Thoughts on DeafRead and DeafBlind

After watching the blogs and comments in vlogs throwing their opinions about DeafRead and DeafBlind around, I came to this conclusion of my opinion. I want to say, “Shut up! Look around you! Can’t you see what you are doing?” I think there are many of us agree that we should be inclusive. I see that sort of comments often. Or maybe I am just naive and still haven’t seen comments crying “Get away you CI cyborgs! Go away Deafblind people, we don’t want you to trouble us with your kind,” or something along those lines. I hope there aren’t those type of people, but alas and alack, I must be hoping too much. However, I digress, I do see a lot of comments accepting people across all subgroup lines.

So, why is this still being an issue? Obviously, people are still claiming that people aren’t inclusive enough. I can see some of the reasons why for that, for example, the current hot issue in the blogosphere is the subtitling and using DeafBlind people as one of the reasons.

Let me remind/inform you–I am a person with Usher’s. Not only that, but also, I am learning ASL, so there’s two reasons already for me to wish for you to subtitle some of your videos. If you are in a hurry, then provide a nice, meaty summary of what the video is about. I don’t want to see one or two sentences, and rely on comments to gauge what the video was really about, I don’t think those two is a whole lot to go on when watching the video with some context in mind. Maybe a paragraph or two would be nice (four to six sentences a paragraph). And that would be a lot quicker than subtitling the entire video, wouldn’t it?

If we all think about it, it takes us few minutes to sign to the webcam/video camera, then upload it and then open up our blog to post the video. It should take five minutes to write a paragraph or two about the video, and if you’re up for it, transcribe roughly what you said. I know ASL and other languages are practically impossible to transliterate, so, transcribing some of what the signers would go a long ways.

It’s practically a win-win-win-win situation. The DeafBlind community wins, the people new to ASL wins, and people googling wins,  and this brings you even more viewers, which makes you a win too.

I really, really don’t understand the mentality of not wishing to summarize, subtitle or otherwise tell more of what the vlog is about than the title itself and the comments (and the occasional one or two liner sentences.

I have subtitled my videos and it’s not all that hard. I found it to be quite fun actually. (Unfortunately, my videos are really of poor quality and was just as means to learn ASL, nothing concrete.)

What does the vloggers have to lose by writing a paragraph or two about the video? Ten minutes at the maximum if you hurry it, and maybe about 5 minutes at the average. Just some stuff to think about.

Now, back to the topic at hand about DeafRead… Since, as far as I see, we want to be inclusive as much as possible, we ought to be more understanding–but since most of us seem to be understanding enough, how can we move forward from here on out? This is pretty new to Deaf Community, not really used to having to deal with CI users and other groups in general.

Here, I wish to share something on how to organize DeafRead better than it is now; I commented at DeafRead Take a Stand with the following comment:

As a relatively new reader to DeafRead (mid-December), I liked what I saw on here. For the first time in five and half years, I found a place where I thought I could make some long lasting commitment with a community.

It saddens to me to see the state of DeafRead is going through. What I realized that could work is that we create one or two more buttons under: All, Blogs, Vlogs, and Extras. Maybe one could be designated for topics relating to Cochlear implants (and their success stories and the like dealing with sounds.) Perhaps the title could be “New Sounds” or something along that line, maybe something more politically correct than that, I don’t know.

A second button could be for all things related to ASL or ones who do not speak, or maybe related to ‘culturally Deaf’ though that line is kind of blurry. Maybe if the editors and a poll/survey for all people on DeafRead.com and see how to correctly define the term, Culturally Deaf.

I feel the same way that I am getting sick of seeing success stories that is totally flat and I tend to tune out b/vlogs that deals with cochlear implants. So I think this type of category would be really beneficial to everyone else.

The tag system under each aggregated entries is all and good, but I think the intended use for that is for past entries and not getting the current and new entries. That is where the buttons filtering the “New Sounds” and “Culturally Deaf” entries would work rather well. Not to say that the titles I’ve given should be used, but yeah.

As for the whole thing with name calling and what not… I think there should be some sort of a rule where it is the blogger/vlogger’s responsibility in watching their comments and prevent a flame war from breaking out. If the rule is not abided by, then by all means, not show any future entries on DeafRead until the b/blogger regains control.

As for the whole thing with neutrality of the editors, I understand that no one could ever be neutral, and in fact, can harm people when the neutrality is gone and its colors show through through some sort of an incident.

As for any rouge commenters or b/vloggers that are being militant, same thing applies to the above mentioned rule, and some sort of action should be taken.

I hope my ideas have been beneficial in some ways to the community on DeafRead.

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Are we really ready to move forward in trying to resolve the problems at hand dealing with DeafRead?

Attention C.I. Users–prohibitive costs of batteries?

I was told that if I get a second cochlear implant, the costs would rise in caring for two processors instead of one. That is obvious to me, yes, I know it would cost twice as much. However, I am puzzled by this information I was given by the VR. Is there a processor whose batteries only last six hours and costs something in the neighborhood of 150 for batteries?

That didn’t sound right, and  if it was a false information, then it would not show up in search, and so I want this bit of information confirmed. My case worker at VR also seem to imply that I would have the new processor to replace the old one, thus raising the costs still further. If the costs of batteries is true, then I am afraid that I will not get the new processor–if it is Freedom Nucleus. Or if the case worker is correct but is not the Freedom Nucleus with the expensive, short-life span batteries but something else entirely, then I would like the link to such information.

If there is such a processor with expensive batteries with six hour life, then… I feel like I’m back in the dark ages. My current one, BTE Nucleus, lasts four to five days without changing the batteries and is very cheap.  I am sad that BTE will be made obsolete, I love my BTE.

A letter of Sacrfices

I am blown away. Not even half hour ago, I was wondering if it was wrong of me to wish the processors I have for CI to be broken over time without renewing warranty, as neither are under warranty and never hear again. Though, I would definitely miss listening to instrumental music, especially from Titanic (1997). Then my mom gave me a letter she said she wrote the night before. It’s as though somebody was reading my mind and trying to guilt-trip me or something. It’s heartbreaking and they, my parents, really love me.

Several entries ago, I said that I was not sure if I should forgive my dad for being an audist, but now, I can let myself go and forgive him because of the letter. I also bitterly wondered why they didn’t move us to a Deaf school instead of H.I. program because they sacrificed their dream home, their dog (my dad actually cried, whom I never to this day, cried in my presence, and I didn’t know that until this letter) so that I could hear and listen.

Gosh, I’m tearing up right now, I don’t know where my priorities should be. So, I’ll just type up the letter exactly, punctuation and all and her underlined words as well, except for spelling because my inner editor won’t take that. And so we go. (background info, I was born and raised in Michigan.)

Tiffany, they say hind sight is 20/20. What would I do differently? I am sorry we did not teach you sign like you now wish you would have learned. We did the best—made the best decision we could with the info we were given. Pleae know—although it was an easy choice to make, we definitely made a lot of sacrifices for you… which I am not sure you are aware of. [I was, as I mentioned above, but not the whole picture] We had a beautiful house with 1 ½ acre we owned at the end of a dirt road, which was denoumated [? Dominated? Can’t read that word but I get the wording] by state land [or I perhaps don’t get the wording…] We gave that up to put you in a better school… East Jordan. We then had to give away our family dog which we had for 3-4 years. We took her to the pound and it made Rob cry. Rob then had to drive 45’’ each way to work everyday—the snow storms were bad at times. One day on his way home he was almost killed in a car accident. We then found out about the cochlear implant. We drove 4 hrs each way to Ann Arbor for months for testing and finally got the surgery. So then we sacrificed again (kind of) and moved to Lansing. I don’t think Rob really wanted to because he enjoyed hunting + fishing and “it rained all the time in Lansing.” Lansing also had a great H.I. program so that was another reason to move. Where we lived always revolved around you—except (in my opinion) when we moved to Florida—(and maybe mason as well). Everything happens for a reason. We did the best we could—

Mom

How’s that for a letter? I don’t know what to think, but that sure showed that they cared enough to want me to succeed in life by having all the skills to function as a hearing person. I can tell that this was on my mom’s mind since she and I first met the group of people who picked me up for Orlando Retreat and has since then, probably thought hard about it.

What in the world am I supposed to say? What type of card do I give them to show my appreciation of their love for me? I won’t ask the why’s right now, because they really did sacrificed quite a bit for me and we were poor for quite a while as well because of the expenses C.I. came with.

How can I ever thank them? For now, I won’t criticize them because, seriously, I have done enough of that and the only way right now is to just learn the new language and teach my family along the way as I have been doing.

Edit: To reflect the comment below, I have two other brothers that I grew up, just for the background info. Still, my parents did give up more to accommodate me than my brothers and I had half wondered how they dealt with it…