Dr. DonG.’s Deafhood Discourses

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You know the ADA?  It is a law that was created supposedly to protect “disable” people and their rights.  I’m starting to wonder whether the ADA really helps us, or does it hinder us?

I’ll give you an example.  Recently, someone told me that up in Sonoma County, which is in Northern California — north of San Francisco.  It seems that the Deaf community there has been having problems with the Sheriff’s office in that county.  I’m not sure yet on exactly what the problems are, I need to find out more information, but it seems there has been a history of recurring problems with the Sheriff.

The Deaf community there was dissatisfied with the Sheriff, and finally decided to file a grievance with the Human Resources Commission there.  They wanted the Sheriff and the Deaf community to meet together and discuss the problems and work out a solution.  I applaud their initiative in taking matters into their own hands, to empower themselves and stand up for themselves by filing the grievance against the Sheriff’s department.

And do you know what happened?  It seems that the County’s ADA Coordinator stepped in and advised the Human Resources Commission that it was not their “problem”, that since this was an issue concerning Deaf people, it fell under the purview of ADA, so the HRC should drop the case, and that the ADA Coordinator would work on resolving the problem.

So the HRC agreed to drop the case, which means that now the Deaf community is stuck working within ADA and with the ADA Coordinator, examining the rules of ADA, filing for interpreters, and all that bureaucratic mumbo jumbo.

Basically, it looks like the ADA Coordinator is trying to “contain” the Deaf community and the problem instead of letting the community take the problem on their own hands and take care of it themselves.  That is, the ADA Coordinator is saying that they will solve the problem FOR the Deaf community, instead of letting them do it for themselves.  That smacks of audism.

It seems to me that the ADA is not worth the paper it’s printed on!

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It is easy to argue that Deaf people are an ethnic group: we have a culture, values, norms, behaviors and artifacts, just like any other cultural or ethnic group.  One of my favorite researchers, named Dan Aronson, frames ethnic groups as “political action groups” which seek to obtain power.  Not power in the sense of controlling everything, but in the sense of being able to vote, have equality, money, resources, and the like.  That’s common to us all — power and equality.

He says that behind ethnicity are certain kinds of ideologies (belief systems).  There are two kinds of ideologies: class ideology and ethnic ideology.  In “class ideology”, the group that holds power, the “elites”, look down upon other groups and make the determination as to what “we” (the in-group) believes to be important and what the values are, and “we” decide whether “we will hold on to those values, share them, or take them away from you.  That is “class ideology”.

In “ethnic ideology”, the group that does not hold power says “we (the out-group) do not agree with your (in-group) value system, and we want you to leave us alone, but possibly with enough resources [money, land, rights, voting] so we can pursue OUR goals without interference from outside.

There is a tension between the two types of ideologies.  As an example, the American Indians lived on their lands here in America, and then the Whites came and took over their lands.  Of course the Indians fought back because the Whites were trying to take over their lands.  But the Whites had more power and more weapons (guns and technology) that the Indians didn’t have, so the Indians lost.  So the Whites decided to take away the Indians’ rights, including their lands.  In 1851, the “Indian Appropriations Act” was passed which set up the Indian reservations.  The Indians were forced to live on these reservations, whether or not they wanted to.  But the land that these reservations were established on was in areas which were felt to be undesirable by the Whites because they couldn’t farm on it or use its resources, so it was given to the Indians instead.

In 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave Black people the right to live as Free men.  Lincoln GAVE the right to the Blacks.  But there were still a lot of Whites who didn’t want to give those rights to the Blacks.  This was not resolved until the 1960′s, when Martin Luther King, along with other Black people, marched and protested to gain their rights to vote, to have equality.

In 1920, America passed the 14th Amendment that gave women the right to vote.  Before that, women had protested for the right to vote.  They were looked down upon by men as not being capable of handling their own affairs.  But by their protests, they were able to obtain their right to vote.

Back in 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with these inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

Rights are rights, no matter if they’re given, earned, taken, or shared!

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You may recall my previous vlog, “How mainstreaming is failing Deaf Students: Educational Interpreters” done last Spring.  Here is an update to what happened with that situation, and the lessons we can draw from this.

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The organization “Audism-Free America” (AFA) recently circulated a petition to encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin an independent investigation into the effectiveness of the cochlear implant for young Deaf children.  While I support this idea of an independent investigation, I wonder if the FDA is the right people to be asking to do this.  In this post, I discuss some reasons why, and suggest some additional pathways that AFA might take in order to achieve their goal of getting an independent investigation done.  

P.S. — Happy 4th of July, everybody!

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Additional Information on the FDA and its shortcomings:

• Fact Sheet: Weaknesses in FDA’s food safety system
• “A food-safety Savior?  An expert has five key questions for HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius“
• “Drug Danger for Seniors:Weaknesses in drug safety system highlighted by Consumer Reports“

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I just read this article in Newsweek in which an advocate for his group made some comments.  I will show you the quotes, and you can try to guess whether he is talking about Deaf people or not.  It was a very interesting article, and has some interesting observations and ideas for us to think about for ourselves.

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Here is a short video I made in support of AFA.

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Here I tell the fable of two sharks named Blagel and Damius and a dolphin named Feyad who leaves the pod to go off and “do his own thing”.  Watch for the surprise ending!

(P.S. I’m wearing this shirt in support of the Arizona Wildcats in today’s game [Sweet 16] against Louisville.  Go ‘Cats!)

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Happy New Year! Looking forward to 2009? Let’s hope it’s better than 2008! But in one way, 2009 will NOT be better than 2008. Why? There is a new law starting January 1st which discriminates against Deaf people. In this vlog, I will tell you what the law is, why I think it is discriminatory, and what I suggest we can do about it.

Research studies cited:

• Carnegie Mellon University
• WebMD
• Public Policy Institute of California
• Governors Highway Safety Association
• Highway Loss Data Institute

Parental Rights vs. Parental ResponsibilitiesThe discussion putting parental rights over Deaf children’s rights has bothered me.  During my drive to work this week, I had the time (2 hours) to figure out why this bothers me.  In this vlog, I put parental rights into perspective.  Click on the link to see the vlog: Parental Rights vs. Parental Responsibilities

This morning, I read my newspaper and saw this article (which can be seen in this link LPGA English Language Requirement) which states that the LPGA is requiring anyone who enters their tournaments to be able to show proficiency in English.  This requirement is discriminatory to qualified golfers from around the world who may not speak English, as well as the Deaf.  I am providing you here with a sample letter that I have written (and sent) and the contact information for the LPGA in the video.

• Dear LPGA Board:
• It was with great dismay that I read this morning about the LPGA’s decision to institute an English-language proficiency requirement for candidacy to compete in LPGA-sponsored events.  Not only is this potentially discriminatory to foreign-born golfers who may not speak English, but it is potentially discriminatory to hundreds of thousands of American-born golfers — those who have been born Deaf or were deafened at a very young age who may not possess sufficient hearing to speak English well or clearly.  We have already seen one Deaf golfer enter the PGA ranks — Kevin Hall (who has potential to reach the top-tier ranks).
• The LPGA’s decision was based on the need to put on a “good show”.  In sports, the activity is the “show” — all else is superfluous.  When Michelle Wie drives the ball as hard and as far as “the boys”, that is a show for us all.  When Tiger Woods sinks a long putt and does one of his famous fist pumps, that is a show.  What’s more, these examples illustrate that viewers can get their “show” WITHOUT spoken language.  In interviews, golfers, whether foreign-born or Deaf, can express themselves quite articulately through interpreters.  Indeed, which would be more entertaining for a viewer, to see an interview done in halting, accented English or unclear speech, or a fun, lively conversation through an interpreter?
• I hope the LPGA will be quickly reversing this shortsighted decision, as it could be preventing them from showcasing talented golfers from all around the world as well as future Deaf Tiger Woods and Michelle Wies.
• Dr. Donald A. Grushkin
• Associate Professor, Deaf Studies
• California State University – Sacramento
• Newark, California
• Contact Information:
• Ladies Professional Golf Association
•    100 International Golf Drive
•  Daytona Beach, Florida 32124-1092 
•     Phone: (386) 274-6200 
•      Fax: (386) 274-1099 
• Email: foundation.scholarships@lpga.com

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