After reading this book tonight, we need to bring up critical thinking and how we can challenge Audism and give Deaf students the quality of higher learning in ASL and Deaf-centered environment at Gallaudet University.
Tag: Cultural Oppression
Fear-Rejection Thoughts Is Not Love
We do not need fear-rejecting thoughts in Deaf community. If bystanders cannot find anything to recognize bullying, then they have committed a crime. Suicide is a tragic response to bullying. The problem is that it is very rarely discussed in Deaf community.
I am writing about Deaf returning citizens. They could easily take their lives away. Would it be a criminal act if Deaf returning citizens take their own lives if they are severely bullied daily in same Deaf community they live and breathe in? Deaf community loves to bully and would make up rumors that make it look true. Can Deaf community accept the fact that the suicides are the evidence of BIGGER problems than being bullied?
The fear-rejecting about Deaf returning citizens is a huge problem. The bullies would cruelly exploit that social prejudice, and got away with it. There are three important factors that we all need to know and be aware about it.
Number One: Oppression
Number Two: Dehumanization
Number Three: Exploitation
Remember the book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire? He once wrote about dehumanization in 1981:
Dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen, but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human….Th[e] struggle [for humanization] is possible only because dehumanization, although a concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed.”
Deaf returning citizens have been subject of the oppressed. When bullies are not punished, did they also harm themselves that they intend to do? If a bully crosses the line between hate speech, invasion of privacy, or harassment, is it OK for the bully to harass Deaf returning citizens daily? There are many ways to address bullying, harassment, hate speech, death threats, and stalking.
In Deaf community, it is an international problem. Can we have conversation about the importance of educating love instead of hate? The importance of civility and respect would be more effective tool for Deaf community to heal.
-JT
Copyright © 2018 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
Beyond Labeling: The Role of Awareness
Once upon a time, a scantily clad less paddling down a river has lacked awareness—at least hundreds of eyeballs eager to continue their glance to help and support stop bullying. In a country’s long history of oppression of Deaf returning/returned citizens (DRCs): San Diego, Chicago, Portland, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Boston, and the big cities.
One of the things that makes labeling so powerful is that the sheer amount of hatred it gathers it makes it possible to encourage what the community as a whole are interested in. The proposal to ban DRCs from the Deaf community has taken many forms over their lifetime. A lifetime scar. It is a collateral damage to DRCs.
By many measures, there is no tougher place to be Deaf in America than Deaf community itself. The overwhelming majority for lack of awareness about DRCs who make up higher proportion of struggle to reclaim their lives, for one, pursuit of happiness. It is a reality that Deaf community do not see or understand about, in part because Deaf community itself often excludes it from nationwide support or news accounts of hatred problem.
DRCs have been known as crazy people with a mentality plantation. Believe it or not, they can make a better example of role models in Deaf community when they are destined to make a good example to turn their lives around. There is a misconception among outsiders about DRCs—they think that those kinds of people do not belong in the society or even Deaf community.
Do DRCs deserve being threatened by things such as deficit thinkers, internalized oppressors, and hatred allowing recognition and bigotry? In the same way, DRCs were instructed to be eliminated by the grim reapers, and mental violence. The result will certainly be a lot of encouragement and perhaps, dislocation. DRCs often face unjustified employment, education, and social barriers. As a Deaf community, should we support all of our DRCs because this support opens the door to opportunity to this population that preserves public safely and provides economically sound results?
We need to utilize awareness to help ensure that DRCs have: (1) access to pursuit of happiness. (2): Direct contact with Deaf community (3): Access to information about the laws that protect DRCs. (4) support DRCs as they search for networking, education, and employment. Consequently, any ban on DRCs would not only further marginalize this population, but would be unwarranted;
I strongly believe that community accountability, and public awareness would benefit greatly from the perspective of DRCs who have direct experience with our criminal justice system and who have lived to tell about it. This sort of action in support for DRCs would provide education for Deaf community even legal community and add to the intellectual, experiential, and cultural diversity with its own community. Research has shown that DRCs who have turned live lives around for the better, are typically the best students, employees, etc. because they value the opportunity.
However, barriers erected by society for this population serve as impediments to sustain education, direct contact with Deaf community, and careers upon return to society. How can we solve this problem? I am not ashamed to inform you that I am a Deaf returned citizen and happen to be the most honest DRC as well to live to tell about it who happened to be the best student in my own courses, Each of it and I am very proud of it! End the mass incarceration! That picture below where I gave a presentation at Gallaudet Univeristy.
-JT
Copyright © 2016 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
DEAF CULTURE: DC Metro Allows Cultural Oppression
EPHPHATHA Revisited to Revise
Nancy Rourke’s Cultural Genocide
EPHPHATHA is essentially unfinished and incomplete, but it begun from the premise that Deaf people suffer from a deep-seated Audism and need to recognize American Sign Language (ASL) be respected for more just a diversity than one we now celebrate. However, Gallaudet University had been a training ground for language belittlement and bigotry, language hegemony and humiliation, even language alienation and atrocity—and it keeps bringing out the misery out of Deaf people for many generations since and to come.
Dealing with the issues of language and cultural oppression dealing with ASL and Deaf people is possibly the most complicated problem of all on the face of earth, and we need to start an activism to challenge the materialism that hinders ASL by making the Deaf hear. We need to build more vehicles for social change and get rid of EPHPHATHA off Gallaudet property.
EPHPHATHA is the term of language bigotry that is much more than an unfortunate chapter in our Deaf history. It is part of many mechanisms of oppression and aversion in Deaf community. Gallaudet should be about cultural and social life of Deaf people. Why not? Deaf people are always in a danger of being defined in another language, that is, a spoken/written language and by attempting to unlock their ears. EPHPHATHA itself is part of biblical literature–both the mythical and historical literature and personal observations and it is important to know this.
Every society has enslaved people. As Karl Marx (1818-1883) pointed out, without slavery, we would all still be living in caves. Now, Audism at Gallaudet created surplus value, created journals and gave Deaf people progress. If Gallaudet kept the EPHPHATHA term, why are Deaf people paying their education? Gallaudet should provide free education to all Deaf people. Administration knows that it is illegal to have the term glued to the seal and their gnashing of teeth, wringing of their hands only cares about million of dollars and untold political power in Gallaudet community. This is about battle of Audism and we need to drive audistic wedges out of the term. It is at best, none of civil equality recognizes at Gallaudet.
Gallaudet University’s culture with the hidden term, EPHPHATHA actually colonizes Deaf minds and instructs them how to act, live, and behave like hearing-minded people. There is no way that Deaf people should be treated as uneducated, underemployed, and underestimated if they do not follow the term to open their ears. Why does Gallaudet silence Deaf people for what purpose? We have to get ready to fight this hidden term and begin heal from the wounds of Audism. It is definitely a threat to Deaf body and mind. It is like an expensive “cocktail therapy” that is not readily or cheaply available. The purpose of not providing all the facts to Deaf people that has drawn attention away from inequality and equalization between Deaf people and Gallaudet.
“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence”-Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
-JT
Copyright © 2013 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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