Open Letter To ALL Deaf Organizations
Two recent incidents in the media has prompted me to write this open letter to all Deaf organizations. The first incident in the media was the “House Divided” episode on the television show, House MD. In that episode, the show turned into a science fiction instead of being the usual medical drama. A boy was secretly cochlear implanted by Dr. House, then immediately afterwards, the boy could understand everything he was hearing. No speech therapy. No training. No waiting period for the CI to be turned on.
Then the boy rips out the CI. Talk about a poorly researched script!
Now we have this article in Newsweek, which is linked on DeafRead. In this article, the journalist compares the culturally Deaf to those who are mentally ill and being proud about refusing their medication.
In other words, the journalist thinks a Deaf person has to have a cochlear implant to have a good life, to have control over their lives, to be able to participate in society on an equal basis. No mention about American Sign Language or Deaf Culture is mentioned in this article.
I am personally outraged at the irresponsibility by the media. The flawed information and perceptions presented by the media are damaging to the Deaf Community. This only perpetuates further discrimination and misinformation about us, making it harder for us to get equal communication access and respect for our language and culture.
So my question to all of the Deaf organizations out there: Why aren’t you doing something about this?
There’s only so much I can do as a v/blogger. Why aren’t we seeing action on these matters from our organizations that exist to serve us?
Audism Runs Amok in Hollywood!
There’s an uproar in the Deaf Community over how we were portrayed in the recent episode of ‘Cold Case’. A Deaf person murdered a cochlear implanted person over the implant. Now, I haven’t seen the episode myself, but a comment (#31) over on MishkaZena’s blog caught my attention.
This person is basically saying we’re getting upset over nothing, we’re too sensitive, being unrealistic, and s/he’s tired of listening to our complaints.
You know what? When Hollywood consistently portrays a minority in a negative light, that is an issue. The media plays a huge role in shaping public perception.
Don’t believe me? Look at how the movie “Jaws” impacted the audience’s opinion of Great White sharks. That movie barely had any grounding in reality, but after the movie’s release, the population of Great Whites actually declined and people would be more fearful of swimming in the ocean.
If it was that bad for sharks, imagine how bad it is for minorities.
Look at how Hollywood presents gays/lesbians, for instance. I cannot tell you how many people still think that all gay males are feminine or that lesbians are masculine. Where did those misconceptions come from? It obviously didn’t come solely from Hollywood and rest of the media, but it sure did play a big role.
Those minorities fought back, and no longer are the African-Americans and Native Americans being cast in such a negative light on a consistent basis. It’s slowly changing for the gay/lesbian communities as well, but it still has a while to go.
In terms of the Deaf Community, Hollywood’s recent presentation of us has been mainly negative. Those who ASL Deaf are supposedly rabid CI haters who would resort to murder to stop the spread of CIs. Give me a break! If they varied it’s portrayal of us, then I along with so many others wouldn’t be objecting to what’s going on.
Boycotting of AG Bell!
I was just told today from a reputable source that a quite few parents who have CI children have resigned from AG Bell or will not renew their membership, because of the organization’s letter to Pepsi. I applaud those parents for taking a stand against intolerance.
This should serve as an example for all of us. If an organization expresses intolerance like AG Bell did, be prepared to deal with the consequences such as members withdrawing from your organization, and the community boycotting you and your donors.
Jay Krieger in his vlog listed the donors of AG Bell and I applaud him for taking the initiative for doing that. It’s about time we do this appropriately such as investigations and such. If you want to make a loud statement, pun intended, stop being consumers of AG Bell donors and tell them why you are no longer their consumers.
Or you can politely discuss with those donors on why they donated money with AG Bell and request civilly that they stop donating money to an organization that practices intolerance.
It is important for us to remain civil and polite in this process. Remember, people quit AG Bell because they were not. So, let’s take our money elsewhere and invest in companies that are tolerant and care about us and do it with class and dignity!
And by the way, Seek Geo can help you switch pager service providers! 
UPDATE: NAD HAS RESPONDED TO AGBELL. http://blogs.nad.org/president/?p=14
A Letter to Pepsi
After I sent out an email to my friends encouraging them to email Pepsi and thank them, a friend shared with me what she wrote to Pepsi. I asked her if I could share it on my blog, and she granted me permission. Her letter is quite eloquent and perfectly states how I feel about AG Bell’s response to the Pepsi SuperBowl commercial.
Thank you, to my dear friend for writing this and allowing me to share it with the world!
——
Dear Ms. Hamp,
When I first heard of the Pepsico commercial using Deaf individuals to be aired during the Super Bowl, I immediately sent the link to those in my address book. I thought how wonderful it was to provide education with humor. As an interpreting instructor in a Community College (and former Commissioner on the Michigan Commission on Disabilities Concerns), I use humor quite often to get important points across to my students. Using a joke directly related to Deaf Culture was an excellent way of providing education to people who can hear and who may or may not have had exposure to those using sign language.
When I read the letter you received from the A.G. Bell Association, I was concerned by this negative reaction to your efforts to encourage diversity. I have always supported people making informed decisions related to their mode of communication, whether it is through American Sign Language (ASL) or Speech Reading and spoken English with technology or both. The letter written to Pepsico by A.G. Bell’s, Karen Youdelman, (posted on the A.G. Bell website) addresses myths being perpetuated. My experience is that many deaf and hard of hearing individuals find later in life the advantages to knowing ASL. The myth that learning ASL prevents a child’s cognitive development and the ability to use residual hearing and speech is one of the biggest myths presented to parents of deaf or hard of hearing children. The irony is that hearing children are being taught Baby Signs because of the advantages of communication at an early age related to their development. If ASL has such benefits for hearing children, how much more beneficial can it be when used with deaf and hard of hearing children?
The Modern Language Association recognizes ASL as a language. Colleges and universities recognize it as a language. The Community College where I teach has continual growing enrollment in classes teaching ASL. Your commercial will not only be appreciated by Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons themselves, but also family members, friends, interpreters, and others working with members of the Deaf Community; and also — the many thousands of students learning ASL.
As a former Coke drinker, I now buy Diet Pepsi along with my husband, children and other family members.
Thank you.
(Name Withheld)
