Oralism is literally torture!
I read this article, “The Biscuit Breaker” in the Oct. 27, 2008 edition of Newsweek which mentions how at Guantanamo Bay, psychologists have been called in to try to “break” the prisoners brought in from Afghanistan and Iraq. One technique that was tried was to put a prisoner who spoke one language in with prisoners who did not speak the same language as the first prisoner. This made me think about the implications relating to Deaf children, which I discuss here. To see the video, click on this link: Oral Torture
Paul said,
December 24, 2008 @ 6:45 pm
DonG -
You hit the nail right on its head about “torture” and Oralism linking together. I grew up oralist. I had torturous moments in my life with hearing family, friends and stranger at any level in public and private lves. I love ASL as it is easier to communicate and non-torturous.
We are in a sense “recovered’ oralists.
Happy Holiday!
Paul
MM said,
December 25, 2008 @ 10:14 am
We’re still waiting to be recovered deafies but… it can work both ways… I don’t see the link really between murdering and secular Islamic loonies, and terrorists, and deaf people, but if you and Don wants to make that link ! Does this mean if you have an acquired deafness then the ‘torture’ is inflicted on us, is via sign language and silence ? How do WE ‘recover’ ? By rejecting deafness and all it stands for ? unfortunately that will mean you and Don….. who seems a nice enough bloke to me. Sadly if you ‘blame’ oralism and hearing people, then you are blaming me as well, because I used to be one.
John Mans said,
December 25, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
I could not able to reach your vlog. Me puzzle!! Happy Hoilday season!
DrDonG said,
December 25, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
John — You need to click on the link. Try typing into your browser instead, http://www.deafhooddiscourses.com/2008/OralismTorture.mov and see if that works.
MM–
The link is in the psychological torture used on the prisoner(s) at Guantanamo Bay — social/communicative isolation.
As a late-deafened person, the “torture” is not inflicted upon you, unless you choose to do so by not learning sign or have your family learn sign. But if as a late-deafened person, you choose to communicate this way in all your social situations, then that is your choice. Deaf babies and children do not get that choice.
As for “blame”, the blame is not on Hearing people per se, but those Hearing people who refuse to recognize that Deaf people, children and babies need sign language in their lives for access to language and the world around them. These Hearing people are “oralists” and the blame lies entirely on them. Oralists who foist their philosophy on Hearing parents are to blame. Hearing people with no understanding or knowledge about Deaf issues are not to blame. So as a formerly Hearing person, you were not to blame. However, IF you now say Deaf people do not need sign language (and I don’t think you’ve ever said that), then you would be to blame.
MM said,
December 26, 2008 @ 3:47 am
Merry Xmas Don. I wouldn’t say deaf people don’t need sign, there are of course viable alternatives for many of them, it seems the suggestion of alternatives seems to annoy some of them, and the fact they are offered, I use the term ‘offered’ as opposed to forced of course, because not everyone deaf comes from… from where now exactly ? there is no longer the real or established ‘grounding’ of deaf culture there used to be.
Everyone is different deaf, so sign language is not the be all or end all there is, because basic ability will ultimately dictate. The jury is still out on the ‘choice’ and preference option, I’ve pondered on ‘effective’ communication, and ‘prefererred’ communication, I see a lot of people signing, but not totally convinced it is all that effective for them, i.e. in real terms and one on one with a hearing person who doesn’t have much knowledge of it. I am puzzled by the declaration a poor signer from the ‘Deaf’ sector is better than excellent signer from a hearing/HH/CI area, so communication is NOT The central tenet of it ? Who would most carry culture forward ?
While it seems a hearing person can adjust to learn some sign communication I feel saddened the deaf are stating they cannot or will not, accommodate anything else, it seems a lack of willingness. What is most important ? to be seen as going half-way, or to be seen refusing to give an inch in case your understanding of deaf culture, will be severely undermined if you do ?
I’m of the former persuasion because being unwilling to go half-way and compromise means only I can lose out on it, and I do not, along with many of my peers, have an exclusive sector to fall back on, so choice is not really an option either. In retrospect ‘Deaf’ seem to have the ‘luxury’ of being able to face people and say “my way, or the highway,” which we cannot do…. Where would WE go ? The ‘Deaf’ cultural area is rife with its little foibles and rulings and division, the mainstream sees us as people like you and we aren’t able to convince them otherwise, do we not have enough to contend with ?
Probably what drives many outside that area, to have less regard for culture… it isn’t sharing the oralist view, it is seeing it as non-conducive to acceptance and harmony, let alone community… I’ve met oralists who are aggressive in what they believe, but it does seem equally matched with ‘Deaf’ equally as aggressive, so they are feeding off each other, the yin and the yang. Every positive must have its negative ?
Joey Baer said,
December 26, 2008 @ 8:28 am
Great one! Never thought of it and hope DBC will pick up the article and post it on their site. (and of course, a link to your vlog!)
SDA said,
December 27, 2008 @ 3:36 pm
Don,
Wow, a good piece!
Post it on the DBC website!
deafchipmunk said,
December 27, 2008 @ 7:23 pm
Hi Don,
Happy Holidays to you!
I have never thought of that till you brought it up. I couldn’t agree with you more.
Thanks for sharing your vlog with us and we want to make many good argument against the concept of strict oralism that is considered as a torture and abuse against the humanity.
Deafchip
John Mans said,
December 30, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
Hi Don,
Finally, I able to watch your vlog again. You already pull my string line to turn bulb on. Thanks. I never thought this one. I would encourage many Deaf people to find excellent articles like as your. Send to all Deaf’s bloggers and vloggers too.I believe that keep to find many excellent articles to send each other and bet that Deaf would become strong and stronger. More awareness…. Big thumbs up!
PS. Do you have the doctorate degree? I want to check double.
Trying Hard to Understand said,
December 30, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
I wonder if the psychologist who thought up the torture himself understood Pashto or Farsi or any other language than American English.
I wonder if wars don’t tend to be fought between people who cannot understand one anothers’ language, causing each side’s people to become thought of as “barbarians” by the other. Barbarians can only be dealt with by force, right?
I think that it is this manner that the holidays are “torture” for us. Living deaf “in the mainstream” as AGBell thinks is best, has a large, measurable, amount of stress that goes with it. Some situations cause this stress to become very high indeed. “What is YOUR opinion of what the group just talked about?” Before you open your mouth, you know your ignorant answer will mark you a barbarian!
Pretty much any situation where communication might occur keeps this stress level at a high background level. Not something we’d do for fun. Not something we’d wish on the kids coming up.
It is the repetition and near-predictibility that turn these incidents into the Chinese water torture of deafness.
I admit that I don’t have any good answers to these issues. Just don’t want to see the next generation of Deaf kids go through a lot of unnecessary stress to learn and socialize. It would seem that a critical mass of natural signers would be necessary to accomplish this.
DrDonG said,
December 30, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
Hi John –
Glad you were finally able to watch the vlog. I’m glad I finally figured out the glitch with putting the videos into the post — when I upgraded to a newer version of WordPress, for some reason it wouldn’t work before.
Yes, I have a Doctorate in Language, Reading and Culture from the University of Arizona. I too do not like people calling themselves “Doctor” if they didn’t really earn it as a medical or Ph.D.
Trying Hard –
Once again, your insights are amazing. I would doubt very much the psychologist himself understood Pashto or Farsi or any other language (except maybe Spanish, perhaps!). But he understood very well the human need for communication and contact with other people, I’m sure.
Part of the stress is as you describe, but for those of us born Deaf with Hearing families, the stress is just in trying to understand ANY part of the conversation, but wanting to understand but knowing it is a near-impossible task, and yet being expected to understand everything, somehow.
Trying Hard to Understand said,
December 31, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
Got a weird experiment for you. Next time you’re with the hearing folks, try not to have to talk. Point where possible.
I believe that part of the problem with being expected to understand so well is the whole “oh, but you speak so well!” thing.
People tend to match communication. If you whisper, they’ll whisper. If you speak quickly, they will speak quickly. If you avoid talking at all, they will have to deal with the reality of how little you can actually hear instead of you always propping up their denial by your voiced reassurance.
All your training goes against this. It feels dishonest, because you CAN speak, and they KNOW you can speak.
But being expected to understand is the PRICE of speaking. …in real life, tho it never enters the cost/benefit equation in speech training!
$0.02
DrDonG said,
December 31, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
Trying Hard –
This experiment works with strangers or people who don’t know you that well.
But, in my experience, trying it with my family…. oh boy! Their reaction will be basically as if I told them to eat fecal matter and die. Such is the brainwashing of the AGB Association and their affiliates….
Voxygen.net » A day of lessons in stereotypes said,
March 24, 2010 @ 11:44 pm
[...] or the privileging of lip reading over sign language (I even found a blogger who called oralism a form of torture). After reading about this divide, I then reviewed how our textbook author, Joe Devito, addressed [...]