Sign Language – …And the Truth Shall Set You Free.

Laurent Clerc: United Nations Human Rights Prize

December 11, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

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?

Laurent_Clerc_Bust_by_Carl_Conrads,_American_School_for_the_Deaf,_West_Hartford,_CT_-_January_2016_01.JPG

-JT

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

LEAD-K Open Video: Will AGBell Ever Condemn Hate?

October 30, 2018 The Last Hiccup1 Comment

Celebrate International Day of Sign Languages!

September 23, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Why Should Deaf Children Be Condemned for Life?

September 12, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

This is invisible hate crime, folks. This is the world where Deaf children can no longer protect themselves. Every year, thousands of Deaf children are mockingly targeted without compassion because they’re easy to target for greed.

For example, a cochlear implant surgeon saying, “Here is a child with no hearing whatever. Previously that child would have been condemned to a life of signing, special schools, and now…we can restore that sense. And the vast majority of the children will given a really a virtually normal life.”

It is a sign of dangerous framing. There are two meanings of the word: “condemned”

Express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure.

Sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, especially death.

Death. Does it look familiar? We the Deaf are in constant danger other than sign language. The sound /f/ in the term, Deaf shares the same fricative—the force of the breath through a constricted or partially obstructed passage in the vocal tract—with the sound of /th/ in the term, death. Deaf people are being punished because they are Deaf. Can we understand and combat hate crime and form of bigotry? Are hate crime, hate speech, and hate literature about Deaf people getting worse?

We all should read Tarski’s Theory of Truth written by Hartry Field and his structure of ideas, sometimes paradoxical, inconsistent, or contradictory, that people have about good and bad, about beautiful and ugly, and about right and wrong, which are the justifications that people cite to explain their actions.

The theory of truth along which people make judgments are all dependent upon what they learn from childhood. These include judging between right and wrong, between good and bad, and between beautiful and ugly, all based upon social and community values. They are not acquired through our genes, but through our socialization. That implies that they can be relearned; that we could change our judgments.

In the broad sweep of human existence, the general trend of change has been for a decrease in the number of truth, and a reduction from societal differences in society to secular space. From local community with theory of truth, Deaf people moved to a community with struggles, from that Deaf people moved to truth and an increase in the proportion of people, like cochlear implant surgeons who believe in no truth.

The impact of hate crime had spread well beyond the immediate survivors and victims and the target of Deaf community to the general society.

This effect includes practice of hate speech, like this surgeon’s words: “Previously that child would have been condemned to a life of signing”—-is the central point here is that Deaf people are continually punished in the name of hate crimes, we must understand precisely why Deaf children are punishing, and it is a hate crime grounded in name of Audism as well. Audism is in the umbrella of hate.

What we need is in this world, is not healthy, what we need is not hatred of Deaf people, and what we need is not punishment of Deaf people, what we need is love and wisdom.

-JT

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

Without Limits?

June 3, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

History on this day, June 2nd—in 1875 and 1907 has something in common what they had been bullying Deaf people ever since–battery economics and make a huge profit off them.

World Health Organization: Change Attitude Towards Deaf People

April 7, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

What if Albert Einstein Learns Sign Language First?

February 25, 2018February 25, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

56c508d221723.image.jpg

Did you know Einstein was plagued by speech difficulty and could not speak until he turned four years old? He should have learned sign language first place! It would save a lot of trouble. Maybe his IQ would be sky-rocket the roof. Why? There are plenty of researches shows that learning sign language first would boost IQ. It is a sign of intelligence. He once said about language:

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is the language of the soul. Pay attention to your imagination and you will discover all you need to be fulfilled.”

-JT

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

ALERT! AGBell is Back in…..Oregon?

February 19, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

That is right. Alexander Graham Bell Association is making a come back for the state of Oregon chapter. Janet Weil, President of AGBell, Oregon Chapter writes, “Did you know that his headstone in Nova Scotia says, ‘Teacher of the Deaf’?” to make sure Oregon must be listening and speaking state champion. Rake in big money. Nothing more important than the legacy of Audism continues to bulldoze Deaf community. No headstone of AGBell is allowed in Oregon.

Ms. Weil had enthusiastically described and explained in her letter, that it is time to track and deliver the message that AGBell services could provide. With confidence in an oppressive tone, she had brought her authority to a close with in her mind, “Now we are making sure Deaf community will lose”—It took only a few seconds for her to realize that she was in for a disaster.

Just three sets of eye staring—one set at her, one set at Deaf community, and one set out to get rid of American Sign Language (ASL) and force them to listen and speak instead. As the silence walks into Deaf eyes, Janet needs to know that her confidence is slipping away. The Audist behavior. Understanding the Audist behavior. Audists in review. Coping with Audists.

There were plenty of Deaf Oregonians had been oppressed under AGBell practices according to Paulo Freire in his book: The Politics of Education:

Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”

AGBell was powerful and Deaf Oregonians were powerless. They were forced to side with the powerful dictatorship, according to Ms. Weil’s “Teacher of the Deaf” refers in to AGBell. Now they are no longer powerless. The key is to cope successfully with complainers like AGBell. We need to know what lies behind their actions and how easy it is to be sucked into their world. We need to be aware the real problems, but AGBell is doing it in a private manner that elicits defensive responses from Deaf community.

Survivors of AGBell practices, we understand as the only kind of active behavior that seems possible to those people like AGBell feels powerless to determine Deaf people’s own fate. Deaf community refuses to be powerless when they favor American Sign Language for the instruction of learning. Ms. Weil writes, “I am passionate about this organization http://www.agbell.org and even more excited about what we can all do together to make a lasting difference, while having a great time. Looking forward to hearing from you.”

Who might Janet Weil? Her uncle, Arthur Simon was a founder of the Deaf Adults Section of AGB. She was an executive director and principal for Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of BC (British Columbia) in Vancouver, Canada and it has been supported by the Alexander Graham Bell Association in Washington, D.C. and has been frequent supporter for VOLTA VOICES. She was a teacher-trained at Central Institute for the Deaf.

Any AGBell chapters in America, including Oregon are not welcomed. Deaf community will be continue to be the protectors of ASL, and give Janet Weil the balloon known as the phony know-it-all expert, balloons seek the attention of others by acting an expert when she is not. Janet also needs to be aware that she is not speaking for us, Deaf community behind her knowledge. Janet’s balloon is often tracking and targeting Deaf people for information to make AGBell proud, and that would lead to trouble only and be aware that the balloon will face the moment of truth that AGBell will be immobilized. Inactive. Deactivate.

Notice the area code. 415. That is in San Francisco. Janet is making all the decisions while living in California and tell Oregon what to do to build more Audists. What an attitude! How much is she getting paid to do? Living in San Francisco is expensive…….

The presence of ASL will always bring awareness and the probability of Oralism loss of face, on the other hand, will reduce the balloon to the most elemental kind of knowledge. ASL will always making a lasting a difference for lifetime. ASL will be always expensive to replace for listening and speaking or in the name of Oralism to please AGBell.

Do we do not need more scars anymore?

-JT

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

That’s a Good Example of Hate Crime!

March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Last January 2017, a woman used a “hate-spew” language to attack by shoving Deaf girl’s head for using sign language on the train in England. I think the woman should be charged for hate crime where the law already recognized its civic duties to protect Deaf citizens in England.

They have a hate crime reporting system and had taught Deaf people how to report. To my understanding, it is believed to be the world’s first hate reporting against Deaf person. Let’s see if the law stands true.

The story is real. People who committed those actions against Deaf citizens had not charged for hate crime, wondering if the society is ignorant, while most of Deaf citizens are facing the most intense treatment than others, the society do not need to mimic Deaf community. The social media is heavily flawed.

The link to the story: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/police-release-image-woman-want-12805190

-JT

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

Oralism Survivors: Strength is Great!

September 11, 2016February 20, 2017 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

The heat of the night burns so vividly that Oralism survivors feel their strength and their destroyer fighting for the soul like the Deaf people later in life, they are the divided sea, they are the freed people. They are the middle ground watching, waiting, painting, loving, and dying. They are here to live. They are here for death. Today, September 11th—136 years ago in 1880, Milano, Italy began to ban signed languages around the world for the sake of Oralism.

The death of signed language tormented by the serpent and his leeches that leech upon their insides like a heart in love with another that loves it. Deaf people are the life of a whole that they will never fully comprehend until they live no more. They are the cold of the dawn. They are the skin from a disgusting scar, picked off by a sharp infected nail. They are the nails. They are the eye that sees you and feel strength. They are the mind that the greatest have questioned and tested for years. They are the great that questions and tests.

Are Deaf people or even American Sign Language the question? That is a test. They are the wind that blows so fiercely now and is completely absent!

Now they are the last beat of your heart. Your heat is the only filth keeping Deaf community alive. Your heart is the key to the strength. The strength has been here before. They have been here before. Nothing new is under the sun. They are above and beyond the sun, in the brightness of the Deaf community and the darkness of the cosmos.

Waiting for the real Big Bang. The collide of Deaf community so immense that they all could never explain, so small that they will never truly feel it. They know that it is there; they know that it is coming. Are they coming?

They are coming! They are the climax of a passionate protector amongst the AGBell beasts the society created from dirt, water, and soul. They are the rib from that reason. They are the day, night, water, and air that the reason Deaf community was created days before something created them. They are a flame. They shine a light whose worth is only appreciated in the darkness. Own it up, AGBell! Remember your STRENGTH!

-JT

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