DBC and Deafhood: The Latest Deaf Blogosphere Brouhaha
As most of you know by now, the latest topic of the day in the deaf blogosphere is the furor over DBC (Deaf Bilingual Coalition). Like any good blogger, I’m jumping in here with my two cents.
I’ve been away from the deaf blogosphere for a while, although occasionally I was alerted to blog postings here and there via friends. However, I had too much on my plate for the first half of 2008 to bring myself up to speed, much less comment on issues. Now that I have a little more time on my hands though, I’m getting back to to blogging, commenting, and being more aware of what’s happening out in the larger community beyond Los Angeles.
This morning, Mrs. Sandman alerted me to the latest: several former DBC members speaking out about DBC and its apparent connection to Deafhood, and to one blog poster’s cut-and-paste of an entire IM conversation. I was directed to MishkaZena’s home on the internet to get caught up. If you have any interest in this subject, she’s pretty much linked to the major players, including the IM post in question.
Intrigued, I checked it out– and was appalled. Jamie Berke at Berke Outspoken has pretty much said it all, but I want to join in her outrage. While I have no problem with naming names, I *do* have a problem with revealing screennames and personal information that is irrelevant to the topic at hand. In any professional or quasi-professional journalistic effort, privacy rights need to be balanced against the public’s right to know. Barry Sewell (aka Dr Hocokan) did a disservice to everyone, from the IM participants to those of us in the blogosphere to the deaf community at large. He owes an apology for his actions.
Even the posted IM conversation was misread; some of the comments participants made to each other (”Deafhood High Priestess,” “DBC Father of Heaven”) were obviously private comments made in the sense of teasing and kidding each other. While these are the kinds of things I wouldn’t say in public, these comments weren’t made in public– they were said in what was presumed to be a private IM conversation.
Granted, when one is a public figure, one needs to be careful what they say; if it’s a remark you wouldn’t make in public, it’s probably not something you want to say in private. Still, I think too many people (including “Dr” Hocokan) are misinterpreting what was said, and taking things far too seriously.
Additionally, most of the dialogue seems focused on planning for the Milwaukee gathering, and didn’t shed a whole lot of light on what’s happening in and around DBC. For that, I looked more to MishkaZena, Amy Cohen-Efron, and Anne Marie Baer’s comments.
I’m not familiar with DBC, and as I’ve previously stated earlier, I’m not really familiar with Deafhood either (disclosure: I am a professional colleague of Genie Gertz), so I’d prefer not to go into depth on either topic (eventually, when I finish Paddy Ladd’s book, I’ll share my thoughts on Deafhood and all that it entails. But I think Joe Santini’s guest vlog on Der Sankt Speaks touches on an important fact: Deafhood as conceived by Paddy Ladd and Deafhood as applied and interpreted here in the States are two separate things. *). That said, I will say that I do agree with Amy Cohen-Efron that the two subjects should be separated.
Here’s why: a lot of parents are often overwhelmed at the beginning, when they’re trying simultaneously to deal with the ramifications of their child’s deafness and determine how best to communicate with and educate their child. Ideally, parents should receive as much information as they can about ALL communication and educational options, and then be left alone by all interested outside parties while they sort it out for themselves.
I’ve never believed in any one system as a “one-size-fits-all” approach; I do believe that for the majority of deaf babies, exposing them to sign language, whether alone or in conjunction with other approaches/”therapies” is the best move. Children should have all the possible tools available for them to use– why deprive deaf children of language, technology, tools, and other methods? Yes, for a small minority of hard-of-hearing youth or children with moderate losses, a largely oral-oriented program might be successful. I was one of those children. But for every “success” story out there, there’s another nine that end up losing out. The same is true for today’s children, who undergo cochlear implants and receive instruction and interaction mostly through spoken English. Not all of them are going to succeed solely through this method. This is where a group that focuses on bilingualism can do a lot of good, which is why it attracted a lot of attention in the beginning.
But too often, parents end up following one path or another, or wander through the wilderness for years. A good example of this latter outcome can be found in the experiences of the Spradley family. Many of you are familiar with the story of Lynn Spradley, as told in the book Deaf Like Me by her father and uncle. The path Lynn’s parents took in adjusting to her deafness and determining her educational and communicative future is a story that could have been written yesterday (albeit with cochlear implants and other technological advances thrown into the mix). What the Spradleys would have done today might be completely different, but the journey they took is one that thousands of hearing parents with deaf families took.
At that early stage, what parents want to know is how to communicate. The next step is how to educate their children. Concepts such as Deafhood, notions of Deaf culture, etc. can wait. There is such a thing as sensory overload, and too much information will scare people off. Those parents who are open-minded enough, who immerse themselves in ASL, can eventually be introduced to these topics (and the same for their deaf child(ren). Then can then accept or reject these elements as they wish.
Communication. That’s a word that all of this boils down to, really. Those of us on both sides of the divide, the oralists and the manualists, have been fighting this battle far longer than people think they have. Most of us point to the schism between Edward Miner Gallaudet and Alexander Graham Bell; a lot of people don’t realize that before these two titans battled over communication and language, de l’Épée and Heinicke were exchanging letters arguing over the very same subject– 100 years before EMG and AGB. The battle continues today. It’s kind of like the “radical left” and the “right-wing nuts”– you aren’t going to be able to budge too many people from their entrenched positions. The formation of DBC was an opportunity to re-frame the issue, to re-introduce sign language in a manner that would allow parents who are familiar with the concept of “baby signs” to re-examine sign language in conjunction with deaf children. I’m afraid this recent airing of dirty laundry, justified or not, has set back this opportunity a few years, if not more.
Keep bilingualism and Deafhood separated, at least at the very beginning; there will always be opportunities to delve more deeply into ASL and Deafhood later. First impressions do count.
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* Since I originally typed this, I went over Santini’s vlog again, for the benefit of a friend who for some reason, couldn’t view the vlog on their computer. Santini’s title card implies that there’s an “American version” of Deafhood, and a “British version.” But his actual vlog really discusses Deafhood as conceived by Paddy Ladd, and Deafhood as misinterpreted by others. I originally typed “Deafhood as conceived by Paddy Ladd and Deafhood as applied and interpreted here in the States are two separate things.” Obviously, I erred in typing this, and want to publicly apologize to Santini for my own misinterpretation of his excellent vlog. [Note to self: “Preview” is my friend…]
Thank you, Mr. Sandman, for commenting on the revelation of personal information and for interpreting the personal nature of the remarks correctly.
I do have something to say about your comment, “Like any good blogger, I’m jumping in here.” Maybe our interpretation of what a good blogger does differs. *grin* For me, the whole brouhaha is just too intensely painful on so many levels for me to be able to comment on my blog. Any comment by me is going to be made in private to trusted people.
It leaves me very afraid to say anything online, I’ll say that much.
I think our interpretation differs, yes. *grin*
As far as your last line, I reluctantly have to agree. While I think blogging is an excellent tool to disseminate information, and a good way for people to share, vent, what have you, it’s obvious that there still needs to be a stronger sense of ethics and enforcement of such. I don’t blame you for being nervous about saying anything online. I think a lot of people feel that way right now after seeing what’s happened.
However, at the same time, by not saying anything online, you’re depriving yourself of a chance to share your views, and depriving others of the chance to hear what you have to say. This can be applied to any topic, not just DBC and Deafhood. When people allow their voices to be silenced by others out of fear, then those “others” have won.
That said, I do understand and respect your apprehension– just wanted to give you some food for thought. *smile*
I agree with Mr. Sandman about speaking up, but I also agree with Moi that speaking up and discussing about things on the internet are not safe. People are going to breach the trust and show them to the whole world on the internet.
Lately, I quitted on DeafRead, but since yesterday I decided to speak up because there are same bullying commenters that have been trashing on certain individuals, insisting for their integrity while those commenters have none themselves.
It is time to stop allowing their trashy comments silent us. Like those disgruntled commenters said, they have nothing to lose, so they can say all they want about good people, including trashing them and smearing their good names. So, I decided to stand up to those bullies.
I am a hearing parent. Had I had an opportunity to sit down and really discuss language and culture after I found out my child was deaf, I may have taken the ASL path sooner than later. It took 6 years of out of our child’s life to find the beauty and benefits of ASL and the link to a wonderful vibrant accepting community. Those people who were confident in their “deafhood” were finally the people that I learned from. The concept that new hearing parents can’t understand all of this is not necessarily true. Had I had some kind of empowered Deaf mentor helping me to understand all the possibilities my child had and the resources and community that are available, then I might not have taken 2 years of grieving and another 4 years to find the way to ASL and the Deaf Culture that surrounds ASL.
Hearing Mom:
Hear, Hear! (Yes, I realize the irony of that one…)
–Don Grushkin
Brenster– that’s what I’m talking about. By standing up, we show we’re not afraid, and that we’re ready to speak our mind. Sometimes bullies have to be confronted in order for the majority to “win,” sadly enough.
Hearing mom, thanks for commenting. I don’t think *every* parent can’t understand all of this; in my ramblings on this post, I may not have come across clear on this.
While I don’t work with children (and thus, everything I say from this point on is probably suspect), I *have* worked in agencies, with parents, etc. Some parents are like you– receptive, ready and hungry for information. Others however, are just becoming aware or are just starting to be receptive to sign language in general, and need more time to process (amazing how much more cogent my explanation is here in the comments!)…
I’m not against DBC members utilizing Deafhood, or learning about it– as a great friend put it, people who are advocates should be armed with all the information they can, and ready to share it when the time comes. They also end up being better role models, and it sounds like you had such role models.
I think what I’m really getting at is the the mission of DBC should remain as clear and simple as possible– promoting bilingualism for deaf children. I guess that makes me rather conservative on this issue.
Right now, Deafhood is still a very new concept, and a lot of people, including myself, still don’t understand it. What I’d like to see happen is for more education to occur on deafhood– what does it mean? What did Ladd intend in Britain? What do people here interpret it as, and how would it be used/be effective? This is where I think the workshops, class, etc. that have been developed would be of great use. I need to finish the book, and I’d love to do a class or another workshop afterwards. Even if I ultimately disagree with some elements or conclusions, at least I’ll be better informed.
That brings me back to another point– the more we know, the more we educate ourselves and the community, the better we can find solutions to the problems we have.
Your posting clarifies the fact that we do not know what Deafhood really means and that since we don’t really understand it, it might be better to be separate from DBC to avoid confusion.
I know many of you view me as a bully, but as I have said again and again, I just voice my opinions and when my perspective does not mesh with anyone’s perception, disagreements occur, naturally.
I read Paddy’s book… it was a dry book and I kinda of rushed through it, to finish it. I learned many things about deaf history in Europe and I appreciate it. I planned on reading it again but I never got around to it. I did attend Deafhood workshop last fall and it was upbeat and enpowering, but it immediately raised questions and a concern that the hearing people were to be held responsible for colonization, blaming on 1880’s Milan conference and AGBell’s name was used too, albeit negatively. We all have our own positives and negatives, alive and dead. I appreciate Joe’s guest vlog on Ben’s blog.
We really don’t know what goes on in the core members’ meetings. But I believe that we could use to know a little so that we could help DBC succeed… it is called teamwork.
So in a way, we have Barry Seawal to thank for opening a dialogue and having us to explore ourselves on where we stand and to take a closer look at the bigger picture.
Karen, voicing your opinions is fine by me! I have mixed feelings about DBC and the inclusion of Deafhood– I think the essential message of Deafhood as Joseph Santini has shared is one we can all benefit from. But I think sharing that message should be done separately from DBC, at least for now. The goal of DBC seems pretty straightforward to me (at least as far as I understand it!): promote bilingualism in the form of BOTH ASL and English to parents. That is an extremely important goal IMHO, and it’s why I think the concept of DBC is an important one.
I started Paddy’s book, and I can see why you’d want to re-read it– it’s a rather academic book! When I finish the book, I plan to share my thoughts, and would love to have you come back then so we can discuss it. Regardless of our conclusions, discussing these things is healthy; that’s what Santini was pointing out. Healthy discussions are part of being a healthy society, regardless of who we are.
Barry Sewell did *not* make a healthy contribution, and that’s where I disagree– I don’t think he “opened a dialogue” so much as he crossed some ethical boundaries.
I *DO* think the concerns Mishka Zena, Amy Cohen-Efron, and others have raised merit consideration. That’s where I appreciate their opening a dialogue. However, I’m also seeing a lot of snide comments, unnecessary digs, and misconceptions. It’s a bit frustrating for a lot of people right now, I think. Hopefully once the hot air evaporates, those of us with cooler heads can sit down and truly examine how to improve our corner of the universe.
Good post, Sandman, and welcome back to the deaf blogosphere. I think this is the first time you have mentioned a Mrs. Sandman? Will we see any guest blogs by her?
Good points about the communication coming first, then education. Also about information overload. Deaf community and deaf culture are often something discovered later in life, particularly by oral deaf adults.
Many a true word is reputedly spoken in jest, hence the outrage. People tend to go off-guard and say what they really feel then. It’s better people know how committed reps really are, or if they are just using positions to push a personal viewpoint. It will make them more careful in future, will we see the DBC doing a body check to see if cameras or recorders are there now
Jamie– thanks! I’ve mentioned the Mrs. a few times, and no, I don’t think she’ll be doing any guesting.
MM– I agree– sometimes the truth is couched within other statements. However, I’d like to give the participants the benefit of the doubt, since this was a private conversation (or at least it was, until Sewell posted it).
Have you read books The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien exactly same kind “British version.” Hard to understand what their stories talked about it was really very difficult with the interpreted, I read fews weeks gave up and I bought American published book use The Lord of the Rings finally to understood but not all it. What I learned British slang talks that ways.
hearing mom you really outstanding post ever I read tells the facts. Smile!