonomy/term/22

Jeez, we are still living in the world of AUDISM within the year of 2008! Great of Janice Dickerson slapped someone hearing in defense of Martin Ritchie and the rest of us.

Let's hiss Christian and bombard him with nasty email messages!

Let's email Janice Dickerson and thank her for standing up to someone like Christian and other audists! Oz.feedback@nbcnni.com

www.oxygen.com/legal/contact.aspx

Wanna receive your comments what you really think of Janice Dickerson slapped Christian?

Some people were overly concerned about Janice Dickerson's illegal physical assault on employees. Janice Dickerson is in the modeling business more than 30 years.

We must root for Martin Ritchie and Janice Dickerson. Everyone across the US talking about Martin Ritchie.

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

AGB's Pre-Emptive Strikes Against DBC like RNC?

There is the troubling news reports about the Republican National Committee and St. Paul Police Department e n g a g e d with the pre-emptive strikes against the would-be protestors at the Grand Ole' Party (GOP) National Convention. Just click on the attached link and read on to make us wonder about whether did the Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf (AGBell) and other audists prepared for the pre-emptive strikes against the Deaf Bilingual Coalition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

http://www.truthout.org/article/pre-emptive-strikes-against-protest-rnc

Many of us already knew about the AGBell's sneaky tactics to keep the hearing parents of deaf youngsters from coming down to the Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) conference via the walkway from the Midway Center to the Hyatt Hotel. What about other pre-emptive strikes the AGBell and other audists have done?

We must continually expose AGBell's pre-emptive strikes against the DBC to the general public to educate the society at large what kind of organization the AGBell is all about.

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

Will the ASL Be An Endangered Language?

"The Linguists" (2008) new subtitled film have been screened at many universities and linguistic associations and several film festivals to the acclaims of film attendees and linguists and university researchers. That film also have been shown at Yale University, University of London, University of Chicago and Purdue University this year.

American Sign Language (ASL) itself is surely possible to be one of the endangered language if the new scientific breakthrough for complete reversal of hearing loss and the AGBell's AVT (audio verbal therapy) doctrination.

This film is mainly a documentary about two linguists raced to record the endangered languages and associated cultures around the world like the "Indiana Jones" adventures before the last fluent speakers of endangered and forgotten and hidden languages die.

7,000 different languages are currently spoken around the entire globe, many are rapidly disappearing. On the average, one language disappears into thin air every two weeks. Scientists and linguist experts estimate that the half of language will be on the verge of extinction in this 21th century due to economic and sociopolitical colonialism, ex. China on Tibet and Tawian and AGBell doctrines on the use of AVT to get rid of American Sign Language (ASL).

So the AGBell could accomplish Alexander Graham Bell's lifetime dreams of crushing deaf people's visual communication for all good with the AVT and sleath campaign against the ASL users and integrate deaf people like cattle against their own will.

RACING AGAINST TIME


BEFORE THEY HEARD AGAIN

are part of the film campaign slogans for "The Linguists" documentary. It (the film) have been the talk of the town at the Sundance Film Festival last January 2008. The Linguistic Society of America and National Science Foundation shown great interests in this film to preserve the endangered, hidden and forgotten languages. http://www.lsadc.org/ and http://ling.bu.edu/in/the/news The American Sign Language (ASL) related topics have been posted on the Linguistic Society of America website.

For the film reviews and additional information of "The Linguists" -

http://www.thelinguists.com/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/linguists/

Rosetta Stone Endangered Language program based in Harrisburg, VA, is a main non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of endangered and hidden language. It strongly encouraged the local and remote languages to be community-owned, culturally relevant and urge people to keep the language integrity and support existing efforts. This organization also offer paid internship to graduate and undergraduate students interested in contributing to the works of the program. http://www.rosettastone.org/

"The Linguists" film will be screened at the National Geographic Society (NGS) of Washington, DC next Thursday, October 2, 2008. How ironic of the NGS being co-founded by Alexander Graham Bell (AGB) and his associates which the NGS will screen this film as part of preserving and promoting the endangered languages like the American Sign Language (ASL).

The United Nations' UNESCO unit will screen "The Linguists" film this October 2008 in New York City, NY. For more info on the screening locations, check out http://www.thelinguists.com/


American Sign Language (ASL) always will be prevail and remain forever for centuries among the humankind. Of course, our present ASL usage will be much different from the next 50 to 100 years. Or our American Sign Language be more likely to be extinct depend on our actions and National Association of the Deaf - Alexander Graham Bell and Mike McConnell and Mike Schidmit aka Drmzzz?

Barb DiGigi, Joey Baer, Ricky Taylor aka Ridor, Cy, MZ, Amy Cohen Efron and other more bloggers and vloggers are the protectors of American Sign Language (ASL) and cherish the rights to visual communication and fluency.

The upcoming RLM blog article - "What Happened to Our ASL Fluency". Keep tune in to the RLMDEAF blog for this article.

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason

Take Action on Ridor and Martin Ritchie and Oxygen-TV!

According to Ridor's "Countdown to Resurrection" blog, the Oxygen TV's "Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency" hired an unqualified ASL interpreter for Martin Ritchie, the deaf reality TV
contestant,. The non-certified ASL interpreter was Jerry Ferris, CODA himself.

Jerry Ferris's pre-reality TV occupation was the art gallery director somewhere in Southern California. Ridor mentioned what a brown-nosed opporuntist, Jerry Ferris have been for years and leeched on anyone as a stepping stone all for himself. Ferris had been the TV producer for several tv programmings and actor and self-opporuntist lately.

Ridor's blog pointed out to the real concerns about Martin Ritchie being disservice by Jerry Ferris' questionable ASL interpreting on Oxygen-TV's "Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency" reality TV show of the Season Four since 2006 - www.janice/about.aspx Several deaf individuals from Barb DiGigi and Jared Evans also shared their concerns about Jerry Ferris and the issue of interpreter qualification and ethics on Ridor's blog.

Let's take a real action like writing out the letter of concerns and inquiry to the Oxygen TV network and National Association of the Deaf and other advocacy groups in advancement of deaf rights. Most important of all is to be more precise and specific and non-threatening with your concerns, disappointments and dissatisfaction to all the listed groups above about the unacceptable practices of hiring such an disqualified ASL interpreter for the reality TV programming and other entertainment features.

We could put the issue of unqualified ASL interpreters and the shortage of qualified ASL and transliteration interpreters in the United States on the map for this year's 2008 presidential election.

Here are the email address and mailing address for the Oxygen TV network -

TV Feedback -

O2.feedback@nbcnni.com

Mailing address -

Oxygen Media, LLC
75th 9th Ave
New York City, NY 10011

Email address -

www.oxygen.com/legal/contact.aspx

National Association of the Deaf (NAD)'s website address - http://www.nad.org/ and click on
"Take Action Center" heading for leaving messages to the NAD's Legal Advocacy unit.

We also ought to write a letter of objection and inquiry to our hometown newspapers, national magazines and entertainment industry periodicals about the issue of disqualified ASL interpreters for the world of entertainment, especially deaf contestants and participants. Let's spill over the black kettle of the DeafRead to the rest of the dominant society (hearing people).

We must kick our rear sides from time to time and do the deaf activism for real!

Please check out Ridor's "Countdown to Resurrection" blog for more additional information.

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

New Study Shown That The Use of Hearing Aids Could Interfere With Natural Body Function(s)

MSNBC's Kathleen Doheny reported the new scientific findings that the use of hearing aids could create some body function problems, ex. clogged ear canals. The basic function of ear wax is to lubricate the ear itself and keep anything out of ordinary.

The title of MSNBC article is "Leave That Ear Wax Alone". Its recommendation is the regular visit to the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialists to clean out the excessive ear waxs twice per year. www.msnbc.com and type Kathleen Doheny on any ISP search engine.

Being totally deaf is a true blessing as compared to such troublesome hassles with the use of hearing aids or have a cochlear implant. That should be a beware sign for parents of deaf youngsters from audismizing their offsprings. Naturalistic approach of letting deaf children be deaf themselves like "Let Reagan be Reagan" or "Let McCain be McCain".

The recent news reportings about the spider lived in one young boy's inner ear docrum. Many people tend to be obsessive about cleaning out their inner ears on daily basis. That is very unhealthy thing to do is to interfere with the basic human function(s).

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog