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Author: The Last Hiccup
When JT became Deaf, he had to suffer a lot of language aversion where IEPs (Individual Education Plan) by audiologists, speech therapists, and teachers told his family that JT would likely never be succeed in college and unable to tie his shoe laces. But they were sorely, extraordinarily mistaken.
Response to Donalda Ammons, President of GUAA
“This is Donalda Ammons, President of GUAA. On behalf of GUAA I wish to correct your misconstrued statement that those two women contracted GUAA and that the GUAA board’s decision was influenced. It is totally and absolutely fabricated. I ask that you retract this particular statement. Thank you very much. We need to have reliable source to prove it. Do we have evidence we can reveal?”
I would like to thank Donalda Ammons, President of GUAA for responding:
On behalf of Deaf community, I understood the gravity in this language; I would feel the same thing. I really do. However, the gravity has to be felt at this point. At the time, silence cannot be asked to retract the truth. Nothing cannot be constructed by the gravity of the language. There is no need to be hurt. An award is considered: “a prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement” and nothing can replace that.
It is someone who is on Deaf journey just like all of us. That is the achievement we live, embrace, and experience. Establishing relationships with all kind of people, Deaf alike;
When someone works hard enough to contribute to Deaf community for long time by building the greatest difference, this individual going through a great deal of revolution to make all the difference possible in the greatest reliable source. That is the honour of an achievement in this matter. Once torn up, the greatest reliable source itself hurt in all of us.
The reliable sources whom I trust have the Deaf heart to protect the truth from this individual, shouldn’t be labeled as the most notorious, the hurt began right there and Deaf humans should not experience hurt in what most notorious evidence it can reveal in all of language bias, something of a Deaf bias, and the world of hurt affects Deaf community, each of us, one in one, sure, it could be easily denied, and we cannot deny that in each of us. The reliable sources, I am talking about more than several sources, it is painful enough to see this spreading around.
The very same reliable sources very much hold memberships under GUAA with highest regards. It is considered a democratic underground, can we cannot agree more at this point? Whether the fabrication accusation of Deaf versus Deaf, the hurt is denying even hurt more. Deaf community needs love, not hate.
Longaville:
“Did not the heavenly rhetoric of thine eye,
‘Gainst whom the world cannot hold argument,
Persuade my heart to this false perjury?”
Honestly, we all do not need to divide up in Deaf community. Really. It requires all of us to be part of the process even at the greatest distance–and it is not easy to get people to become healthy and get involved more to stand up for social justice instead of struggle, especially how important ASL is to the Deaf community today, in the time of crisis, by our very nature, the deepest vision of healing and peace possible. The world of hurt cannot be ignored. Can it offer us the room to grow capacity to overcome the collective unconscious?
I mean, I just cannot ignore this pain and I cannot be asked nor pushed to retract this statement because I cannot imagine what pain journey is like in this situation and because it is not my story, it is someone else’s story that needs to be seen and examine the hurt. I share the story because it is quickly silenced and felt that the message needs to be examined more why it is being asked to retract this particular statement in a quick tone.
Deaf vs. Deaf is the greatest hurt, I recognize that I am no better than this either, it takes growing pain for all of us in this matter, all of us including two women, who had been done this for politically motivated, and it shudders my heavy heart to see this world of hurt happening. As for Deaf vs. Deaf, it takes the liberty away without misunderstanding, is it possible to see lack of genuine higher learning and culture of respect? Truly, there is no need to allow Deaf vs. Deaf.
While we cannot ignore the traits of hurt, when I see a story from my reliable sources, I cannot name them because I cannot breach this trust, I also realize that without evidence is necessarily demanded, and could lead to dehumanizing, I really do understand. Who would take action and respect this evidence in someone’s journey first? Which it leads to a rational argument is what makes peaceful cooperation possible.
Once someone’s story surfaced, the influence through pain is too much and cannot be ignored. I simply carry the message whether it is fabrication or not. Ignoring a story like this is anything but deficit to inciting the mind of hurt.
Sincerely-
-JT
Copyright © 2019 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in it entirely only, including this copyright message.
My Thoughts Are With Sri Lanka
Bombing and killing innocent people is not the solution. Religious bigotry: Enough.
GUAA: Deaf vs Deaf
There have been some speculation why Ella mae Lentz did not get GUAA award at Gallaudet few weeks ago. If true, Deaf vs Deaf is the greatest pain.
My Visit to Oklahoma City Bombing Site
14 years ago today—April 19th and it was one of the worst terrorist attacks in American history. It has happened in Oklahoma City. I got to visit the memorial on April 19, 2004. It was one of the most profound experiences I ever dealt with.
I was a Washington state high school senior that time when it happened in Oklahoma City. I was not feeling good that morning and had to skip classes and then turned television on and the news that was showing the images of Oklahoma City. I was shocked. I was torn. I was numb. Anyone ever know that Timothy McVeigh was a white supremacist terrorist?
Yeah, there are a lot of white supremacist terrorists out there today—worse than anybody. Really, it’s true. Did you know that white nationalists dropped fliers on college campuses almost once a day in 2017? After visiting the memorial was even more…
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Exploiting Deaf: Genocide and Power
Gallaudet University: A Signing Community?
Honestly, as three days ago, when I was at Library of Congress to see private collections of old letters hand-written by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, Edward Miner Gallaudet, Laurent Clerc, the list goes on—to help out a friend for PhD dissertation.
ASL stands for American Sign Language. They all had the goal: ASL-centered, ASL-oriented, ASL-controlled for Deaf people who comes from all walks of life. Between 1815 and 1847 letters, they all were fierce. They knew that sign language is the best and powerful to overcome intellectual oppression. The very same letters I read, where Sophia writes to T.H. Gallaudet:
I love Laurent Clerc. I love seeing his signs.”
Sophia became the matron for Gallaudet University. Without the matron of Gallaudet University, sign language would not be there. Sophia knew sign language was the pivotal moment.
That was the goal to see ASL everywhere on Gallaudet campus and that was all they wanted. That was the bottom line. That was it. Sign language changed Sophia’s life forever. That was history in the making!
Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sailed together for destination back to America. They both knew that sign language have the power to directly represent and protect the interests. They stood true until their death.
Gallaudet University, the world’s first university for Deaf, to claim Deaf people’s intellectual life to ASL across the educational landscape and reject oppression practice; Hearing people with hearing privileges walk and talk around on the Gallaudet campus, insulting ASL that should be appreciated our language, that is ASL within the institution of higher education.
ASL is a step in the direction of intellectual equity, as the huge banner rolls out front of parking garage at Gallaudet University across from Union Market, makes an official statement that it is signing community. Can we really see Gallaudet University an ASL-centered university only? We need to make sure Gallaudet University as an ASL-centered needs to make a clear sense of what ASL is used for so that we are in a position to navigate Gallaudet as an ASL community. Signing is like mode of communication. Signing can be Sim-Com. Oh yeah, Sim-Com is still practiced at Gallaudet. It is better to use ASL instead of signing.
Yet, there are hearing people who talk without sign language, oppressing ASL on the campus that is supposed to be sacred for Deaf people. Please look at my most previous post, Signing Community: Hypocrism at Best where seven videos were sent to me by several Deaf people who felt insulted.
Why do you think Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet went all the way to England to join in the audience and witness Deaf people signing and writing on stage, and that was where T.H. Gallaudet shook hands with Abbe Sicard—the history of all the Deaf is the most beautiful thing! Is Gallaudet University enough ASL-centered with instruction and scholarship?
The huge banner “We are Gallaudet University: A Signing Community” needs to examine more and I mean, really deep in heart. Audism is not allowed at Gallaudet University. It is a big problem! When hearing people talk on the campus designed for Deaf people, is exactly the struggle for Deaf community to feel oppressed. The latter attitude is that the term “oppression” has been most invisible mirror, oppressing ASL and Deaf people.
Should we allow language hegemony by hearing people? Deaf people had fought hard for ASL. We all cannot deny that. Is it intellectual oppression? Behind the university gates, oppression is everywhere and that is embarrassment. There is no way Gallaudet University should not allow people talking and insulting ASL, its linguistic and cultural heritage of the Deaf, period.
Again, “We are Gallaudet University: A Signing Community”–Can they really be honest with themselves? When hearing people talk on campus, they do not see ASL as a human and it continues to be oppressed. Deaf people are hurt. Deaf people are suffering. That is the real answer.
We cannot forget the passion in ASL. That’s our mother tongue. After all, we are the ones to push for change. No more Audism! If they use that banner, then the major point of using ASL on the campus is to transform the language and culture to intellectual life. That’s how it is supposed to work. ASL is intellectual property and that is it matters the most……for Deaf people whose ownership is ASL first on the campus.
Again, please be honest with yourself. Gallaudet University is not a signing community. Not yet. It is better if the banner says: Gallaudet University is an ASL community.
-JT
Copyright © 2019 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
