Pedagogy of the Oppressed – …And the Truth Shall Set You Free.

Survive

January 1, 2020January 1, 2020 The Last Hiccup1 Comment

From 2010-2020, this decade has been the challenging of how the stigma can be. Someone once said: ‘The thing that I did that I am most proud of this decade? Survive.’ the other day.

W.E.B. DuBois on Abraham Lincoln: “I love him not because he was perfect, but because he was not, and yet triumphed.”

Learning how to navigate a history of bullying, slandering, character assassination, and hate dynamics in regards to a modern scarlet letter. Wellness, healing, equity, and the paramount factor is not so easily accepted: Strength.

Everything is the opposite. Cyberculture is the new norm of bullying. Technology has adapted faster even before blink eyes every time is something of concern we should be aware of in the future.

The wisdom that I appreciate most from books can be found in their writings on how we should how to survive. Landauer’s For Socialism, Day’s Gramsci is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements, and Holloway’s Change the World Without Taking Power: The Meaning of Revolution Today, Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Baird and Rosenbaum’s Hatred, Bigotry, and Prejudice, Lawrence’s Punishing Hate: Bias Crimes Under American Law, and many others.

Indeed, for many of the great writers, critical thinking is not always abstract, head-in-the-clouds, the kind of thing, but focus on how to survive in a hate-filled life. Professors whom I admire the most, they teach not just as something you do, but find the purpose of living. And I am grateful to know them.

Majoring in Sociology was the best decision rather than advanced math and signed up for those courses that impacted my life forever; Revolution and Radical Social Change, Hate Crimes and Bias, Methodology of the Oppressed, but not something like this, until the book surfaced: Understanding Deaf Culture: in Search of Deafhood by Paddy Ladd in 2010 had changed my life more than anything.

I wonder all the time, if I have not read Ladd’s book, I wouldn’t be here. Honestly, I wouldn’t be here. I am grateful for the book. It is one of many reasons: survive. Every day is filled with mystery and answers to make all the difference in the world.

Encouraging suicide by its Deaf community is something really tough to bear with, and I am thankful for Deaf-centered counseling. Rehabilitation is the key. The obstacles seem insurmountable, and the people I love and care the most had been supportive, though I am about as depressed as I’ve been and kept thinking that it is unbelievable for me to survive through.

Stigma sucks. I walk that road and I keep walking, no matter what how hard it is in the spite of cyberculture, and that makes all the difference, where an 18th-century British legal scholar, Sir William Blackstone: “It is but reasonable that among crimes of different natures those should be most severely punished, which are the most destructive of the public safety and happiness.”

Here comes 2020. I look forward to finishing my greatest project. As of 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln: “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”

The thing that I did that I am most proud of this decade? Survive.

-JT

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Deaf People Without Stories

April 5, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

April 5th. Five years ago today, it was the last show Deafhood Monologues in DC. Being part of the cast had made me better person. Deafhood Monologues set the determination to lift up the awareness and empowers the significance of Deaf people, whose stories captured the consciousness of Deaf community.

Some of people I know who attended Deafhood Monologues shows have given them optimism. It has been a defining moment for them and will do their best ability to their thinking and decisions throughout their lives.

Seeing stories in ASL, have the power to make a difference when a difference is what Deaf community needs. After seeing those stories during audition sessions, there are Deaf people throughout the world; I was inspired by the strength and compassion.

Lastly, Deafhood Monologues was a brilliant idea. They have made a powerful message that will reverberate across America: Deaf people who have been deeply oppressed by oppressors can no longer buy their way out of trouble.

Seeing ASL stories in Deafhood Monologues by powering this movement with truth to continue a commitment in social justice for Deaf people. Stories are powerful movement.

-JT

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Trump’s Speech: State of the Hate

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Fear-Rejection Thoughts Is Not Love

January 29, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

We do not need fear-rejecting thoughts in Deaf community. If bystanders cannot find anything to recognize bullying, then they have committed a crime. Suicide is a tragic response to bullying. The problem is that it is very rarely discussed in Deaf community.

I am writing about Deaf returning citizens. They could easily take their lives away. Would it be a criminal act if Deaf returning citizens take their own lives if they are severely bullied daily in same Deaf community they live and breathe in? Deaf community loves to bully and would make up rumors that make it look true. Can Deaf community accept the fact that the suicides are the evidence of BIGGER problems than being bullied?

The fear-rejecting about Deaf returning citizens is a huge problem. The bullies would cruelly exploit that social prejudice, and got away with it. There are three important factors that we all need to know and be aware about it.

Number One: Oppression

Number Two: Dehumanization

Number Three: Exploitation

Remember the book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire? He once wrote about dehumanization in 1981:

Dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen, but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human….Th[e] struggle [for humanization] is possible only because dehumanization, although a concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed.”

Deaf returning citizens have been subject of the oppressed. When bullies are not punished, did they also harm themselves that they intend to do? If a bully crosses the line between hate speech, invasion of privacy, or harassment, is it OK for the bully to harass Deaf returning citizens daily? There are many ways to address bullying, harassment, hate speech, death threats, and stalking.

In Deaf community, it is an international problem. Can we have conversation about the importance of educating love instead of hate? The importance of civility and respect would be more effective tool for Deaf community to heal.

-JT

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A Witch Hunt: America 1883

April 13, 2017April 14, 2017 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Over the last couple of years, I have been meeting some of Deaf people who were colonized by Alexander Graham Bell’s witch-hunt. Words are too great to describe. The practices of Alexander Graham Bell Association bring in the climate of environmental hate. After reading a book, The Colonizer and the Colonized written by Albert Memmi for my Methodology of the Oppressed class in 2011, that day I remember sharing with the class about AGB’s speech in 1883:

Those who believe as I do, that the production of a defective race of human beings would be a great calamity to the world, will examine carefully the causes that lead to the intermarriages of the deaf with the object of applying a remedy.”

One of the classmates I never met before said, “It is the problem that AGB lack human-consciousness.” and that was probably best answer I’ve seen from a hearing ally. Their attitudes do serve to juxtapose the consumptions of Deaf people to that of the inhabitants of Americans; however, I think a further look could possibly be taken.

Within millions of potential allies in America, how is it not possible to see people curb their ignorance about hate crimes? Is it because the Deaf people have a tendency towards more Deaf-centered way of life? The quality of hate depreciation is also real.

Where are hearing allies? We need more allies. The classmate whom I also never met before as well, came up to greet herself and said that she read a book, “When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf, one of Harlan Lane’s books for her ASL class years ago in California. The teacher was wise to recommend the book even though it was not required for the class. “Recommend Reading” really makes all the difference. Thank you!

This line and many other examples in media and print reminds me of a Rubik’s cube that finds with hearing allies and those without, as if Deaf people gain a higher sense of self in their differences. We need more hearing allies to pass national hate crime law that targets Deaf people. After all, we need a big group of stronger human consciousness, too.

Friday, April 14th evening, there will be a vigil held at Gallaudet University around Laurent Clerc bust to share their stories what they experienced Audism in their lives.

-JT

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More Than Just Being Boxed In: Attacking Deaf People is a New Norm

February 25, 2017February 25, 2017 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

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

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Alexander Graham Bell: The Virtual Threat of Hearing Ideology

October 25, 2016 The Last Hiccup2 Comments

Stop the Viral Hate: Targeting Nyle DiMarco

September 27, 2015September 2, 2017 The Last Hiccup9 Comments

Almost everyone will agree that cyberbullying refers to the situation people describe and support Nyle DiMarco in every aspect of a human form. “The cat is on the mat”—referring to someone who cyberbullies someone else who is in which a cat is on the mat. It is important that the community accountability must be shared, but the people are reluctant to draw the consequences one would expect them to draw when cyberbullying follows a phrase like “believes” or “sees”. For consider this sequence of cyberbullying propositions:

One believes that the cat is on the mat.

The cat is Tabby.

One believes that Tabby is on the mat.

Suppose the cyberbullying is allowed against Nyle DiMarco just because whether he is gay or not—what do you call it? Speak out. Applaud positive messages. Talk to others about what you’ve seen. Recognition of bias. Community accountability is a shared responsibility. Speak out consistently and forcefully–against hate and bigotry. Now imagine that Nyle had already experienced plenty of subsequent cyberbullying—in Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the language is clear that they do not allow him to break free of civilization, bound to their rules, must suffer oppression or die.

I believe community accountability and bring out awareness is in order. Will Nyle ever feel safe—-it is more than just hostile—more like, well, you know. I myself experienced as a subject of a rumormongering mill and cyberbullying countless of times.

There is a book sitting on my shelf, Viral Hate: Containing its Spread on The Internet written by Abraham H. Foxman and Christopher Wolf in page 135,

“Dear Darren,

Thank you for your lovely message, how nice of you to notice that I am Kind, I do try. As for the subjects you wanted to advice on–I’ll do my best but believe me, I’m no oracle. Yes I do believe that there are more than enough crazy people in the world, it always amazes me that people who wouldn’t have been allowed crayons 10 year ago now have access to the Internet, BTW what is your favorite colour crayon? Mine is blue, they taste best.

I doubt that the world would be better without gays; to be honest they would be a miss to the caring and service professions and don’t even get me started on hair dressing. Less beans would make the world a far worse place in my opinion, I love baked beans on toast and chili just isn’t a chili without kidney beans—so I’ll have to disagree with you there too. I love my tranny, I listen to the BBC Radio 4 during the day for plays and comedies and discussions while I’m working, so I’d miss that a lot. Being gay isn’t really a disability, unless you’re a stud horse or a homophobic bigot, in which case I find that most homophobic bigots hide their latent homosexuality (That means gayness) and attack people who are openly gay so they feel less insecure about themselves, but I don’t need to explain that any further to you, do I?

Thank you for the excellent advice, my page, which has 400,000+ members, with MILLIONS of post views and website hits per month will be deleted immediately; because we wouldn’t want word to get out would we?

Bye for now poppet, take care.

Wipe out Homophobia xxx”

-JT

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