Deaf America – …And the Truth Shall Set You Free.

Colonization of Deaf America

March 3, 2020 The Last Hiccup1 Comment

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The root of hatred is still there. Alexander Graham Bell Association never formally issued an apology in front of the Deaf community for what they have done to our Deaf citizens including Indigenous Deaf people and to our culture and language.

Where is the formal written letter? Where is the video message provided with subtitles in front of millions of Deaf people? Where is the article being published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the major news outlets apologizing to the Deaf community? It is not going to happen. Why? They are guilty of a hate crime.

The Deaf community is being on the brink of being eliminated. It had been in North America for centuries and centuries. That’s the colonization of Deaf America and that is what Alexander Graham Bell wants to eliminate the Deaf community.

Laurent Clerc helped Deaf America since he first arrived in 1816; Truth be told that Alexander Graham Bell had been attempting to take away rights in the face of exploitation have been at the heart of hate crime targeting Deaf people from all walks of life.

The marginalization of the Deaf community had been targeted everywhere in social life. Deaf citizens had been suffering and unable to exercise capacities in social ways. Alexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 on the third day of March, and the economics of AGBell had been honored for the legacy of the oppressive system.

Nothing could be further from the truth, given that AGBell’s hatred of the Deaf people is the product of violent oppression by the hearing supremacy. The invisibility still carries around the Deaf community, and the colonization continues to attack the political, social, values, knowledge even in the worst colonized mind possible.

AGBell would be the most admired person to weaken the status of the Deaf community even in 2020 today. The neglect of the Deaf community leaves them severely wounded, cutting off access to the truth, and the practices of hatred send a powerful message.

When a campaign partners up with Alexander Graham Bell Association, “makes them possible and even acceptable. What makes violence a phenomenon of social injustice and not merely an individual moral wrong is its systematic character, its existence as a social practice, its legitimacy” –[Young, I. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference.]

It is scary enough that goes too far enough that the structural elements of colonization in the Deaf community are what it is being introduced into the power gain far more destructive more than the Deaf community really understands. It is a human crisis.

The legacy of Alexander Graham Bell is dangerous. Even the self-directed “agreement” of the Deaf community is far vulnerable to give Alexander Graham Bell Association more access to the exploitation.

-JT

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Starbucks: The First U.S. Signing Store Outclass Surdophobia

October 24, 2018October 28, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

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

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More Than Just Being Boxed In: Attacking Deaf People is a New Norm

February 25, 2017February 25, 2017 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Boxed In. David Call. 2017.

Cochlear implant industries are out of control. When oppressors throws Deaf soul away in the box, that is the face of discipline—I mean, look at that way, think about struggle for our language and culture that we the Deaf have to deal either through or between financial and emotional is unthinkable; That’s exactly the box—punishing Deaf people—for what? IDEA! Let’s box them! Imagine what is next…..

You see, there are evil eyes aka cochlear implant industries and stockholders out there looking for any flaws to stop the truth about Deaf culture and ASL, they develop underground online camps and install blogs about how wonderful cochlear implants are.

Those haters has attempted or thought they would stall the truth. Piece by piece, word-by-word, eyes by eyes, everything ASL have built in the last 50 years that will not accept to be defeated.

Thousands of Deaf people who were trapped in the box, has met and discovered the journey of Deafhood to set up symbolic messages. They walk out of the box and tell the stories that the struggle for the language and culture as their everyday reality and it is happening everywhere in the lens of Deaf Education today and tomorrow.

The cochlear implant industries attempts to constitute an attack on intellectual life of Deaf people, also attempting to denounce them as human beings. Not only that the box represents Deaf people as intellectual inferiority—causing more problems.

It is not the society’s business to determine when being Deaf is the problem or not. Yes, that’s right, none of their business, really. All the survivors who were in the box, are the champions of defeating gross language hegemony and held those oppressors, for example, cochlear implant industries, cued-speech organizations, and oralism practices responsible for attacking their lives. Isn’t it a new norm for them to attack Deaf people? Enough.

They are the reason they are the miscue of resources as corrupt dictators and seek power as well as wealth in batteries and cochlear implant mapping more than the welfare of Deaf people.

I would ask that, in addition to continue and challenge cochlear implant industries, we need to step in to remedy the rampant human and civil rights violations that continue to occur in Deaf America, that it take punitive measures against cochlear implant industries for such a reprehensible breach of human rights violation that has put their lives in jeopardy. Are we all getting sick of being boxed in? Let’s get out of the box!

-JT

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