Tag: National Association of the Deaf
NAD: Being Deaf Cannot Be a Basis For Denying Ventilators
What does the “quality of life” mean as a Deaf patient who experiences COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in a hospital setting?
Society views the Deaf community as ‘Disability’–some Deaf people do not believe in being Deaf is part of the disability. Some Deaf people accept the disabled because they allow society to define who they are. The system is powerful. I choose not to let society define my state of being Deaf as a disability. American Sign Language (ASL) is my choice–language minority. I do not allow the hearing community to define WHO I AM based on my state of being Deaf and state that I am disability.
Harlan Lane writes: “A disability is a limitation of function because of an impairment. Deaf people are limited in some functions because of an impairment of hearing. Therefore, Deaf people have a disability.”
It is important to be aware of this quote. The problem is that the system has colonized the Deaf community. Is it their fault? No, it is not. Most recently, I read the newspaper article by the Washington Post (4/6/2020) which is an important topic to discuss this.
“THE WASHINGTON POST: DON’T DENY VENTILATORS TO DISABLED PATIENTS. IN VENTILATOR RATIONING, DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE DISABLED IS IMMORTAL.”
Honestly, there are many questions to be seen, discussed, and examined. Of course, society views the Deaf community as ‘Disability’–the article discusses the “quality of life” that could be the most important question of all humanity.
“LET’S EXAMINE ‘QUALITY OF LIFE’ FIRST. DENYING PEOPLE WITH PREEXISTING DISABILITIES LIFESAVING TREATMENTS FOR DISTINCT CONDITIONS, BASED ON THE CONCERN THAT THE DISABILITY LIMITS THE QUALITY OF THEIR LIVES, RAISES DEEP AND SERIOUS ETHNIC QUESTIONS. MAY A DOCTOR DENY SUCH A TREATMENT TO A PATIENT WHO MOPES HIS WAY THROUGH LIFE, ON THE THEORY THAT THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY PATIENT IN THE NEXT ROOM WILL BENEFIT FROM IT MORE? OR TO MAKE THE POINT EVEN SHARPER, WHAT IF POOR PEOPLE OR MEMBERS OF STIGMATIZED MINORITY GROUPS EXPERIENCE LESS HAPPINESS IN THEIR LIVES THAN THOSE WHO ARE BETTER OFF? WOULD IT BE ACCEPTABLE TO PREFER THE WEALTHY FOR LIFESAVING TREATMENTS BECAUSE THEY WILL OBTAIN A GREATER BENEFIT FROM IT?”
A good example: If there were two people have COVID-19, life-threatening condition, entering into the emergency room at a hospital, a hearing person has a health insurance, and another person who happens to be Deaf who also have health insurance, the problem is that there is ONE ventilator available, who would be first to give? Hearing. Why? Privilege. Worthy for a quality of life. As for the Deaf as viewed as Disability would not be considered a quality of life.
Second example: A Deaf patient with no health insurance, as for hearing patients also do not have health insurance in the same room, who would go first for the ventilator? Again, hearing. Why? Hearing people comes first. Sound and speaking are important. Who would be qualified for a life of quality? Let’s save the hearing population first. Reason? Deaf community views as a poor and marginalized community. Again, if the person is hearing from a poor and marginalized community, and the Deaf person is from a poor and marginalized community, too–who would go first? You decide.
There are many examples of this situation. Think about it.
“SAVING MORE LIVES AND SAVING FEWER. THE CHOICE IS WHICH LIFE WE SHOULD SAVE–AND WHETHER A PREEXISTING DISABILITY SHOULD BE A BASIS FOR THAT CHOICE. STILL, SHOULDN’T WE PRIORITIZE THOSE WHO WILL LIVE LONGER LIVES, OR LIVES OF HIGHER QUALITY, AFTER THEY RECEIVE LIFESAVING TREATMENT?”
Let me share a good example. UGLY LAWS. Based on a true story–on looks, eye-cross, Deaf, people with disabilities, would be shunned from the public eye (restaurants, stores, etc), gets arrested, being punished for being disability in the public until the 1970s and became illegal in America.
Why? Their quality of life is not worth it in society. Now, let’s discuss ventilators–an ideological- political war. It is important to save a human life, no matter what.
“BIAS DOES NOT JUST AFFECT JUDGEMENTS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF LIFE WITH A DISABILITY. IT ALSO RENDERS SUSPECT JUDGEMENTS ABOUT DISABLED PERSONS’ EXPECTED LENGTH OF LIFE.”
Let’s focus on “DEAF”–is it worth living for the quality of life? My experience, I had several heart attacks in the past, WIFI at the hospital is not always that great, as for VRI (Video Remote Interpreting)–even worse, blurry, or freezing–needs to be thrown out of the hospitals. It is best to have an ASL interpreter–why? Quality of life–a simple solution.
NAD (National Association of the Deaf) recently posted a video to inform the Deaf community how to be prepared should you have COVID-19, which is a major embarrassment to watch. Explaining to make sure to bring the iPhone charger, laptop, notepad, etc. It is “good enough” for the Deaf community. It is a death penalty.
If NAD really cares about the Deaf community, the video was avoiding responsibilities and excuses, the ventilators are a human right even in the Deaf community, imagine if a Deaf patient has a COVID-19, and views as a “disability” on the shortage of ventilators, debating the quality of life, that is a major issue right now.
“DENYING VENTILATORS TO CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS WITH PREEXISTING DISABILITIES IS THUS NOT AT ALL THE SAME AS MAKING A BATTLEFIELD TRIAGE DECISION TO DO THE GREATEST GOOD FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER.”
Would NAD realize the severe problem about the ventilators as a human right, no matter what? Do not allow the politics to control the Deaf community on the ventilators and weaken NAD in every shape or form. Do not let the lack of ventilators murder the Deaf community.
For example, most recently, there was a Deaf patient with COVID-19, an interpreter explaining about it on a video where a nurse was helpless and comforted a dying Deaf patient was heart-breaking to see. That could have been avoided. The video was viral. No access to ASL interpreter, VRI, friends, loved ones, and that is a good example: “quality of life”–so, think about this. What does “quality of life” mean to you all?
NAD: Whitewashing Race & Citizenship
NAD (National Association of the Deaf) who claims to serve the Deaf community in full information, whitewashing historical statements in the name of bigotry when we look at our lives, in the past and present, if we are honest of our time, the effort by NAD is concerned.
Reclaiming the Youth Leadership Camp
This coming weekend (May 24-27th): Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) Alumni Foundation 50th Years for the search of the Leadership experience.
When I first learned about YLC while I was an attendee for Deaf People of Color Conference in 2010 where it was held in Portland, Oregon. I was 34 years old that time. Oh, I was hurt not to know about it that long. There is need to make a CHANGE for the betterment of Deaf community.
Yes, it is a late start to learn about the most important event and once-in-a-lifetime memory for Deaf Youth and the day to celebrate hard work even as Deaf youth who went through mainstreaming system, their leadership to push for justice, is the most painful for those who does not even know anything about YLC because they did not get “privileged” information. Mainstreaming Deaf students do suffer and they have the right to explore their human rights to advocate for leadership in the Deaf community. Yet, they are shunned in the face of Deaf community. Why? Mainstreaming. It’s not their fault.
When YLC was founded in 1969, it had been focusing on Deaf families, Deaf schools, adding the fuel of Elitism, and would get information about YLC first hand before whoever Deaf students who thrive for personal growth in leadership coming from hearing families and the status of mainstreaming system would easily get rejected in the name of favoritism. Even Deaf students in Deaf schools who come from hearing families would get rejected, too.
Mainstreaming Deaf students do suffer for so long until current society we live in, the Deaf community is not same as ever, and where is the real leadership for Deaf students who were part of mainstreaming system as victims which it was never their fault to attend mainstreaming schools instead of Deaf schools?
The Deaf leadership has decisively ripped apart and did not give Deaf mainstreamed students a chance to grow has largely blamed on National Association of the Deaf (NAD)—and the leadership, scholarship, and citizenship brought up by the idea in YLC’s mission is the crisis of our time now and tomorrow. It is a serious problem.
Today and in the future ever, Deaf mainstreaming students would need help more than ever. Deaf schools are shrinking because of politics, and I do not support the idea of closing Deaf schools because they are important in educational system at every juncture.
The Deaf community’s most prominent change makers and activists join together to push for stronger idea for human change. In those stories we may see or not seen, it would reduce the problem of favoritism and elitism, and challenge our very change in equality, and challenge the very start of the leadership reform, giving Deaf students from mainstreaming system, to make all the difference in political and cultural change. It would make Deaf America stronger.
How do we make all the difference as in change? Why reject those Deaf mainstreamed students and Deaf school students from hearing families would deal with emotions firsthand? Remember, the month of May is Mental Health Awareness and it does influence them very much.
Is this also considered a bullying? From eliminating to end bullying, from ending favoritism to abolishing elitism, from reforming justice to changing the public view of the Deaf community, will it ever get equally that can rooted in fairness and personal growth in leadership? The information is very important for Deaf mainstreaming students to get stronger leadership as much as Deaf schools do; it makes Deaf community stronger only if they put it in their mind to believe in good fight.
Can you imagine that for decades that Deaf mainstreaming students and Deaf schools coming from hearing family lineage, have suffered appalling language and cultural oppression and the devastating consequences of educational and leadership sanctions?
When I learned about YLC at Deaf conference in 2010, it hit me the hardest part when it was moved to Stayton, Oregon from Minnesota in 1990, it was almost two hours drive from town in state of Washington to Stayton, Oregon, and the same 1990 was when I was 15 years old, I never knew anything about it. Why is that happening to several Deaf mainstreaming students alike like that? Language oppression?
It was the responsibility of National Association of the Deaf (NAD) who had failed Deaf mainstreaming students or Deaf students from Deaf schools coming from hearing families that so inured to actual human-to-human “compassion” by the ignorance and paradoxically blasé, judgment quality of “leadership, scholarship, and citizenship”—that they no longer readily feel the biased.
Of course, it shows that Deaf school leadership fare better than Deaf mainstreaming leadership because they did not get the same expose and experience and lack the information that they never knew about YLC. Is it their fault? Is it so invisible by the society even in Deaf community?
Deaf mainstreamed students were most and severely deprived from the information age about YLC in the past, and they are also part of the most important among them—as far as future of leadership is concerned—is the philosophy of leadership which lies away from the false dilemmas of “leadership” and is what would it be closely connected to?
It would be a good and healthy discovery one way to empower those students above; YLC might be as well as their way to make new meanings and inquiries.
What is YLC leadership is like in current climate this time in 2019?
-JT
Copyright © 2019 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in it entirely only, including this copyright message.
NAD: Committ to Eliminate Linguicism?
How come NAD did not stand up and eliminate Linguicism at National conference?
Forgotten History Lesson: Between National Geographic Society and Deaf People
Today we need to reflect history what it meant to all of us. History is what we live, learn, and suffer from the founder of the National Geographic Society (NGS) that was founded on this day today 130 years ago on January 27, 1888 in Washington, D.C; If history was never existed, what would it be like if NGS did not exist in the first place? Warning: The essay will be bit long to read. Open your eyes to the readership what NGS had an agreement with the Volta Review that may have severely hit Deaf community hard that time.
It is invisible that they share with the common interests of hate speech the goal of a tolerant society, in which Deaf people are judged by “the content of their character”—the term, “tolerant society” I learned as a sociology major, and had asked the class to read a book, The Tolerant Society by Lee C. Bollinger. The question, how much tolerance can Deaf community live with the fact that the pain with hate speeches that targets Deaf people from National Geographic Society that has strong ties with Alexander Graham Bell Association For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing?
The formation of National Geographic Society’s idea was the brainchild of Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Alexander Graham Bell’s father in law. Hubbard’s daughter, Mabel Hubbard was Deaf. Ten years after it was opened in 1888, Alexander Graham Bell became the second president of NGS.
Did National Geographic Society ever hire a writer to do a biased story about Deaf people in a magazine? The leadership of Alexander Graham Bell has not forgotten for his legacy to run NGS.
If there was a story written about Deaf people, then how come The Volta Review writes in 1910, written by Alexander Graham Bell, Chairman of the Advisory Council, “The New Departure Explained” in The Volta Review, Volume 12, Number 1 with the opening statement: “The American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf came into existence in 1890. “
In a paragraph called The Example of the National Geographic Society, Bell writes: “The Board of Directors have been much impressed by the great success that has attended the introduction of a new policy by the National Geographic Society, and have considered favorably the expediency of trying this policy with our own Association.”
Whose Association? The American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf. It is now known as Alexander Graham Bell Association For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
In that same paragraph Bell writes in Application to the Association, the quote in his words, “The Board of Directors have thought the experiment at least worthy of trial. If we meet with success at all comparable to that attained by the National Geographic Society, we can advance the work of teaching speech to the deaf in a way that has never hitherto been possible. If we fail, we are no worse off than before and can return to our present practice of supporting our publication from our endowment funds.
Of course, is considering such a proposition, the fear will very naturally be felt that in popularizing the Review we will lessen the technical value of our journal and diminish its usefulness to teachers of the deaf. Here again the experience of the National Geographic Society is decidedly encouraging. In that Society the feeling was very generally entertained by the geographical experts, who largely composed the membership of the Society before the adoption of the new policy, that the technical value of the National Geographic Magazine would be impaired by its popular features. That fear has proven groundless, and the Society publishes today as many technical articles as it did when its magazine was exclusively a technical journal.”
Alexander Graham Bell was a fear-monger leader. He was a master manipulator. When I first read this article, the way he writes, it is about culture of fear towards Deaf people, in encouraging Oralism and hatred because in his words, “….we can advance the work of teaching speech to the deaf in a way that has never hitherto been possible.” And that reeks of a red flag that with the goal of diminishing teachers of the Deaf, it may been point out to the image of Deaf teachers being as usefulness.
It was mind-boggling to read this article this morning and had promoted me to write this post because what it has bothered me the most that he encouraged the culture of fear and many technical articles had been biased towards Deaf people. “That fear has proven groundless….”
Why did NGS allow hate speech, deficit thinkers, and the formation of hate mongers that targets Deaf people today? The history exactly 130 years ago, the formation of hate speech in a popular magazine was invented and approved by the board including Alexander Graham Bell’s father in law and Bell himself. It has increased the culture of fear in higher friction by a factor of a million readers. The number was 40 million readers each month that time. Think about it.
When Alexander Graham Bell was chosen as second president of NGS in 1898, what was Deaf community like in that time? One year before he was appointed as president, Volta Bureau known as Alexander Graham Bell headquarters today was founded as a center to begin lab experiments on Deaf children.
Bell writes in his 1898, a 26-page paper called, The Question of Sign Language and the Utility of Signs—unbelievable. He said, “I say this from personal knowledge; for long before I became an instructor of the deaf, I was myself a teacher of elocution, as my father was before me, and my grandfather before him.” The legacy of Bell family continues. Notice his paper title? The questioning of sign language bears the authority and the culture of fear in Bell’s power.
Robert McGregor, the first president of National Association of the Deaf, two years before AGBell was chosen to run NGS, McGregor answers with strong message that we need to see:
“By whom then are signs proscribed? By a few educators of the deaf whose boast is that they do not understand signs and do not want to; by a few philanthropists who are otherwise ignorant of the language; by the parents who do not understand the requisites to the happiness of their deaf children and are inspired with false fears by the educators and philanthropists.” that can be found in the book, The Deaf Mute Howls by Albert Ballin. The key words: Philanthropists and false fears.
In that picture Bell said, “The world and all that is in it is our theme, and if we can’t find anything to interest ordinary people in that subject we better shut up shop”
That quote really ticks, no? AGBell and his father in law were huge philanthropists for NGS. No wonder why AGBell writes in Volta Review: “the review will be naturally be felt that in popularizing…” in the same theme above to shut up and dominate Deaf people.
The popularizing of Deaf people has been AGBell’s favorite target and the tolerant society of false fears continues in the name of NGS. The pursuit of happiness for Deaf children has also been targeted for cochlear implant industries, Oralism, mainstreaming and the laundry list of colonization and oppression. To face this betrayal of Deaf people dealing with hatred, it is urgent that we as Deaf community needs to realize that the reality that the language of crisis, is seriously needed to be examined and discussed.
Will we ever see an apology letter from National Geographic Society for encouraging hate speech towards Deaf children? Unchecked hate speech is expensive and we as Deaf community who are survivors of Alexander Graham Bell’s hateful ideologies, we cannot afford ignorance anymore. The exchange value of fear becomes dominant, and this has been recognized and reflected in language hegemony against sign languages and the culture of the Deaf. Time is spent, saved, invested, and wasted.
When I was a kid, I used to collect lots of magazines from National Geographic Society to educate myself to be aware and appreciate the “geographical experts” that later became the scarlet letter and hidden message just like da Vinci Code, and then I did not realize that I had been exploited to Alexander Graham Bell’s dark secrets within geographical borders. He was the master manipulator. As for the survivors of Alexander Graham Bell, in the past and present tense, I feel the pain. So much for Bell’s words, “In that Society the feeling was very generally entertained by the geographical experts, who largely composed the membership of the Society.”
40 million readers that time in 1888, eight years after notorious Milan Resolution, became the geographic experts to follow Alexander Graham Bell’s practice to teach Oralism and fire 90 percent of Deaf teachers has been dominated by hearing supremacy including hearing teachers taking their jobs away.
We see the word, “education” every day in our eyes, Is it one of the most complex noun of all? Education means “to train someone for what?” and AGBell believes in teacher-centered, not student-student. If a hearing teacher thinks a Deaf pupil is better off speaking, then the pupil is really struck more than we actually think.
Look at the image on above left side: imagine with Deaf people were being targeted in 1898, the loss of jobs, shamed, shunned, exploited, and ridiculed thanks to AGBell’s doing. What happened with the American democracy for Deaf Americans, Deaf immigrants from all walks of life who came to America for the quality of Deaf Education thanks to Clerc’s vision?
That came to all sense when I first found out about the history date this morning and lead me to do a lot of reading and felt the importance that we must boycott NGS and challenge AGBell’s lies for exposing media manipulation about Deaf children, signed languages and the “success” stories about Oralism.
It was also mind-boggling for me to write this, too. Looking back as a Deaf kid remembering my first time reading National Geographic Society, I felt violated. I even subscribed NGS with my hard-working money where I would chop a lot of woods and build chords getting ready for winter time. Do you feel the same way that you were being violated and exploited by AGBell later when you found out the truth in your adult life?
Today, in Deaf community, we need to focus on civil and human rights, social justice, and challenge the misconducts of Alexander Graham Bell. We have to stop any form of hate. By the way, you see Washington Monument when you visit in the nation’s capital. It was completed in 1888, that time it became the world’s tallest structure and let’s give Alexander Graham Bell the 555 feet middle finger. Do not be surprised that he witnessed the completion of Washington Monument.
What was he doing on October 9, 1888? Did he get the invitation to join the celebration? Get this, upon my research this morning, exactly four years on same date on October 9, 1884, he writes a paper in Washington, D.C., “The Deaf Audiometer”—Editorial copied from the “Deaf-Mute” Journal. In the opening statement: “Prof. Alexander Graham Bell is certainly laboring hard and faithfully in the interests of of the deaf and dumb” and here comes the statement we may not seen this before, “One of his newest devices is called the Audiometer, and is intended to test and register the hearing capacity of those who suffer partial or supposed total deafness”
What does it mean to you? To me, I have my thoughts what it means to me. Registering the hearing capacity is a form of bigotry. Is it also language hegemony? Language deprivation? Was it the beginning of the rise of cochlear implant industries and give AGBell as the champion of listening and speaking to wipe out the image of Deaf people that includes “partial or supposed total deafness”?
The highest goal is to hear completely again even with failed cochlear implant attempts, stem cells at the University of Bristol in England with hopes to cure Deaf people and many biased ideas is all about to register the hearing capacity again. The state of being Deaf is natural and biological. It is not pathological.
National Geographic Society was only nine months baby when the Washington Monument was completed that year. It’s the same idea when a mother carry a Deaf healthy baby in the womb for nine months. It is a biological condition. AGBell found a way to build that idea in his head for long time and used to trick Deaf people, the parents of Deaf children, and the society for his brilliance.
AGBell saw the idea of NGS as a baby step to remind the society that Deaf babies needs to forget themselves as the quote below but first, Alexander Graham Bell found a way to promote The Volta Review with the membership of NGS readers to expose Deaf children and the practice of Oralism. Did AGBell ever re-printed his most famous hate speech in 1884, “We should try ourselves to forget that they are deaf. We should try to teach them to forget that they are deaf “even after NGS was founded with the idea of adding the Volta Review to the readers? No way we can forget AGBell’s ideas in 1910 that we must repeat ourselves to remember this quote:
“If we meet with success at all comparable to that attained by the National Geographic Society, we can advance the work of teaching speech to the deaf in a way that has never hitherto been possible. If we fail, we are no worse off than before and can return to our present practice of supporting our publication from our endowment funds.”
-JT
Copyright © 2018 Jason Tozier
This text may be freely copied in its entirely only, including this copyright message.
References:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/magbell.17200101/?sp=1
https://www.loc.gov/resource/magbell.37600801/?sp=14
https://usdeafhistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/mcgregor-robert-bio1.pdf
https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1888
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Society#Founders
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell_honors_and_tributes
Ladd, Paddy. Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood. Page 129.
See? VRI Problems Continue….
NAD: VRI Concerns
National Association of the Deaf releases for anyone to carry with them all times with VRI card for medical settings (doctor, dentist, hospital, etc) that questions the liability and credibility with VRI companies.
...And the Truth Shall Set You Free. 
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