Sharing my near death experience where I was about to get killed in year 2000.
Tag: Intimidation
Do You Agree With The Idea Dwight Benedict as Victim of ‘Administration System’?
In one of my most recent blog four days ago, The Power of Positive Leadership, I forgot to add “administration” before system. I applaud President Cordano of Gallaudet University made a decision to place the position, Vice President of Student Affairs and Community Engagement, on hold. However, I am still questioned by president’s motivation to make a statement below.
Why did President Cordano of Gallaudet University signed in a town hall front of sold-out with countless onlookers standing at Foster Auditorium, ‘Dwight Benedict is a victim of administration system’?
What does it mean to you, “…..victim of administration system….”? Do you agree or not agree that Dwight is a “victim of administration system“? Do you think it was fair for Cordano to make this statement? Have you seen “victim of administration system” ever showed up anywhere until now? I never seen this statement before.
How is bias seen, written and expressed this time? Bias is part of physical, written acts of oppression, insensitivity, lack of awareness, intimidation, the use of vulgarity, making comments, restricting of free movement of an individual and the list goes on.
Using “victim of administration system”–does that mean it was also part of white silence? Have we forgot about Deaf people of color who were oppressed? Have we forgot about Deaf LGBTQA who were oppressed? Have we forgot about Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Deaf-Disabled people who were oppressed? Have we forgot about Deaf returning citizens who were oppressed? Have we forgot about marginalized groups?
Is white silence also a white consent? What’s up with that by making a statement to silence the Foster auditorium filled with faculty, staff, students, alumni and alumnus in a white consent when it is named after Andrew Jackson Foster?
How can they suffer oppression at the same time while Dwight Benedict is a “victim of administration system”? We need to increase opportunities for restorative justice for students, staff, and faculty and collect all the data how all of them to share their experience on campus climate. How can we improve the campus climate in regards to bias when it is in Dwight’s leadership?
Privileges? Victim of administration system? Does it mean all Deaf of Deaf families who run Gallaudet University “old school” victim? How? It cannot be. We are the victims of Dwight Benedict’s power. Not the administration system. His power. Did he ever support students’ rights, welfare, and the laundry list goes on?
So, Dwight is the victim of administration system? Does it mean the whole system of all administration system bad news? No! Dwight is the bad apple–not the administration. He is the one and only Dwight Benedict. Finish. Not the administration. No, he is the one. President Cordano should not sign to students, faculty, and staff: You are all in pain. No. Dwight Benedict’s power is the pain because he is not allowed anyone to be above him–just like above the law. This is his pain. Not ours. Negligence, abuse of power, and again, the laundry list goes on. The growing pain continues.
-JT
Copyright © 2017 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
Free Speech vs Hate Speech
Discussing between Free Speech as noted in United States Constitution First Amendment that allows hate speech which is a BIG PROBLEM today in America. Jeremy Joseph Christian who murdered two guys through HATE SPEECH on Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) in Portland, Oregon on May 26, 2017 thinks he has the “right” to provoke it based on FREE SPEECH. Intimidation makes him even weaker person.
Open Letter for Britton Auman
If intimidation is motivated by prejudice or bigotry, the severity of hate crime is ignored. I am with you in solidarity, and I would like to command you for your courage to challenge Gallaudet University administration to remind any kind of bias-related including hate crime.
That reminds everyone to be aware in November 2001; the Review of Higher Education estimated at least 1 million bias-motivated on American college and university campuses each year. The problem is that it was never reported to school or even law enforcement. Do not be surprised if it has broken 2001 record anytime soon.
Dark Figure Crime [DFC]: “The dark (or hidden) figure of crime is a term employed by criminologists and sociologists to describe the amount of unreported or undiscovered crime.” -Wiki. It is the reason it is under the rug.
No one should treated invisible at Gallaudet. If the administration that makes decision and what decides for the best, is this part of society or a social outlier? Normalcy here seems is defined as the use of all of the physical and basic mental facilities common to human beings in order for a person to be considered a contributing member of the society.
Identity is an important part of the human and should be focus of personal growth. It is important to have such a concise way of summing up what ties people together underneath it all.
Hate crime is invisible. If the administration ignores the duty of hate crime what they have not done, “in a thrill-seeking hate crime, an individual joins a group activity so that he will not be rejected by the people who are most important to him—his friends. In reactive hate crimes, an individual believes that he must protect himself from the encroachment of outsiders. And, in mission hate crimes, an individual becomes convinced that his personal problems are a result of some conspiracy involving an entire group of people with whom he feels compelled to get even.” [Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt]
Gallaudet University administration allowed reactive hate crimes on a mission level, giving everyone a thrill-seeking experience. Student Code of Conduct, Section B of the Gallaudet University, Bias-related harassment:
“This includes harassment (verbal or written abuse, humiliation, intimidation, bullying, and violence or other conduct which has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational or living environment) against an individual or group because of race, religion, creed, gender, age, ethnicity, national origin, physical disability, or sexual orientation.”
With all the constant source of support, you shall walk around the campus that was supposed to be bias-free environment, and in addition to no-tolerance policy as well. Hate crime is not allowed.
In solidarity,
-Jason “JT” Tozier
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.
Post-Election: Do Gallaudet University Have A System to Stop Hate Crimes?
There has been a huge tide rise of hate crimes in America after the presidential election. Right now, we need to scope on the big focus: Deaf community—especially at Gallaudet University whether if hate crimes has been sparked any kind of form in bigotry, intimidation, and bullying that are in the same umbrella as hate crimes. Is there any kind of measurement in hate crime at Gallaudet? There has been virtually zero information to recognize the extent of hate crime. The truth is that we do not know whether in fact this is the reality we face at Gallaudet everyday.
The bigotry, intimidation, and bullying LGBT, minorities, even Deaf returned citizens. For the most part, existing ignorance are both too new and too flawed to protect them even as students where Gallaudet administration including Department of Public Safety (DPS) avoids the picture of changes over time. The term of “hate crime” has been going on since 1980s, it is not new information today. Bigotry, bullying, and intimidation has been motivated by negative picture of difference, and the politics of hate has been practiced by Gallaudet administration for long time.
For example, there is a Dean at Gallaudet University who encourages fear and mob mentality against Deaf returned citizen is no secret. We need to stop the continuation of unwanted bullying is important to challenge power and intimidation by the administration. The most difficult thing is that Gallaudet University is a federally funded, and they were required not to bully people of color, LGBT, Deaf returned citizens and many of the hate crimes are unreported in Gallaudet’s system—including DPS. Again, we need to remind that less-known law called Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Cover of Law is not allowed even on the campus, too. Protected students have their own intellectual property that should not be violated—again, being bullied by people who have the power is an act of desecration and human violation.
What is Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Cover of Law? It is third federal statute concerns actions committed by public officials—most often the police who makes sure to have people deprived by their constitutional rights.
We need to challenge three questions to ponder whether Gallaudet University have a system to stop hate crimes: 1) Do they understand that we are being bullied and be told to be in silence? 2) Do they understand the nature of bullying? 3) Does minorities, LGBT, and Deaf returned citizens even identify their struggle faced by the Administration of Gallaudet University? Look at the brochure provided by Gallaudet University, Anti-Bullying and Harassment:
-What is Bullying? Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior manifested by the use of force or coercion to affect others, particularly when the behavior is habitual and involves an imbalance of power.
–What is Harassment? Harassment is defined as a subset of bullying that is specifically covered by law (sex, race, disability, etc.) Harassment is sometime used to describe bullying between adults.
-FORMS OF BULLYING: A) Physical: Harm to someone’s body or property. B) Emotional: Harm to someone’s self-esteem or feeling of safety. C) Social: Harm to someone’s group acceptance.
If you feel that you are being violated by bullying, intimidation or experience hate-motivated, then get in touch with U.S. Department of Education: Office of Civil Rights, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1972 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).
It is important to report to U.S. Department of Education: Office of Civil Rights or even D.C. Police —because Gallaudet University Administration and DPS will sweep under the rug to make sure it does not exist in Hate Crime Statistics Act (HSCA)—a federal law passed in 1990—a big problem on Gallaudet campus. Please think about it.
-JT
Copyright © 2016 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
Deaf Anti-Cyberbullying Act: Nyle DiMarco and Deaf Survivors
The number of Deaf people who lacks anti-cyberbullying that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, straight people significantly over many years, but some Deaf people are still not in compliance with human dignity—still in denial, hmm? Where is the Act that stops cyberbullying?
Sadly, the anti-cyberbullying and harassment policies that does not comply with human dignity and protect human rights. Deaf community today are given a ranking based on their level of compliance with the awareness and whether policies referenced human rights and expression as a protected class, as stated in the Bill of Rights, known as United States Constitution. Where is the model policy?
What about 4th Amendment in the United States Constitution? The Amendment IV defines, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Plenty of key messages in this amendment that applies to Nyle DiMarco—the right of the people to be secure in their persons….. against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated….”
The cyberbullying, harassment, intimidation, bullying, prohibits retaliation against Nyle DiMarco and many others who are survivors of cyberbullying including me—shall seek redress under the 4th amendment to have full awareness to have an anti-cyberbullying policy. Cyberbullying must be prohibited: harassment, intimidation—with consequences for a person who cyberbullies or intimidates another, like Nyle and many others and make the policy available to the public among other provisions.
The Deaf community need to make a good role model with “substantially compliant” with the human dignity and contain all key elements–an acknowledgement that interfering with Deaf people who experience mean-spirited cyberbullying that creates a hostile environment that may be based on the protected class of a person, a mandatory knowledge and how anti-cyberbullying policies are publicized with the Deaf community today and tomorrow.
If the American 4th amendment fails to meet with Deaf community’s knowledge out of compliance within the Bill of Rights, then how do we apply for healing and make sure to continue to meet the intent of the standard human dignity? I was one of those people targeted for cyberbullying countless of times.
-JT
Copyright © 2015 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only including this copyright message.
My Personal Struggles in Mainstreaming America
Nancy Rourke’s System Fails
After reading an article about Fausto Delgado, a Deaf mainstreamed kid who decided to take his life two weeks ago in California, and it hit me hard by bringing my memories back.
News flash: I never shared this with anyone but only two good friends know about it. When I was 14, I was so fed up with my life, I was a very unhappy individual, unable to express my own frustrations through sign language, and no one could really understood what I was going through. I grew up mainstreamed all my life and I could easily vouch that it was one of the most brutal experiences in my life.
One weekend in late April a long time ago, for example, I went inside the barn on my family’s property, I saw an opportunity by putting the rope on the beam around my neck, so I could commit suicide until my grandfather was walking up to the barn, I hid the rope right away and acted like nothing had happened. I could even remember my grandfather’s face, looking bit puzzled, and he asked me what I was doing there. Only that he did not know sign language. Home-signed “nothing” by shaking my head.
No one knew about this until now. That was in 1988, few weeks after Deaf President Now (DPN).
Why is it being labeled as the most misgiving in human life that being Deaf in mainstreaming is not normal? I had been subjected to limit ASL from being natural Deaf. My “sound-oriented” teachers, school administration, principals even most of my interpreters were deficit thinkers. I had one interpreter who was a Child of Deaf Adult (CODA) and she tried to help me so much she could then one day she moved away. I never knew what CODA meant until I was in my late 20’s. I can still remember my middle school principal, Mr. Hicks who was a mean-spirited bully, and he had one of the worst and poor flexibilities within Deaf Education that made my education to suffer. He allowed students to bully me as much as they could.
Mr. Hicks made sure that I was suffering from my own emotional insecurity and destroy my intellectual development within receiving fair education. From going through K-12, I was the target of bullies at the same time; I was suspended from school 18 times just for protecting myself. There were many stories to share.
Once, when I was in the third grade, I disobeyed an order from my interpreter “X” telling me to slow down because she did not like the fact that I was good in solving fractions so quickly in front of the other students making her look bad. But I was natural in mathematics then she actually slapped my face in the hallway and dragged my hand to go see my principal, Mrs. Gloria Pappas and I cried so hard asking, “WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!” and I ended up in detention for two days. My father never knew about this. When I was 17, I had a chance to visit Deaf school; I admit that I was shocked. I really wanted to go there, but I did not.
The mainstreaming system failed to release itself from the grasp of the bullying methods by permitting them to have as much influence in “power-struggling” Deaf students down in their faces. Once the bullying is granted to a fair and constant price more people will choose between bullying and intimidation. More Deaf students will have to suffer with their afflictions for lack of being to protect themselves, and lastly, more bullies will be able to find a way to belittle Deaf students that they are deemed to impossible to fight back. Mainstreaming schools for Deaf students will realize that the words of those bullies do apply to school administration and their families.
The Deaf body can be resilient but also frail and fallible and they are people, too. The mainstreaming is a dark pot into which activities that relates to many Deaf mainstreamed kids being bullied everyday. It is time to minimize aggression, bullying, threats, and distress. Why being hesitant by supporting bullying against Deaf kids that now are deeming to be ineffective?
It is evident that Deaf children in mainstreaming schools experience higher percentage of emotional abuses more than hearing peers. The safe haven in classrooms does not exist at all. The mainstreaming schools fails to make a cardinal decision by protecting Deaf students with public safety efforts and grant them freedom and protections. The problem is that the society is too ignorant. Will mainstreamed Deaf kids ever rehabilitate from emotional scars? Maybe. Maybe not.
One of my favorite authors, Barbara Perry wrote,
This historical example is a reminder that acts of discriminatory violence and intimidation—hate crimes—are not new phenomena in the United States. It is important to keep in mind that what we currently refer to as hate crime has a long historical lineage; the contemporary dynamics of hate-motivated violence have their origins in historical conditions. With respect to racial violence, at least, history does repeat itself, as similar patterns of motivation, sentiment, and victimization recur over time….”
It matches perfectly what mainstreamed Deaf kids experience discriminatory violence and intimidation—intellectual Audism. History does repeat itself…..
Remember that CODA interpreter I mentioned? Well, I bumped into her in Las Vegas in summer 2012 during World Deaf Expo, it was very nice to see her after 20 years and she said that I grew up so much and knowing I had very rough life and she said that she really wished she could have helped me out more to escape from dark rooms in mainstreaming schools. It was heartbreaking to see her say that. Maybe I could have better life. The society failed me. The mainstreaming system failed me. Even today they are still trying to make me a failure. The million-dollar question, what is the effect of dehumanizing Deaf students in mainstream classrooms?
Third grade. Front row. Fourth person on the right with black watch (That is me) See first three boys in the very back on the left side. Bullies. In the second row, second person on the left, a boy who loved to taunt me. Years later we bumped into each other in high school at a wrestling tournament where we faced each other on the mat. Guess who won? By a majority score. Good times.
-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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