In higher education, bullying is often invisible in Gallaudet/Deaf community. H-Dirksen Bauman, former chair for ASL/Deaf Studies department got severely bullied and chose not to speak up against bullying on the campus what it is supposed to be hate-free. Why allow culture of silence?
Tag: Anti-Bullying Month
Gallaudet CONVO Event: I Experienced Hate
#OurDeafCommunity | Celebrating Gallaudet event hosted by CONVO. It was supposed to be a place of celebration, meeting new and old faces, and of course, bias-free. Instead, experiencing bullying in the form of hate including intimidation from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) which no one can ever bully me. Enough of public shaming! What happened to #OurDeafCommunity?
Anti-Bullying Awareness
Starbucks: The First U.S. Signing Store Outclass Surdophobia
Today was grand opening for America’s first signing Starbucks store in Washington, D.C., the home of Deaf-centered ghosts, where Deaf leader Robert P. MacGregor was a presence as an alumnus for the world’s first Deaf university, made a powerful quote,
The utmost extreme to which tyranny can go when its mailed hand descends upon a conquered people is the proscription of their national language. What heinous crime have the deaf been guilty of that their language should be proscribed?”
George Veditz:
As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs. And as long as we have our films, we can preserve signs in their old purity. It is my hope that we will all love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.”
Thank you, Starbucks for recognizing American Sign Language (ASL) as Deaf people’s national language, and dedicate to renew ASL by continuing the quest to realize our nation’s highest ideals, supporting ASL caused by social change and social justice, and making the opportunities for Deaf employees that Starbucks creates. The artist who created this on the wall in the picture on left below, is Deaf. Name: Yiqiao “Yi” Wang. ABC spelling on the wall: “DEAF”. See the signing in this picture? “COMMUNITY”. Perfect artwork.
The birth of Starbucks was in state of Washington, in honoring President Washington’s name, and carries the Starbucks legacy and gives Washington, District of Columbia the birth of first signing Starbucks store. It carries the legacy message. We must continue the legacy around Deaf America.
I watch NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Few weeks ago, I watched a good segment where Lester Holt met up with Bryan Stevenson whom created the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. NBC writes, “to remember the country’s painful past, in hopes of a brighter future.”
Tonight, I was hoping to see the news by Lester Holt showing up at the grand opening of America’s first signing Starbucks store, to recognize the Deaf community’s painful past, in hopes of a brighter future as well, too. Deaf people are the highest unemployed group in America for really long time, and it is important to recognize the employment opportunities. Audism (negative attitude towards Deaf people), and Surdophobia (fear of Deaf people) needs to be examined more often in media.
When I was visiting Starbucks this morning, it was history in the making moment, the service that is both ASL and Deaf-centered, and specifically designed for signing spaces. The idea of ASL provides guidelines for better future, citing the highest unemployment within the Deaf community. It is a great advocate in heart.
Changing the attitude and welcome Deaf community to heal their lives and create leaderships in good standing with zero tolerance: anti-bullying and others. The community involvement within ASL would make a ripple effect for a change and reduce the stress of communicative isolation. It is perfect timing because October is against bullying month and shows that Deaf people or ASL should not be bullied.
Starbucks, both its leader in inclusion and respect in DC, did their homework well and recognize the most sophisticated communication (ASL) in America where ASL sows the seeds of human right in 1965. It is an American dream. ASL is a human right. You know, all that sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work that Deaf community stand up and believe in ASL by leadership. It is also perfect timing. Outclassing Surdophobia is the right thing to do. Thank you, Starbucks!
-JT
Copyright © 2018 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
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Open Video for Chris Haulmark
Kat Brockway: The Making and Unmaking of a Perfect Bully
It is very important to know that October is Anti-Bullying Month. The award goes to Kathleen “Kat” Brockway, so-called “Chair” for Deaf Culture and History Section with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and author of Baltimore’s Deaf Heritage and Detroit’s Deaf Heritage, is the perfect poster person for bullying. Since I can remember meeting her first time at Deaf Nation Expo in Washington, D.C; her energy was very negative—so negative that she does not know how to forgive herself. She is very angry person. So much denial she is in.
Then I realized that she had been targeting after me ever since by telling Deaf people through e-mail inbox, text messages, even VP calls that I am really, really, really bad person because I am a returned citizen. She does not ever understand where I came from. My childhood life was very painful to deal with. That is exactly why I am writing a book to clear my conscience.
Bullying is growing and Deaf community does not seem to be ready for it. With legitimate concerns about Kat’s bullying on one side, and equally legitimate concerns about the dangers of such conduct on the other, she attacked a friend of mine, Tamera Gaudet-Doody, a Deaf activist in Illinois who sent me copies of her text messages, I mean, she actually threatened Tamera with her new wave of bullying, Kat told Tamera all the lies that I came from Utah, well, no, I was born and bred in Pacific Northwest, and Utah is not even close, that is how bad she is. With false statements through texting, putting my life in great deal of danger, she actually encouraged to have my life disappeared. Then she became a weak substitute for bullying with false information that really involve psychological warfare.
Tamera became very alarmed and did not really appreciate what Kat told her. Sure, Tamera and I have talked about my life—not very often I can trust people like that. Tamera understood where I came from. There has been series of suicide attempts I have been given thought to end my life when I was younger then I realized that I will not tolerate like this anymore.
For the last 30 years soon I will be 42, I have been suffering way too much, my life does not readily reveal that I am restlessly seeking truth through a turbulent time for 30 years that shaped up. Most of all, what comes through is an attitude, an approach to life that begins in wonder–at the vast possibility the world offers me, and leads to joy in choosing my own way of partaking in this awe, finding my own place, and ensuring that it will be a location meaningful to others and to the world as a whole.
Kat’s bullying may motivate hatred attempting to take my life away, it is a form of homicide, it is only in the rarest form that bullying will be deemed to be the cause to suppress my struggles and my life stories what I had been going through. Not only that she attacked Tamera, but many others that had alerted me what Kat did to them, most recently, I was scheduled to give an academic lecture on West Coast, Kat found out that I was on the program, she also attacked the conference coordinators that they were turned off by her behavior acting in very cruel and callous manner is something we need to watch out from Kathleen Brockway.
In return, Kathleen thinks she professes a superior appreciation of not just the question of truth, but the whole nature of revenge. It is important to bear in mind that, in the Deaf community, truth is associated with a dualistic system—we exist in a higher transcendent realm (we are truthful) and the “think-in-the-box” world, inhabited by the others (they are false) by eliminating my name off the program, (it is not the first time every time I give a lecture, she would get in touch with coordinators and tell other Deaf people about me and attempting to destroy my knowledge)—I grow tired of her malicious attacks to seduce people and gives a false view of the truth campaign and provides unsuitable models of “bullying” to the Deaf community.
The lamentation found in Kathleen’s words encourages rage against Deaf people, not just me, but a lot of Deaf people out there had been attacked by Kathleen, too. Even attacking a well-respected Deaf librarian–that’s elder abuse, no? Her behavior is twice removed from the truth. Plato would consider her behavior deceptive.
Have we had enough of Kathleen’s modern day witch-hunt? Are we ready to push back from the table with her bloated bellies full of vengeance and hatred towards Deaf returning citizens? I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Deaf against Deaf? Enough!
That is a good example what Kathleen “Kat” Brockway is all about, but I have my doubts. She is so lowly that she is “the lowliest of all breads known to us” by telling Tamera and other people that she wanted to see my life disappeared for good. Funny thing is that she already subscribed to my blog with three different e-mail addresses including my YouTube channel stealing my knowledge for her own credibility. That tells you a lot.
-JT
Copyright © 2016 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
...And the Truth Shall Set You Free. 
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