“Deaf-friendly” wolves: A clarification
After my last post on “Wolves in Deaf-friendly clothing”, some of you started pointing your fingers at each other accusing other people of being “wolves”, I felt it was necessary to offer a clarification of what I mean by who is truly a “wolf” here.
Ella Lentz said,
July 6, 2008 @ 1:03 am
I like the clarification. I like this kind of discussion. Only thing is that I am a wolf-lover, ha. No, I am not too fond of the “wolves” you described, but the real wolves are amazing animals and have been misunderstood excessively by our culture. Just want to make sure everybody knows the difference.
keep up the good discourses, DonG!
JD said,
July 6, 2008 @ 3:41 am
You have a point here. We point to Bush when he does things wrong intentionally or unintentionally. It is acceptable because he made public comments. We can point to Deaf or hearing people who make public comments. Some Deaf people have internal audism that they say things unconsciously and hurt the Deaf community. For example, the person I mentioned in your previous post said CI is just a tool and people are against CIs are ignorants. She said they don’t know their facts. That is the attitude I am concerned about which is very condescending. She did not say it was merely her opinion and say she would respect Deaf people who have different opinions. She is clearly a wolf to me. CI supporters may disagree. That is fine with me.
AL said,
July 6, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
JD, we’ve read about what you think about Raychelle over again and again. What I would like to know is what you’ve contributed to the field of ASL, or anything proactive that you’ve done for deaf children. Raychelle have made numerous contributions, such as ethics in research in the deaf community and is nationally recognized for her work on academic ASL. What are your contributions? Other than bashing Raychelle and CI users, that is.
Don and Ella, as leaders in the deaf community you both can do so much to promote tolerance and acceptance of diverse opinions while promoting ASL. These blogs only promote McCarthyism and encourage us to label each other as “not deaf enough” or “not ASL enough” etc. Nothing is black and white. Let us focus instead on what makes ASL work for deaf children, and this positive message is so much stronger and ultimately will benefit deaf children everywhere.
DrDonG said,
July 6, 2008 @ 1:29 pm
AL,
I think my clarification showed I am not trying to promote “McCarthyism”. But at the same time, we should not have to accept when people mock us or continue to spread outright lies or misinterpretations of our views. This hurts all of us as well. But yes, we do want to focus on ASL and why it works for Deaf children. And this is why we need to get the message straight out to the public, without distortions from those “wolves” who deliberately spread misinformation.
JD said,
July 6, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
AL
Don’t make assumptions. You don’t know me and you don’t know what contributions I already made. I don’t need to defend myself. Don is right that we should not accept when people mock us. That was what the person did when she said we are ignorants for not knowing our facts about CIs. People can have facts and still not support CIs. Thank you.
Thank you, Ella. We need more people like you who know that we need to watch out for wolves.
raychelle said,
July 6, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
JD, how are your comments any different? You make many assumptions about me and my family and publish them in your commentaries as fact.
Why don’t you reveal yourself. Take off your mask, and we can talk more.
anna s said,
July 6, 2008 @ 10:40 pm
Don,
I am still unsure if there are actually wolves in Deaf-friendly clothing lurking in our shadows. Moores to me doesnt seem like a wolf. He is someone close to your definition of the first group. Would you call me a wolf if I say Deafhood is equivalent to a cult? I genuinely support ASL for deaf children regardless of their hearing loss or what type of assistive devices they wear. I fist-smack Deaf culture, ASL, and my cherished Deaf ancestors (pbuh).
Am I a wolf in disguise by firmly stating that Deafhood interpreted here in America by the few has transformed the concept into a genuine cult, regardless of the fact that I am pro-Deaf?
Am I also a wolf for giving my ASL son an implant?
The earlier question, you might say yes. The latter you may say I am doiing it out of genuine intentions but am harming the Deaf world in the long run.
Are there really “wolves” (figuratively speaking so not to offend Ella, ha ha) out there ready to gouge the eyes out of our fellow Deaf? Maybe those who got bruised badly by the Deaf world. It is possible.
This is getting interesting. Hope you’ll find time to respond.
BTW, the photo above is an overkill! Ha.
DrDonG said,
July 6, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
Anna,
I guess you can take Moore’s words on face value or look at what he is doing. I think he is a wolf because he is someone who should know enough of the history to know that is not a true statement.
As for you, I don’t know you well enough. Saying your opinion of Deafhood is as a cult — no, I guess that’s not wolf-like, that’s just your opinion, influenced by AGB (as discussed a bit in the DBC Hercules/AGB Hydra post). Giving your child an implant is not wolf-like, but to me, it does show you have internalized those values promoted by AGB, consciously or not (probably more unconsciously).
But yes, there are definitely people out there who are Deaf and acting very wolf-like.
Glad you liked the picture
It does pack a punch, huh?