Ugly Laws – …And the Truth Shall Set You Free.

NAD: Being Deaf Cannot Be a Basis For Denying Ventilators

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

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?

The Stories of Racial Segregation in Deaf Black Community in Washington, D.C.;

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

Today (May 24) in 1951, racial segregation in Washington, D.C. restaurants ruled illegal. It became a big deal. The history in Deaf community, I am sure that there are stories by Deaf Black people who experienced racial segregation in D.C., even as Gallaudet students. The stories of Deaf Black Gallaudet students would deliver to the Deaf community, as to the rest of the world. It was the wave of racism made the weak weaker, and most of the strong weaker.

The reason I write this blog post is because I am an ally. I oppose the structure of racism, and that is where I follow W.E.B. DuBois philosophy, “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.”

I cannot fathom the idea of racial segregating Deaf Black people in DC, the home of Deaf Utopia, hence Gallaudet University. The term of “Utopia” is noun. I looked up the definition, “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.”

Is Deaf community perfect? Is Gallaudet community perfect?

A while ago, in one of my previous posts, I explained the history of “ugly laws” that would target Deaf people. It actually existed. The last city to repeal ugly laws was in Chicago, 1974. When I took course called “Images of Disability People in Film and Literature” in 2010, my professor had instructed me to read a book called The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public, Susan M. Schweik.

I am sure that there were stories in nation’s capital where Deaf Black people would walk into restaurants and would get targeted, attacked, ridiculed, and ostracized between racial segregation and ugly laws makes it triple alienation and oppression against Deaf Black people. The meaning of alienation: “the state of experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved.”

At the height of the culture wars in Deaf community, it is time to learn and respect Black Deaf community stories that would make things the consistent responsibility of life. Deaf Black people continue to be in the circle of language minority just like Deaf community goes through the phrase.

It would be nice if there were any surviving Deaf Black Gallaudet students who experienced racial segregation in restaurants would share stories. I have not read any books or articles that would share their experiences prior to 1951 or in this matter, the very day today when it became illegal, how would they react to the change of life?

-JT

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Philip Wolfe: Living Audism Through Life of Portland

April 15, 2018April 15, 2018 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

Rightful Presence in Justice: Challenging ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 620)

September 13, 2017September 13, 2017 The Last HiccupLeave a comment

I am writing this out of my great concern to respond what Congress wants to pass so-called The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Education and Reform Act of 2017 [H.R. 620] this coming Thursday, September 14^th. From the moment of its passage in 1990, it has quickly reached an unprecedented global scope, overwhelming the human rights formed by Deaf people because of Deaf President Now (DPN) in 1988 to the waves of marginalized people from shore to shore in America upheavals of earlier decades.

ADA became important for everyone including Deaf people and Disabled people. The doors were open. They were left out for generations. It reminds me of a movie called Music Within based on a true story. Richard Pimentel who lost his hearing during war in Vietnam then comes home and became oppressed after that then he became a disability rights advocate. One scene where he and his friend in a wheelchair went into a restaurant in Portland, Oregon and the waitress asked them to leave because they were not “standard” people according to a law called “Ugly Laws” so controversial that made people hate people who had disabilities.

The law continued to practice for almost 100 years from late 1860s until 1970s– several American cities followed the law where people were “unsightly” or “unseemly” to appear in public then it was removed from the law books. ADA of 1990 recognized the growing pain of ugly laws and gave those people with disabilities to have rights. No more hatred. Sandra Fredman in her book, Discrimination Law in 2011, writes:

Individuals with disabilities are a discrete and insular minority who have been faced with restrictions and limitations, subjected to a history of purposeful unequal treatment, and relegated to a position of political powerlessness in our society, based on characteristics that are beyond the control of such individuals and resulting from stereotypic assumptions not truly indicative of the individual ability of such individuals to participate in, and contribute to, society.

Tyler Ray, Americans Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] Washington Legislative Office and Vania Leveille, Senior Legislative Counsel writes on September 6, 2017:

H.R. 620 would completely change the way in which a business is required to comply with the ADA. Instead of requiring that a business comply proactively, the bill would place the burden on the individual who is being denied access. This bill proposes that after an individual with a disability is denied she must first notify the business owner, with exacting specificity, that her civil rights were violated, and then wait for six months to see if the business will make “substantial progress” toward access, before going to a court to order compliance.

The key word: “would place the burden on the individual who is being denied access”—isn’t that the same thing that applies to so-called Ugly Laws? The civil rights would be violated in the highest sense of oppression. The disabled people are at a higher risk of rejecting in a bias-motivated attitude. Why should Deaf people and disabled people suffer and deal with Eighth Amendment “nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” in the United States Constitution?

As bad as Congress brought the idea about wanting to pass unlawful H.R. 620, we must remind ourselves that the old-school politicians have since the last removal of Ugly Law in 1970s, at least moved in the direction of making strongest effort possible, through the eyes of public policy, to reduce inequality for Deaf and disabled people. We must also be aware of 1964 Civil Rights Act, and ADA that has carried the legacy in our society to keep and protect the rights of all our citizens. No matter what the cost is. The H.R. 620 is unconstitutional and inhumane!

-JT

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

References:

Fredman, Sandra (2011). Discrimination Law [2^nd ed.]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 96.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/disability-rights/congress-wants-change-americans-disabilities-act-and-undermine-civil-rights