Mainstream Media – …And the Truth Shall Set You Free.

For Betty Shelby: Why Deaf People’s Pursuit of Happiness Are Trampled?

September 30, 2016 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Tulsa Police Department employed an officer by the name of Betsy “Betty” Shelby and she is an Audist by heart. She was the one who murdered Terence Crutcher, a Black Deaf fellow in state of Oklahoma. She used “temporarily Deaf” as an excuse to kill Terence. I think the task of describing what “temporarily Deaf” was to defend herself is very offensive and daunting.

After all, Deaf community had spent the greater part of their lives in diverse environments, engaging in relationships with people, truly incorporating our senses, our beings, into the learning experience. We were challenged to discard hearing privileges, and were giving a new learning model: We learned by listening, reading, observing, communicating, exchanging ideas, doing hands on learning, group learning, interdisciplinary learning, to prepare us not for simple “DEAF” what it means, but rather, for LIFELONG LEARNING.

For Betsy Shelby to use hearing privileges, she used it as a textbook answer—a cheap tactic. To simply say, “temporarily Deaf” invites the problematic compulsion of her own lies to take the issues, to strip it, to break it up to its littlest components, and compartmentalize Deaf people in order to make sense of it. If this Audist like Betsy Shelby had taught us nothing else, it has taught us that linear, compartmental thinking of an issue that is complex, global, and interconnected to so many other complex systems and relationships, fails to see the “big picture” that is Deaf awareness.

Perhaps I can only state what I have learned from this Officer Shelby, and the new framework, and new lens of spreading lies with which to view and fundamentally challenge many of previously held beliefs. Truthfully, I held any deeply profound beliefs about my state of being Deaf prior to this lie what Shelby used to defend herself. If anything, I felt truly separate and unique from environment and media, as though we existed separately, and that I occupied a personal space and be proud of my state of being Deaf, and it was MY space to occupy, to control, to conquer.

And, frankly, as long as Audism could sustain me in this lifetime, which was all that truly bothered me the most. Did Betsy give some thought to how her personal lies were damaging to the environment, media, and Deaf community how she contributed to the wasteful misallocation of media lies?

Using “temporarily Deaf” excuse shares many features with traditional forms of harassment, including a clear intent to harm, and the hostile use of power within the context of police brutality. Again, the police brutality, no matter the reasons why, are heartbreaking.

As a Deaf fellow, it is hard to imagine anything worse. Officer Betsy Shelby needs to apologize to the Deaf community for using “DEAF” as an excuse why she murdered Terence Crutcher.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/officer-betty-shelby-on-terence-crutcher-shooting-i_us_57ed8ba2e4b0972364deaf02?timestamp=1475185768376

-JT

Copyright © 2016 Jason Tozier

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

Fact of the Day: American Sign Language is the Winner

October 3, 2015March 20, 2016 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

George Orwell’s Mind: AWESOME!

Cochlear implant is a secret to put systems in place to trick Deaf children–to trick their brains and hearing—into staying on task when cochlear implant industries need them to. Cochlear implant experts would recommend that all Deaf children be implanted as much as possible, in concerted clumps rather than as they come in.

Cochlear implant industries have their e-mail programs set to put through arriving e-mails automatically or to check every five minutes. Think about that: If they are checking e-mail every five minutes, they are checking 200 times during the waking day. This has to interfere with advancing Deaf children’s primary objectives: American Sign Language. That is the FACT. Imagine: 200 Deaf children are implanted during the waking day.

I spoke with a friend of mine this morning about FACTS—and he made me realize of this discussion and the question in my mind, how do you keep of this horde of facts you want to connect with? We both agreed that ASL is the primary fact–that heals brains and should I add, the pursuit of happiness in their human rights to be Deaf. There is a conference coming to DC this month on October 15-17th, American Cochlear Implant Alliance [ACI Alliance] and they will attempt to destroy facts that the renewal of passion in ASL with set of policies in the “CI” bible, is often seen with projecting and practicing the irreversible oppression of the Deaf children. A bold statement for ACI, it says absolutely, nothing about ASL as the language of instruction and scholarship.

William House, unbeknown to most Deaf people, the father of cochlear implant, adopted a policy of termination of Deaf children and it was effect in 1984 with the first cochlear implant surgery ever, forcing many Deaf children to terminate their status as their human rights and they were “detribalized” and powerless after that.

The discovery of ASL in 1965 was successful but Deaf children came to realize that they had already fought against what was wrong against those people who oppressed ASL, and begin to educate themselves and study politics and social philosophy. There are plenty of ASL users who became successful, and learned how to challenge the cochlear implant industries and to use an American law to protect and advance their human rights of being Deaf and use ASL. In some cases, they have been connected again with far more than they had when Deaf children were forced to disconnect themselves. For example, death of 12 Deaf children in 1989 during cochlear implant surgery had not been exactly publicized enough in the eyes of the mainstream media.

What do we learn from ASL? We need to be presented a number of possibilities for future Deaf children, and have the time to explore the philosophy of ASL—the time will come to claim AL as the language and culture in higher education. ASL is the addendum that will serve as an important prototype of Deaf children everywhere and they are the real part of the process–even at the greatest distance. ASL is the fact–and the American Cochlear Implant Alliance will ignore the facts–for example, the levels of ASL will increase during gaps in social support, but does cochlear implant becomes a poor social functioning? Which is the better fact of the day?

-JT

Copyright © 2015 Jason Tozier

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