Deaf people around the world has been seen as easy target to take their human rights away. How do you define Deaf as Human Rights?
Tag: Human Rights Violation
Did Gallaudet University Erase Hate Crime Recently?
I learned about this when I visited Gallaudet University couple of hours ago. It is being offered for $500—the university viewed it as vandalism. It was a student action project exhibit and robbed their time and education. I am very much in support of Black Lives Matter.
To me, once someone took the sign down out of pure vengeance, it means they bullied human beings down just because they are Black and it is a hate crime. Yes, Gallaudet University has been racist for long time. The English language has a strange inference of criminalization, “Legislation that makes something illegal.” For example, indicating the criminalization of Black Deaf people everyday—it is true that the society fails to educate Deaf community what Racism really meant in the highest term of learning.
From Jack Levin’s book, Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed:
Thrill seeking hate crime: an individual joins a group activity so that the people who are most important to him–his friends, will not reject him. It is the most common type for anyone to use this.
Mission hate crime (the rarest group): the rarest version of hate crimes consists of an attack carried out by the individuals with a mission; they seek to rid the world of evil by disposing of the members of a despised group.
You decide which would be best to describe for the haters or is it both, too? What kind of hate crime policing at Gallaudet University? What works to get Deaf community to take hate crime seriously by having a policy from Gallaudet community to make a statement, “our policy is to take hate crimes seriously” and create specializing units. Specifically study and keep track of hate crime data and set a good role model by Gallaudet community. Racist, xenophobic and intolerant discourses in politics is not enough discussed at the university.
Unfortunately, Gallaudet University has been always a white privilege stronghold campus. When someone took the BLM project down, it is also a racial harassment, is it also a violation of U.S. Civil Rights laws, too? As Joe R. Feagin and Karyn D. McKinney wrote in a book called The Many Costs of Racism “Dealing with everyday Racism is more than a matter of managing internal concerns and crises.”
Community accountability needs to be recognized at Gallaudet University. We need to prevent this crisis not to let this happen again. We do not need Trump’s America to let it happen on the campus. Again, I am all in support for Black Lives Matter. Our democracy is at risk.
Thanks for standing with us against Racism and hate crime.
-JT
Copyright © 2017 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
Ignorance Continues…..
I was a patient there for a while before I was discharged recently (today) for a heart-related condition. When I found out the sign on the door where I was assigned to be in a room, the ignorance about Deaf people by labelling them “hearing impaired”–a damaging image of Deaf people.
What I do not understand is that hearing people who think they make the best decisions for Deaf people by oppressing emotional experience and reflects the need for understand that Deaf people in our culture and expression of emotion. I mean, Washington, D.C. is the largest Deaf community in America and the home of the world’s only Deaf university and yet, today is 2017–the ignorance still amazes me. Just amazing…
It is an example of how complex oppression is, and why it is not just a hearing perspective of Deaf people on oppression, but a multi-viewed Audism perspective that affects Deaf people all in different ways. When hearing people have every right to label Deaf people “hearing impaired”—Deaf people are not just protesting oppression as Deaf, but as Deaf people with inherent rights, human rights, as well as cultural rights.
-JT
Copyright @ 2017 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
CULTURAL GENOCIDE: Gallaudet University Hosted a Conference in 2003
More Than Just Being Boxed In: Attacking Deaf People is a New Norm
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
Copyright @ 2017 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
We Have the Constitutional Rights to Protest!
Removing IDEA From Department of Education: Are We Being Setting Up For Failure?
Human Right to Education “Key 3”. Christian Avendaño Cendales.
Hours after the Department of Education has nominated the person who is in charge as secretary, Betsy DeVos has created a huge mess at this hour. Ignorance, human rights violation, even segregation–propelled by economic expansion and justified by dirty money has informed us the Deaf community what the Department of Education is today.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] has been removed from Department of Education’s website that was supposed to ignite networking through healthy channels and promote human rights; yet, it is not the same anymore.
Betsy DeVos, and those ignorant people who voted for DeVos need access to a history that is honest what Deaf people and people with disabilities has been going through hardships. What do we mean by history? Let’s shall find out and go from there. Maybe then it would be easier for them, and the rest of us, to make history that is progressive and inclusive.
In this way, DeVos creates room to remove Deaf people to doubt their current mentality. This doubt serves as the foundation on which she builds the rest of her arguments, citing that IDEA is not important–“up to the states” and shows prejudice is forcefully pointed out. Her debate urges the Department of Education to stay with the status quo. Given this logic, the oppressors against human rights movements are equal to those in removing IDEA off the face of the country’s fundamental human rights.
From there, DeVos outlines the logic behind equality and ignorance. Her debate holds that, while Deaf people and people with disabilities are not actually equal, they should be considered to be wiped out.
As a supporter of IDEA myself because I was one of them, we need to recognize the essence of DeVos’s work stands as a call to remove IDEA from the website to adjust hypocrisy at finest hour. Do we even realize what DeVos has downplayed xenophobic as well? The Department of Education needs to boycott DeVos for the sake of humanity.
-JT
Copyright @ 2017 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
References: https://www.flickr.com/photos/myhappydesign/
Human Rights Day: Deaf Returned Citizens Still Are Marginalized at Gallaudet University
Today, December 10th is International Human Rights Day…..
Human Rights Day commemorates the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
On behalf of Deaf returned citizens, my organization, Deaf Access Justice (DAJ) committed to promote and protect the civil and human rights of Deaf returned citizens in the United States. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the bullying, intimidation, and fear tactics by Gallaudet University.
Gallaudet University has a record of bullying and bigotry against Deaf returned citizens, disregard for the rule of law, and hostility to the protection of civil rights that makes Gallaudet University unfit to serve as safe haven on the campus. In our democracy, Gallaudet University is funded by federal money, enforcing our nation’s laws without prejudice and with an eye toward justice. Deaf returned citizens has rights to earn higher education 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Is there something Deaf community does not know the vast majority of the oppression by the administration at Gallaudet University? You do not really believe many of them talk the way they do because of power, do you? It may at times appear that way, but they are hiding the truth. The Obama administration is urging universities and colleges to re-evaluate how questions about an applicant’s criminal history are used in the admissions process, that’s the big reason that they are being denied for higher education.
A guide written by Education Secretary, John B. King, “Beyond the Box: Increasing Access to Higher Education for Justice Involved Individuals” would help understand why they are being denied even though they served their time. The difficult thing is that Gallaudet University anyone who apply for the job is not required to have their background checked or their fingerprints screened.
As a founder of DAJ, I have long opposed the concept that Gallaudet University has the right to humiliate and bully a Deaf returned citizens as a means of punishment. My personal beliefs were severely tested when I was taken away from a full-ride scholarship at Gallaudet University in 2013 just because I am a returned citizen. That bullying tactics changed my personal beliefs what Gallaudet University is about. If anything, it had strengthened my support for Human Rights Day.
Human Rights Day need to gain understanding and empathy for any who have experienced such trauma in their lives. Those who have not had such experience cannot fully appreciate the depth of the pain in all form and shape. I, therefore, will criticize those who are life-time bullies and who support the “death penalty” on Deaf returned citizens at Gallaudet University.
There are many reasons why I support Human Rights Day and oppose cruel punishment as in 8th Amendment in United States Constitution on moral, economic, and practical grounds to do so intentionally in an inhumanity sense. The cruel effects of such inhumane punishment—Deaf returned citizens are also humans are especially called to respond to such grave injustice that violates human dignity.
We need to do this together to do more than reflect on the past–we can speak up for those who have been silenced. Thank you for your commitment to human rights and dignity for everyone in America and around the world.
Additional links:
http://www.vox.com/2015/11/2/9660282/obama-ban-the-box
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/30/obama-finalizes-regulation-ban-box-job-applicants/
In solidarity,
-JT
Copyright © 2016 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
Stop Police Brutality in Deaf Community!
The logo has been designed by a company called Visual Logo Design (VLD): Visuallogodesign@gmail.com
As a founder for Deaf Access Justice (DAJ), it is my duty to write this open letter and let the Deaf community understand the struggles of police brutality around the country today when it targets Deaf people for unnecessary bigotry.
Hate crime violates constitutional rights of Deaf people, especially unharmed Deaf people who were shot by police. We must always remind ourselves as well as all others how our Declaration of Independence makes our country different from any other nation around the world.
The Declaration proclaims that we have inalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”–The Deaf guy by the name of Daniel K. Harris who was shot to death by state troopers in his car in North Carolina. Daniel was unharmed. This is a good case of police brutality.
Being Deaf and even unharmed was his pursuit of happiness in Our Constitution. The first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits abridging the freedom of speech but constitutional rights of Deaf people have been violated especially when they “fail to hear” by state troopers or police now requiring them be submitted to be charged with hate crime.
Every decent person abhors violent crimes that are motivated by prejudice or bias. Thus, the case for congressional legislation that would expand federal authority that already prohibits some “hate crimes” [See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 245(b).]
There is very, very, very rare when people are aware of this federal statute, “Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Cover of Law”, the third federal statute concerns actions committed by public officials–most often the police–who intend to deprive an individual of his or her constitutional rights.” [Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt] Deaf community is tired of being in silence and had been deprived their own language: American Sign Language, and their constitutional rights.
Please read my previous blog post in 2014:
https://audismnegatsurdi.com/2014/02/21/why-deaf-people-fear-not-to-report-police-brutality/
-JT
Copyright © 2016 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
ASL: Making Human Rights a Reality
AGBell President Meredith Sugar’s statement that ASL is not a human right, well, then she does not understand democracy and human rights even as a lawyer. Shaking my head! She does not ever understand that Deaf community has a precious time: ASL more than ever because it will lead us into the world of intellectual freedom and language miracles.
ASL presents Sociology, the labor of my love. Yes, it may apply to Philosophy, too. It will help us transcend ordinary reality by creating a shift in perception that opens the mind to the value of language transformation in every day Deaf life. This transformation is the real way we the Deaf people think about our quest to personify ASL for our wisdom itself.
If we sit quietly and observe our mind, we will see that it is full of mixed signals. Does Meredith Sugar have the right to silence our human rights when we use ASL? It is important to know that ASL practically awakens our mind and turns us toward a more rewarding journey into the realm of the Deafhood.
ASL is always home, in the academy, the nature and persistence of linguistic research, the power of ASL to influence and shape the human mind which means human right and the character of Deaf community as it shapes intellectual life of the Deaf people today and tomorrow. The struggle for our language and culture that Deaf people go through both financial and emotional is unexplainable; I do not think that there is any other language out there that people struggle so much.
It is in my amateur opinion that Meredith Sugar thinks she is very successful in dodging responsibilities in not only oppressing Deaf people, but she has been fumbling ASL in the accreditation question–by being arrogant and inhabiting ASL into fear and silence.
Yes, ASL is a human right recognized by the United States Constitution.
Credit: Jeffrey Beatty
-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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