“People of the Eye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D1SqnSCMTQ

vlog describing my chat with an AG Bell assoc parent re: bilingualism

voice over on video and text summary below. Note there are some points in the summary that are not covered in the vlog and there are some comments in the vlog that are not covered in the text. i am an imperfect being - smile

Discussion with second mom about visual acuity and how her daughter might be demonstrating some visual aptitude already. Benefits of bilingualism - to give your daughter a natural and normal way of gaining information instead of having to work and train for it. David Reynolds had come over and chatted with the mom about DBC’s focus and mission and the value of bilingualism. David had to leave to return to the DBC conference and hugged the mother before he left and said pls be in touch with us, we want to help u, we will put u in touch with folks who can help you in your home state etc.

Another Deaf man had been watching nearby along side me. Tami, a core DBC member who raised a Deaf daughter bilingually, started chatting with the hearing mom. She was saying “your daughter will always be Deaf.” The hearing mom asked for clarification what Tami meant and she explained that “without her CIs your daughter is Deaf and she is Deaf on the inside no matter about the CI.” The mom said, “when you say it that way it sounds as if you are talking about more than just her ears, more than just a physical thing.” I thought this was very astute of the mom that she picked up on the fact that Tami was talking about a cultural essence even though the mom was not fully aware or knowledgeable. I said “perhaps this example will help you - when the man, David Reynolds, said goodbye to you and you hugged, this man standing next to me teared up. Now i have never met him before and i may never see him again but i asked - are you ok and he said - i have never seen such an open minded parent before and that exchange between David and this woman really touched me.” and a tear leapt out of his eye and in turn i got emotional and teared up in watching him share how deeply he was touched by you and now he is my brother because we share this common bond of this moment and this understanding. This is perhaps what Tami is trying to communicate about being “Deaf INSIDE” it is a connection that can not be denied. I said this gentleman and I are probably very different. I am hard of hearing and can speak and he his DEAF yet we are connected.” The mom asked me if i regretted not growing up with ASL. I said yes - i am not mad at my parents for not raising me with ASL. But growing up without it put a burden on me to always be figuring things out and to be WORKING to gain information. I said right now u and tami are conversing comfortably - there is no difficulty because you share a language you both understand fully and there is not barrier or labor involved in trying to access those words. This man and I can converse comfortably without any WORK on our part because it is a fully accessible language we are using. I imagine your daughter has to do quite a bit of work to get information right now. the mom says - yes she does have to work for it. yes.

With bilingualism all we want for her is to have times when it is not so much work - where she can understand and be understood comfortably and naturally and also to have a connection. The woman asked how i feel personally about CI. I replied - i am not speaking for DBC but for myself because you are asking me honestly. I said i have some concerns about implanting children. I worry about any mishaps, about infections, about complications. i do worry about that. She explained that it was not a hard decision for her to implant her daughter but with the second implant her husband had more concerns than she did. It was outpatient so she felt it was not a big deal. I explained that anytime you put something in the body permanently it is open to problems and that is what i worry about. I respect her choice and i am glad that it has worked for her daughter and their family with no complications arising.

She explained that she is happy to have her daughter learn ASL and join the Deaf community when she grows up. i explained that the difficulty with that stance is that children learn from their parents by what they do and what they dont do and values and beliefs are communicated silently often so if her family does not sign and has not introduced her to the Deaf community that may inadvertently communicate to her that they are not comfortable with bilingualism or the Deaf community. children follow their parents lead. I said now if you were to introduce her to Deaf people and sign language and say - hey isnt this a cool language - a visual language - u can learn to sign and i can learn to sign too - that is a different message from - you can learn it later in life if you want to.

it was a GREAT experience to talk with these moms. I learned a great deal from their perspectives. it is clear to me that every parent wants to do what is best for their kids - they want to do right by them. i am very grateful to the DBC for affording me this opportunity, for the parents crossing over to chat with us and for the interpreters to volunteering there services

Next DBC related vlog will be about the presenters

Peace

Patti Durr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFURcjCn7Q8
vlog re: chat with AG Bell parents - gives a third reason why the DBC conference rocked for me - dialogue with AG Bell parents

NOTE: at each of the AG Bell Association conferences (state and national) - DBC members were systematically restricted from having direct access and/or contact AG Bell Association attendees

Vlog discusses chat with one hearing mom from the AG Bell Association convention who came over after the Sunday rally and was listening to the interpreter voicing for two DBC media reps as they were interviewed by a newspaper reporter. The woman said “not true, not true” when over hearing some of the statements by DE and Barb so David Reynolds (DBC core member) and i approached her to see if she had any questions or wanted clarification.

When I approached her she threw up her hands and said “I don’t understand sign language” with a look of disgust. David Reynolds talked and signed to her. She had thought the DBC reps were saying that AG Bell association is against ASL when rather they were saying that AG Bell association does not allow for informed choices because they do not explain the value of bilingualism and instead focus on speaking and listening education only.

She explained that she does not support ASL because she does not want her son (15 years old with CI) to need an interpreter when he goes to a restaurant.

Wow that was an eye opener

i discovered i had some myths about AG Bell association - i thought they came off very strong to parents against ASL but seems that most of the folks said no that is not accurate. Although some say that speech, audiologist, specialists, and AG Bell reps at times discourage parents for learning sign so the child wont be dependent on it etc. Through talking with the mom i realized they have some myths about us. We explained that many Deaf folks can talk like David and myself can. Amongst the rally crowd there were many people who could talk and for those who can’t or choose not to they can totally make themselves understood in a restaurant. They do NOT need to bring an interpreter with them to order food. I realized she had not seen what Deaf adult signers are capable of doing before - WOW!

I went back to watching the interview with the reporters and noticed another woman there with an AG Bell badge and asked if she had any questions - she said yes and we got an interpreter and started chatting. She was very warm and receptive and wanted to understand things. She explained that she was surprised to see the DBC reps say that they are not protesting against CI but rather advocating for bilingualism. She had gotten the impression that the rally was about protesting CI - it didnt seem she got that idea via the media but rather from folks talking at the convention. She wanted to talk to us about bilingualism and her daughter, who is five with bilaterial cochlear implants. She expressed concerns that learning ASL would be hard on her daughter as she already has to invest so much in learning spoken language and listening skills. She explained that her daughter is at a reading level of a 10 year old. I remarked that this was an exceptional kid and her reading abilities were probably more about her IQ and parental involvement than her CI. Hearing five year olds who can speak and hear fully do not normally read at the level of a 10 year old unless they are exceptional. I foresee no problem with her daughter picking up ASL.

part II coming soon

Big thanks to the parents who ventured over to chat with us and for DBC for picking their conference to happen simultaneously during the AG Bell Convention to afford this space for an exchange between non-signing parents and folks who support bilingualism

Peace

Patti Durr

6 min. vlog explaining Why DBC Conference Rocks for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6T3NsAPhVE

examines 2 reasons:
1. demonstrated there is power in numbers - collective voice, you are not alone
2. it gave AG Bell members and DBC members a chance to SEE each other.

Some AB Bell members that i bumped into in the convention center looked a bit like they got caught smoking or in a brothel or something. they really did look uncomfortable and seemed to be checking to see who was watching. I dont fully understand this reaction - if im scary, if DBC is scary, if they didn’t want folks to see them signing, if they thought the twain shall never meet. not sure - me.

When i was in the AG Bell convention center with some DBC folks and one was videotaping a conference center representative (meaning the bldg not the AG Bell association) approached us and said no videotaping or photographing. This woman could sign and had a hearing aid. She would talk to the big boss and then relay info to us and back and forth. Its interesting how they would use a bilingual person to shadow us. When said - “isn’t an odd rule no videotaping / photographs?” She replied, “yes it is very odd.”

We had a march around the convention center, which takes up a full block and some AG Bell members came to the window to watch us all. We peacefully signed ILY handshape and many signed it back. One even signed “signing is fine. Signing is ok” Some AG Bell members stated that AG Bell association is not against ASL for deaf children. This is a confusing message since the organization still bears the name of AG Bell, whom was opposed to ASL being part of a deaf child’s educational experience and wrote, presented, and organized against ASL and Deaf culture and since there is no evidence of bilingualism being part of the AG Bell association mission

bold text not part of the vlog

Quote from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by President elect of AG Bell, Jay Wyant
“Our focus is on spoken language,” he said. “If a parent says I want to combine spoken language with other things, we say, ‘Wonderful, we’ll help you find the people you need.’ ”

DBC is not against speaking and listening skills - DBC supports choices - the choice and freedom to acquire information and knowledge via English and ASL

Will vlog about other discussions with AG Bell members and a bit re: some of the DBC presentations soon

big thanks to the Deaf Bilingual Coalition for organizing this conference - it was a huge undertaking and very very very formative

just the beginning folks

peace

patti durr

MEDIA DISASTER - NOT

There has been some v/blogging about the two articles in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covering the Deaf Bilingual Coalition conference and rallies and the AG Bell Association’s convention.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766249
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=767314

Some have gone as far as to refer to it as a “media disaster”

Some important quotes on MEDIA / PRESS:

The most important service rendered by the press and the magazines is that of educating people to approach printed matter with distrust.

Samuel Butler (1612-1680) British poet and satirist.

Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-?) Russian novelist, dramatist and historian.

Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper.

George Orwell (1903-1950) British novelist, essayist, and critic.

The definition of DISASTER:
1. An occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress; a catastrophe. A grave misfortune.
2. Informal. A total failure.

These vlogs / blogs and comments placing their trust in the media over their trust in the Deaf Bilingual Coalition are very interesting entries.

I am all for challenging each other and offering input and suggestions. There does seem to be some irony here. That we cry and scream for Deaf unity – and I don’t think I have ever witnessed a greater case of it than at the DBC conference and rallies this past weekend – yet we jump to assume the worse in the DBC and the best in the media.

We do not do anyone/thing justice by taking quotes out of context.

We do not do anyone/thing justice by assuming the media got it right and the Deaf individuals have gotten it wrong.

We do not do anyone/thing justice by not exercising critical thinking and analysis when getting information via the media.

Two core members of the DBC were interviewed at great length on Sunday while a peaceful group of supporters watched. I witnessed the statistics, facts, and positions the DBC media representatives delineated to the newspaper reporter and to see only a few points make it to press, is disappointing to say the least.

The MEDIA is not gonna “get it” overnight folks.

It is not gonna take one person saying all the right things, using all the right words to get the press to “get it.”

Its gonna take a lot of WORK. Its gonna take a lot of TIME. And its gonna take a lot of COMMITMENT from folks not to go pointing the finger at others on how they should do things but rather themselves figuring out how THEY THEMSELVES can contribute constructively and directly to helping the media to “get it.”

We saw it during the “not Deaf enough” and the “designer Deaf baby” media MISrepresentation. Doesn’t matter how often you say it, how many small words you use, how many illustrations you draw, they are not gonna get it until we start showing:
1. we are not going away
2. we who were not…are
3. we are awake and alive and we will be heard

So I would ask ya all – instead of blogging / vlogging about a media disaster that never happened (folks say any publicity is good publicity – and I don’t think any of the quotes within the full context they were written are even bad) – instead ya all could be writing letters to the reporters of the articles, sending letters to the editor of your local newspaper, writing to your congress person, contacting a TV news program…

Do SOMETHING to help get the message out there that Deaf babies are entitled to sign language, that bilingualism constitutes more of a choice than an oral / aural ONLY upbringing, that being bicultural does not make the child a foreigner in her/his own home, that if we said we believe French children in the US should learn French as well as English – no one would bat an eye, that…..

It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

Peace,

Patti Durr

Hi all

Im formally asking Deafread to re-consider its decision on banning the Cochlear Implant Online website

I dont do this cuz im a fan of this site - im not. I have seen some very audist statements made in blog entries there; however, i believe that when DR decided to shift from a Deaf Culture Centered aggregator to anything that relates to the physical and / or cultural condition of being deaf and Deaf, it expanded its cyber community and audience.

I have been searching for a public statement in one of the DR editors’ websites to help give me the full story and have been emailing with one of them to state my request that they re-consider their decision based on the information I have - the Cochlear Implant Online website was banned when it was discovered that the blogger, Rachel, was a volunteer with Cochlear. I haven’t gotten any information that there is more to the decision.

The rationale for the decision seems like a very difficult thing to have to enforce - meaning the task now before the human editors to weed through every blog / vlog entry and also to research all partisanship or affiliations a blogger / vlogger or guest may or may not have is HUGE and will lead to some slipping past and others not and potential bias. we all have biases folks - and some times those become prejudices but hopefully not. MLK Jr always said there are far more white people of good will than there are of bad. in the d/Deaf sphere it is important for us to know that there are far more people with CI, non-signers, ASL users, big D Deaf folks of good will than there are of bad. If we want to examine injustice, we should be looking at the medical, educational, and social service systems. And sadly today i must say - Deafread - you are a system and a service and without further explanation than what i have been able to gather - i believe you have erred in your ways and it is our loving duty to bring this to your attention as i totally need folks to do so for me when i trip, falter, and sputter through my day.

There is alot of wisdom in the suggestion from All the Young Dudes:

The obvious thing to do is ditch DeafRead Extra, make DeafRead the main aggregator [unmoderated - except for spam and certain other criteria], make it fully searchable via category, search, and tags. Then set up DeafSide as the cultural wing of us more erudite Deafies.

I had written some similar thoughts in What Does Deaf Read Want to Become When It Grows UP

Now if it is stated that a specific website has repeatedly engaged in libel / slander / harassment or has been involved in creating a hostile or unethical cyber environment and DR does not desire to carry them - i think that is all fine and good that DR exercise its editorial good judgment. To my knowledge that is not the stated issue here.

I want to commend DR for all it is undertaking - your work is no easy task. I want to commend you in advance should you be willing to reconsider your decision. It is never easy to backpeddle but it is often very worthwhile and beneficial when we do.

If i am overlooking or unaware of a major point as to how this decision was reached - i totally apologize and i eagerly await learning.

Peace

Patti