What’s In It For Me?
A friend of mine sent the ECA video to hearing people who had absolutely zero exposure to the deaf. Their feedback was interesting, because their response was basically, “What’s equal communication access? What’s the costs? What’s in it for me? How will it affect me?“
The message was lost on them. Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail from one such person:
Personally, I think they need to define what they mean by Equal Communication Access which is repeated over and over again with no explanation of what it is. A guy like me is left asking questions like, what does it mean, will it cost much, is the technology there, will I be forced to see subscripts when I go to a movie, etc.?
Another e-mail that I got said:
equal communication access: the term is not very well defined in the video. the video is very strong with all different people making a statement. However, it is not clear at all what equal communication access means. I got that it means: answer relay phones and provide written translations. Is that what equal communication access means?
Later on the same person clarified:
I get the equal access concept. But the specific list of things, facilities, programs that make that up are totally NOT in the video. There is an experience of people signing, people communicating in sign language. but there is no message. It is lost. Sorry, it doesn’t tell me what is needed.
I consider this feedback to be extremely valuable. What they’re saying isn’t something that we like being told, but this is how hearing people without any exposure to the deaf think. This goes back to my previous post, Deaf Public Relations.
We need to adjust our message to something that hearing people will understand and relate with, so we can win our fight for equality. This has been a learning experience for me, and I am hoping that the ECA website will accomplish more than what the ECA video has done thus far. And I am hoping that we, as a community, recognize this weakness of ours, so we can adjust our tactics and message.
26 Comments
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Oscar the Observer said,
July 11, 2007 at 10:53 am
Ouch! Yeah, it takes work but we will succeed if we plug on. Look at Gary Brooks. He was right. I really really will like it if you and others get back together again and brainwash for part two. Leave the part one alone, it caused a sensation and that is good. Now time to move on to in-depth repeating of what had been already saying for so long here but in sound-bites so beloved by this fast time generation.
Janis said,
July 11, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I think the best thing to do is to show how things are now — what’s the problem that “equal communications access” is supposed to solve? Show people going to a movie, maybe four people sitting down in theater chairs with popcorn and sodas, three hearing, one deaf. The movie starts, and everyone is listening and watching. They all leave, and the three hearing people are chatting about the movie, and the deaf person is doing the bluffing thing — thought bubbles show her thinking, “Oh wait a minute, that guy was her brother?” “Hold on, I thought they were married.” “Oh, he was the bad guy!” Other sorts of misunderstandings that show how people get left out when there isn’t ECA.
It might be neat to contrast that with deaf people and one hearing person chatting in sign language, and the hearing person is then the one who is left out and doesn’t know what’s going on. Then the voice bubbles would pop up over their head: “I didn’t know they were married. So he’s her brother!” And so forth.
Then, list the things like movies, YouTube, etc. etc. that deaf people are left out on without minor accomodations.
Then show the people signing about supporting it.
Then, list the minor accomodations — relay calls, rear-window captions, closed captions, subtitles, interpreters, etc. Focus on how these are industries that employ people and are positive for the economy as a result. Dont’ talk about costs — talk about the number of people employed in these various industries.
Wrap up with “ECA is good for deaf people, good for hearing people, and good for the economy.” Something like that.
Show the problem with a concrete example of a person being shafted by it. Then, explain the problem, then show how it can be solved, and how it’s a positive thing. That’s a lot, but it can be done fairly briskly, I think.
Janis said,
July 11, 2007 at 1:01 pm
It’s also important to realize that “how does this relate to me?” isn’t just a selfish question, although it can be. Peopel are so used to thinking of anyone different requiring accomodation as being ballast on everyone else; we fail to understand that all of life is a process of accomodating others around us, and that this isn’t holding back our lives, it IS our lives.
Most hearing people just don’t understand what the problems are, and how they impact your lives. If we are sympathetic, we still will ask ourselves after seeing something like that, “Okay … so what do I do now?” Any project like this must explain the problem, and then give people concrete things they can do, things that don’t just consist of “write a letter to your congresscritter.” The worst thing you can do is to get people riled up or excited about something, and then not tell them something they can do about it. “How does this relate to me?” also means, “What can I do to help?”
Show an example of an actual person being negatively affected, then explain the problem, then tell people what they can do. That’s the basic formula.
Ross said,
July 11, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Speaking as the brother of a certain deaf pundit, I have to admit that I had a somewhat similar reaction as the first two quoted comments above. At least, the first part, which I think some of you may tend to ignore because you’re objecting to the second part (”how will it affect me?”). The first part being the criticism that “Equal Communication Access” is poorly defined – I think this is valid.
Although I thought the video was good, I did find myself wishing that at the beginning of it, it explained clearly what ECA means in this context. You might think it’s self-evident, but I think it can mean different things to different people, especially deaf vs hearing people, the latter tending to take certain things for granted when it comes to communication. So some pithy examples of what you mean would definitely benefit the message, IMO.
A Deaf Pundit said,
July 11, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Hi Ross! Good to see you stop by here.
Do you think it was explained at all in the video? From the e-mails I got, they didn’t even understand the interpreters part, which sort of boggles my mind.
It’s hard for me to come up with a concept video-wise that would be free. But giving pithy examples, in your words, is definitely doable with a website though, which is what I’m working on next.
Do you think statistics blended with anecdotal examples would be good to get the message across?
And I personally don’t object to the second part ‘how will this affect me?’ because that’s human nature. We always had, have and will have to deal with that, and if we don’t find an effective way to deal with that, we won’t get anywhere.
drmzz said,
July 11, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Good feedback. Revise and add more text in between pix and vids then if permitting.
A Deaf Pundit said,
July 11, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I don’t plan onto doing another video for a while. This one was a lot of work, and my main focus right now is the website. If someone else wants to do a video, feel free to.
BEG said,
July 11, 2007 at 2:54 pm
This is extremely intersting though, whether or not the original video is revised. It gives us some ideas of how to frame our message even in just day to day life.
(I’m still kinda trying to refrain from banging my head against the desk over the sheer unadulturated self-centeredness of some of this, though…”Will I have to see subtitles? *SOB*”…Oh cry me a river already…ack…)
OK, where was I? Oh, this does relate to a tack I’ve taken before. Why would anyone want subtitles or transcripts of those youtube videos? Well if you’re in the LIBRARY or some place public, do you really want your laptop to suddenly start belting out Neil Diamond or whatever your guilty pleasure is? Or airports…why not use those “silent radio” things. Hearing people complain about not being able to follow the PA system, too.
Chris Heuer said,
July 11, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Well, it depends on the situation, right? To me “Equal Communication Access” means English text in movies, etc, but it also means ASL in the classroom. Those are two very different things requiring very different and in-depth explanations. Still, yes, I agree, this is valuable feedback.
Jean Boutcher said,
July 11, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Time has changed as of late. Nowadays hearing people do not know what “I am deaf” means. Deaf means wheelchairing, or blind, for that matter. Someone has theorised that a term, “hearing-impaired,” would get the government’s attention (money) more promptly. Hence: “I am hearing-impaired.
I deserve equal communication access.”
Janis said,
July 11, 2007 at 4:02 pm
“Will I have to see subtitles? *SOB*”…Oh cry me a river already…ack…
This objection in particular is so insane and unlikely that the only reason someone could possibly bring it up is the age-old fear of the majority that the minority will “revolt” in some way if they’ve given an inch of slack.
Yes. Yes, you will. Deaf people, angry and heavily armed after generations of oppression, will tie you down and etch subtitles into your retinas with laser cannons. Immediately after that, they will make speaking in public a capital crime, and spray-paint your ears red as a badge of shame. o_O
In some ways, though, I don’t think they even know what technology is there to propvide captions only to those who need them. I admit, I don’t care for them. They pull my eye to the bottom of the screen and make watching the movie strange, visually. But show people rear-window captioning systems and stuff like that, and I guarantee you, they’re reaction will be, “Cool!” so far as you explain to them that the cost for this is a bare fraction of the zillions of dollars your average movie costs anyhow.
It’s the same old crap from any majority — ignorance, and fear.
A Deaf Pundit said,
July 11, 2007 at 4:02 pm
BEG: You make me laugh!
But yes, I agree. You make good points. I’ve never heard of the silent radio thing. Could you please elaborate on that?
Chris: ASL everywhere, not just in the classroom. We need qualified ASL interpreters, as you already know.
The more I see, the more I realize that there is no way we can pack all of the information in a 3 minute video. We did definitely get attention, which is good. Next is the website. I hope we can finish it soon. Heh!
Jean: I don’t like the hearing-impaired label. Deaf and hard of hearing is sufficient. My off the cuff response to those who are like, ‘What’s deaf?’ is, “Look it up in the frigging dictionary.”
I mean, come on. If someone thinks deaf means a person in a wheelchair or a blind person, then they got more problems than we do!
Janis said,
July 11, 2007 at 4:11 pm
ADP, “deaf” is actually a complex word for a hearing person. It took me a very, very long time to realize that “deaf” didn’t mean “can’t hear at all.” Generally, it means “doesn’t hear to the point where the inability to interface with hearing people and technology is a serious pain in the ass.” But it’s surprising for hearing people to realize that a person can speak, sign, be unable to use a phone easily, listen to and enjoy music, and need captions — and that “deaf” encompasses all this.
Every deaf person shouldn’t feel the need or be expected to explain this over and over; that’s a huge burden to place on you, and it’s not fair. But speaking as a hearing person, “deaf” is complicated in a lot of ways.
It’s strange how something so everpresent in one person’s life can be so alien to another’s … There really should be something like a “Deaf 101″ sort of thing, like those “Computers for Dummies” books. I’d say “Deafness for Dummies,” but somehow I don’t think that’s the best choice of words here.
A Deaf Pundit said,
July 11, 2007 at 4:14 pm
*laughs about Deafness for Dummies*
Hmm. Okay. Maybe I’ll put up a ‘Deaf 101′ section on the ECA website.
Janis said,
July 11, 2007 at 5:16 pm
ADF, I’m wondering if I might not be a good person to put up something as well. If I read yours and try to do a “Deafness For The Clueless But Well-Meaning Hearie” sort of post, I’ll pop it along to you, k?
A Deaf Pundit said,
July 11, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Sure. You’re a hearing person, so you’re more understanding of where the hearing are coming from.
Dianrez said,
July 11, 2007 at 6:11 pm
It’s a valid question: “what is in it for me?” Any other approach would take the pity tack: help the deaf with their communication problem.
A better message to the hearing, they NEED Deaf people to communicate with them for their own benefit. We provide services, accommodations, and products, we assist their needs in various ways, and we do them as paid employees, consumers, professionals, and friends and neighbors. Don’t overlook the Deaf because they do benefit society. That message should go over a lot better than the pity card. The relay ads that say “not to hang up on the deaf caller; it might be their most important business of the day” had the right tack.
A third approach is simply information: Deaf people use these various ways to communicate; and explains the interpreter, the VP, the pager, etc…interesting, informative and gives the hearing people more understanding of what happens when they see it. This is more neutral.
LaRonda said,
July 11, 2007 at 7:14 pm
I agree with Mike. I think if there were more text in between the vids giving more information about what ECA is, what people can do, and where they can go for more information, this would help. I know this was a lot of work, but if you could continue with it, it could really make a difference in the world!
~ LaRonda
Bill said,
July 11, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I disagree with more text in the video – with the exception of pointing them to the website, and the website should containing the answers to their questions, the resources, how it might apply to them, a list/description of people/companies who are doing good things, a place to ask more questions.
My 1 cent.
drmzz said,
July 12, 2007 at 2:20 am
Good riddance then. Buh bye.
BEG said,
July 16, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Oh, the silent radio thing. Maybe that’s not the right name for it. I’m thinking of that red LED light thing, that has a constant stream of text going on it. If each gate had its own, then that text could easily list when the next flight was in, when people should queue up for boarding (and which seat numbers are up) that kind of thing.
A Deaf Pundit said,
July 16, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Ah, okay. I call that the ticker screen.
Thanks for clarifying!
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a Dark Ally said,
September 9, 2007 at 9:31 am
I haven’t watched the video (yet), but I came here looking for Deaf Pundit because I did just post a reference to her on my blog:
http://www.reflexivity.us/blog/archives/002656.html
This conversation about ECA is interesting. If I can just jump in with my own two cents, non-deaf people are NOT going to understand ECA from explanations. Ever. They need to FEEL it. Most of them, anyway. As an interpreter, I am amazed at the skill of some hearies who just seem to fall easily into the rhythm of interpretation and completely embrace the deaf person as a total human being. It does happen! But not as often as one would like.
Most hearies need a lot of process time working through some kind of similar experience of exclusion or confusion or frustration with communication before they can begin to wrap their heads around why ECA matters.
The idea of a tape with thought bubbles is cool, and I’d encourage “bubbles” on both sides. Hearing people leave interpreted events with questions too; they are just different than the ones Deaf people have.
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