December 28th, 2007
A plea for rationality.
I want to make a confession first of all: I don’t read deafread anymore. No, wait, let me revise that. I still look at deafread occasionally but it’s become some kind of bandwagon lately, what with the “deficit thinking” stuff.
I think people are coming up with brand new labels to address old stereotypes. For example, some people might call a so-called “Deficit thinker” a pragmatist or a realist while a person who isn’t is a “optimist” or an “idealist”.
Didn’t we have the same discussion as it relates to “deaf militant”? How about “Hearie?”
My good friend Drolz basically creates what I think is the proper definition for “deficit thinking” in his recent post: Having supreme confidence in one’s ability and identity. Mark’s deaf son Darren got a boost of self-confidence when a deaf man (Carl, who is the epitome of anti-deficit thinking) basically made an 8 year old feel like kicking the living snot out of every hearing kid who looked at him funny at school.
For me personally, the older I get, the less confident I am that I can perform on the same level as I did a few years ago as a firefighter. So, if I look for other ways to contribute to the effort to fight fires without the same level of risk, isn’t that the opposite of deficit thinking? On the other hand, if I just slack off and just do less, I would think that makes me a deficit thinker.
So I would propose that people recognize the term “deficit thinking” for what it really is: an individual definition of self and identity. Stop using it as a label for putting other people down who don’t agree with your own world-view.
There are people who have legitimate disagreements with various other opinions or organizations but all the term “deficit thinking” serves to do is to continue the infamous “crab theory” that has plagued our collective community for so long.
-N
December 28th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Amen! I’m so glad you wrote your thoughts, your thoughts are exactly what I was thinking!
Deficit thinking, my arse! It is getting toooo out of hand, and it is getting very boring. I am not a collectivist or a sheep to follow one dogma… I want to tone up my critical thinking skills and able to come up with better arguments for several important issues that are happening.
This Deficit Thinking phase is just a mere distraction from the real issues. I am embarrassed to read all of this over and over again. Call my thinking deficit, and I don’t give a damn about it.
Remember, the catch phrases that comes up in DeafRead…and I hope someone who is really able to critically *observe* the psychology behind the words. And how these words make us react, behave and relate with other people.
It is all psychological ‘word’fare going on.
Amy Cohen Efron
December 28th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
me and 2 friends play a game every night; for each “deficit thinking” wording used, we drink a shot of beer. every night we abuse our liver, but we do it in sacriface of our community.
December 28th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Hear hear!
December 28th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Yeah, I hear you. AMEN!
I am getting annoying with Carl Schroeder’s obsession about the deficit thinking issue. He kept talking and posting about the deficit thinking in his blog nowadays. I have never visited in his blog because of his boring and S*** issue for over *TWO* weeks.
So, I am jumping on the bandwagon with Amy’s thoughts!
It’s really * &^%$#@()&^%$#@ *!
December 28th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Gotcha. It is tiring… deficit thinking is quickly taking its place as one of the overused words/labels, next to audism, not deaf enough, etc. Yeah, call me deficit thinker for thinking this way… I guess because I don’t belong to “groupthink” (ie, Deafhood, whatever), so I am easier to be labeled and attacked… whatever.
December 28th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Let’s be fair, folks. The fact that Carl and others have made this their issue du jour front and center just means that they are fixtating on a very small subset of issues that face the deaf community as a whole.
Karen, I agree. The trend toward “groupthink” is disturbing and I was talking with a friend of mine about it shortly after I posted. It seems if deafread hasn’t created this phenomenon of viral blogging where one person picks up on a topic and it is repeated ad nauseam, it certainly contributes to it.
Dogfood: three letters: LOL
December 28th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I like your risk factoring, risk and see result. Like when I risked registering for two nights in SF for the deaf blog conference only knowing there’s an awards banquet at night but I’m sure it’ll be fun.
December 28th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Todos: The awards banquet IS fun! I went to last year’s event and had a blast. Won’t be able to make it to this year’s, unfortunately.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Yes, the way I see is not intellectual issue because of too many irrationality!!! Here says in Ayn Rand- Atlas Shrugged- “Rationality is the recognizition of the fact that nothing can alter the truth and nothing can take precedence over that act of percieving it”
December 29th, 2007 at 12:21 am
I left the topic alone and let it pass me by almost from its start. I had a good vacation. Ha. I think there are v/bloggers coming back on the scene now with new material. Don’t stop reading DeafRead. I predict the new year will bring new stories and new topics.
~ LaRonda
December 29th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I HOPE SOON STOP TALKING ABOUT DEFLICIT THINKING OR THINKER IT MEAN NOTHING AGANIST THEIR EDUCATION IT IS HUMAN THOUGHT THEIR OWN LANGAUGE. I HOPE FRESH STARTER IN 2008 TELL THEM IT IS NOTHING TO DEFICIT THINKING AGAINST TO ????.
December 29th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Yea, I look forward to reading new stories and new topics in 2008. So, Happy New Year to all!
December 30th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Amen to your plea for rationality. Amen to Amy’s discussion. I feel the same. This deficit thinking, hearing supremacy, ASL everyday burn me out! Many of them don’t make any sense. now no more visit in Carl Schroder’s
blog.
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