Tag: Human Rights

Constitution Day: People of the Eye

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WRITTEN ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT:

Today, The Constitution of the United States is done and signed by a majority of delegates attending the historic Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia today on September 17, 1787. It’s a hallmark that in the Deaf community, we need to protect our rights.

The ASL/Deaf community has been dealing with very difficult social and economic changes and we need to address an aura of optimism among ourselves who see the possibility of making American Sign Language (ASL) a more dynamic force in communication and instruction for all Deaf people. Especially constitutional rights.

The Deaf community should be a public service—not a place of fear what is called ‘Surdophobia’, “fear of Deaf people” and take advantage of them because of auditory measures. That is beyond cruel punishment and that is exactly why oppression has since become a unique subset of Deaf America. Why? Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution that applies to the Deaf community today. That is a good example of language bigotry.

Can we dedicate ourselves to protect Deaf America? The Constitution of the United States of America—is an important asset that also dedicates to Deaf America, the quality is largely invisible that often overlooked a group of minorities, who easily targets.

Constitutional rights in local, state, and federal—and….their country. The Deaf community needs to restore citizen trust and empower through American democracy. A strong, Deaf community is vital to help the Deaf community to build resources.

If we do not know, with confidence, our part in the whole and our place in history, we can become frustrated by what we have to do. If we know what being Deaf means, our self-esteem and self-determination would be much surer. It is important to understand how much importance of the United States Constitution means for us to preserve our language and culture.

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Karl White: A Lifetime Hate Crime Achievement Award

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The American Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACI) recently presented Karl White: a Lifetime Achievement Award for his tyranny practices of Deaf last July 2019.

1) Several Deaf children died of cochlear implant surgery complications.

2) Medical neglect is a genocidal tactic.

3) Deaf citizens are not made to be cyborgs.

4) “Deaf People don’t know what is best for their babies” was the very mistake.

5) Number of Cochlear Implant failures as critical factors hold powers in check.

Karl White has also done something else that many cochlear implant do: It has demanded that Deaf citizens be targeted and take down human dignity. This remains an easy way for cochlear implant companies worldwide, and that is the definition of tyranny: cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control.

That is the lifetime achievement award. Cochlear implant makes a huge profit from Gallaudet University. For your thought, Gallaudet accepted million dollars on donations from cochlear implant, and I am sure there are some people in the administration are on their payrolls. They are afraid if Gallaudet gets a “real deal” Deaf as president, those programs would lose their faces because Gallaudet University would not support cochlear implant companies.

I believe it is all about money. If you decide to open Gallaudet University president’s bank account, you would find plenty of dirty money in the account. Why hide so hard from the Deaf community? When past president and the first “Deaf” president of Gallaudet University, signed a deal to have cochlear implant center on Gallaudet campus in 2006, to achieve its purposes through peer evaluation, information gathering and sharing.

There is no question that Gallaudet University supports Karl White’s lab work as well as inside Gallaudet propaganda is yet another university public relations to dismantle the Deaf community. Karl White asserts that he knows that cochlear implants are better than most about what Deaf people are capable of doing but White clearly indicates in his statement that he’s nothing but all talking. To date, we have yet to understand his work “toward our common collective goals.”

What are these collective goals? Has Karl White taken courses in ASL in order to reach Deaf citizens? What is his current score in ASL Proficiency Interview, believably the most important goals to accomplish these goals? No where in White’s statement has indicated one value that ASL is used for instruction of the Deaf as promoted by the university founder, Edward Miner Gallaudet in honour of his Deaf mother, Sophie Fowler, his father, the Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, and his Deaf mentor, Laurent Clerc. Nothing!

Karl White does not deserve Lifetime Achievement Award at all. Hate crime in the making. After all, Karl White deserves a Lifetime Hate Crime Achievement Award.

-JT

Copyright © 2019 Jason Tozier

This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.

Is Joseph Murray the Right Person for WFD President?

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Dr. Joseph Murray recently elected as World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) President–should be seriously examined. He claims that human rights are his expertise. “Human right development project around the world.” in his website.

There is none of his human rights record empowering Deaf returnees. Why not? The Deaf community around the world has been cruel enough to bully Deaf returnees once they return to the society and turn their lives around.

The politics of human rights for Deaf returnees is widely ignored and easily oppressed and suppressed anywhere in the world. Most of the oppressors are preoccupied with what is politically feasible right now. What are some of the human right ideas we should be thinking about today, in hopes that they would become possible for Deaf returnees to be given second chances?

Unhealthy and dangerous policies have been promoted by culture of fear along with fashionable political moods or to be the pressures of the lies. What we need someone who is honest enough even with human rights record to make better accessible for Deaf returnees, rather than to present them with the human suffering for the rest of their lives. That is, we need to challenge human rights for Deaf returnees around the world to give them the benefit of their experience and wisdom.

If we want a change in our human rights lifetime, we are going to have to make it possible for Deaf returnees around the world to receive higher education, jobs, living conditions, and hate-free climate.

Reality of Deaf returnees is independent from human representation. The real world of beliefs, experiences, statements, and struggles. Truth is about the accuracy of representation. Knowledge is always objective. While truth is a matter of accurate representation, knowledge does not derive from the subjective attitudes.

Representations are subject to all the limitations of prejudice, ignorance, stupidity, venality, and dishonesty–all sorts of motives to oppress the oppressed, or even get away with the human right violations.

Is Dr. Joseph Murray the right person for WFD president? Ask Joseph Murray to describe human rights for Deaf returnees to receive higher education at Gallaudet University without bias. Ask Murray how he defines Deaf returnees academically–and you are certain to get some intriguing answers. Particularly when you pose this question to a faculty body as diverse as our nation. It was a mistake by WFD to elect Dr. Joseph Murray.

Deaf returnees around the world must not lag behind in protecting and promoting human rights. This action would honour Deaf returnee’s commitment to preserve their stories and they can make all the difference in the world, which is unique. While human rights around the world has a history of oppressing Deaf returnees in colleges and universities, the dilemma is that far more denial than they admit that human right violation does exist even on the world’s only university for the Deaf.

It is about time that the speculation of violating human rights for Deaf returnees is protested. Simply, the view of Deaf returnees is often lead to culture of hate, culture of fear, and culture of stigma, is most inadequate, distorted by social “passions and prejudices” against the image of Deaf returnee in society.

Again, Dr. Joseph Murray, the WFD elected-president, is he the right person to lead “human rights” work as he claimed that it is his best work?

-JT

Copyright © 2019 Jason Tozier

This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.

Gallaudet University: A Signing Community?

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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.

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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.

 

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

Laurent Clerc: United Nations Human Rights Prize

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70 years ago on December 10th, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was brought up with the idea to recognize that as humans we adopt equal rights, freedom, and pursuit of happiness.

I just read the winners for 2018 United Nations Human Rights Prize who deserve an award. From the United Nations website writes:

The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights is an honorary award given to individuals and organizations in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights.

In the past, United Nations Human Rights had given to someone who passed away such as Eleanor Roosevelt. Why not Laurent Clerc? He contributed to Deaf community in the heart of human rights. Establishing the first American Deaf School in Hartford, Connecticut. For next 50 years, the school had trained many Deaf students in the field of educators to teach Deaf pupils to be successful. Laurent Clerc’s spirit embodies the self-determination of the newly Deaf space; his thoughts are still considered the strongest influence in Deaf people’s bodies, minds, and spirits.

Laurent Clerc’s quote:

“A knowledge of history is extremely useful; it lays before our eyes the great picture of the generations that have preceded us; and in relating the events which passed in their time…it lays before us the precepts of the wise…of all ages…”

There was no “rehabilitation” program or education for Deaf students. Laurent Clerc predicted the importance for future of the Deaf citizens to preserve and perpetuate in the language and culture, protecting and promoting ASL. French influence upon American Sign Language (ASL) and intellectual life of the Deaf has become quite pronounced as the result of the contact between Deaf people to seek for higher education. Not only in America, but influenced Canada as well, too.

Last September 2018, United Nations recognized its first International Day of Sign Languages, and it is a huge step. There was more than 70 million Deaf people living world wide, according to the World Federation of the Deaf, the higher education is pretty difficult to grasp, only two percent out of 70 million Deaf people have the human right access to a formal education.

Since Laurent Clerc’s arrival in America, his mission has been to provide quality individualized education honoring the talents of Deaf students, making sure they were given the highest opportunities to acquire academic skills necessary for success.

Making sure the long journey, the dark moments of doubts and struggles, going through series of emotional, mental and physical—and the feeling in a life time would end up being over, until Laurent Clerc’s arrival made sure it was never over. It was very much part of human right. Being the state of Deaf is a human right in the highest form of freedom.

Honestly, I do think Mr. Laurent Clerc deserve United Nations Human Rights Prize, the largest honour of lifetime work. What do you think?

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-JT

Copyright © 2018 Jason Tozier

This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.

References:

https://usdeafhistory.com/tag/laurent-clerc/

https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/news/dspd/international-day-sign-languages.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Prize_in_the_Field_of_Human_Rights

 

 

Election Day: Deaf Returnees VOTE.

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Elections IMPORTANT. Our democracy depends on November’s midterm elections. Bottom line, the consequences are real blocking Deaf Returnees’s fundamental rights to vote without prejudice. Stigma is not needed in the society that includes Deaf community.