Gandhi and "Learn Sign Language!"

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: How could we the Deaf learn from Gandhi, Prime Minister of India? When Gandhi met with the British military chiefs and top politicians for the first time, he was asked about the solution for the problem in India. Gandhi replied: "Leave India!"
We the Deaf can learn from Gandhi by telling our society: "Learn Sign Language!" It will overcome obstacles our being Deaf creates. In the U.S., it's "Learn American Sign Language!" Elementary, Mr. Watson.

Deaf Peddlers from Yesteryears

A news vlog by Carl Schroeder: While growing up, Carl ran into several Deaf peddlers. Yes, he was embarrassed by them but he was always fascinated by their being "messengers" from other Deaf communities.

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

What We Owe Deaf Children

Having taught developmental and college English for eight years at Gallaudet University, I've got a lot of deal to think about teaching the students reading.

If we already know how to use American Sign Language (ASL), what then is the problem of reading? Reading involves many written words of spoken speech, and it requires source-language (spoken) to target-language (signed) translation and cross-cultural interpretation.

What is written is nothing if it is not cross-linguistically/cross-culturally discussed in ASL. How do we bridge the gap between the three types of speech: writing, speaking and signing. This may be the challenge of learning and teaching how to read.

Signed and spoken languages (ASL and English) are a functioning, not knowledge, a functioning which involves listening, pondering, analyzing, observing and discussing flow of words, and inferring and retaining meaning. These languages are arbitrary and, therefore, not necessary. Why not necessary? Well, you may be proficient in ASL but it has no purpose when you are in Japan. Neither does the English language in the Arabic language. They have to be translated and interpreted.

To go from ASL to written form of English entails no more than two conventions. The most important of these is cross-linguistic/cross-cultural analysis and discussion. The other convention is not least important. English requires two things: the horizontal straight line in which the words are written from left to right, and the reduction from spoken speech to writing.

If we want Deaf children to be good readers, we must enter this type of dialogue--the conversation--that is the lifeblood of literacy--ht ability to read and write. We owe Deaf children to understand that reading requires cross-linguistic/cross-cultural discourse to acquire nuances of both ASL and the English language because reading is a reverse process, from written words to spoken and signed languages.*

We owe Deaf children excellence in ASL for literacy.


* An ideal classroom for writing and reading includes a speech therapist who can discuss stream-of-consciousness technique by taking a reader inside a character's mind to trvral perceptions, thoughts and feelings consciously and unconciously. (Words are sound-based; signs are sight-based, which are basically different.)

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

Get American Sign Language? Translate Shakespeare Now!

What is excellence in American Sign Language (ASL)?

While a student at Gallaudet University, I studied Sign Language Translation for the Deaf Audience under Theatre Professor Gilbert Eastman. His classroom was in the backstage in the Elstad Auditorium, and I could still remember the first class with him.

Professor Gil (his name sign--G with palm down tapping on chin twice--made us go by his first name!) lectured that Shakespeare had been translated into different languages around the world. He passed around several pictures of Shakespearean plays from different theatres. There was one picture that is colorful and Japanese, so different from Renaissance England, and Professor Gil pointed out that since Shakespeare is translated into the Japanese language, it undergoes culture change.

Professor Gil likened the translation of Shakespeare into the Japanese culture to that into the culture of ASL. He had my class translate several monologues into ASL and challenged us not to leave out original and underlying messages.

One of the assignments for his course was to study the video of Robert Frost's "The Silken Tent" (google this) performed by the National Theater of the Deaf (NTD). We could see ASL translation and interpretation that is working. The rhyme scheme in The Silken Tent is well suited to ASL because ASL has rhyming hand configurations and they have more flexibility with respect to where thematic breaks occur.

All in all, excellence in ASL means achieving a rich metaphorical meaning--reflecting the process of translating between signed and spoken languages and interpreting between cultures these languages generate. Translating Shakespeare into ASL could offer a good workout both physically and intellectually.

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

Striving for Excellence in American Sign Language

Like Socrates, I believe that once each person gained sufficient knowledge, he or she would become committed to excellence in it. We want to know more about ASL so that we could excel ourselves in it. To do so is very much part of human nature to excel in what we know and posses.

However, as some philosophers would say, we are inclined toward this dualistic nature in which we are exercising binary thinking: right signs versus wrong signs, good interpreter versus poor interpreter, Deaf versus "hearing," bilingualism versus monolingualism and so forth. In fact, there are no tidy formulas--no single set of rules that will lead to excellent ends.

This does not in any way mean that every single subject, from arithematics to zoology, needs someone who is well-honed in ASL. Anyone who is Deaf and interested in his or her field of study may still use his or her fullest potential to operate from "universal premises" only if he or she acquires ASL. To master ASL is to know how to translate from ASL, and vice versa.

I think an excellent user of ASL and an ASL-friendly society do share certain attributes: They are forward-looking. We need to be more cognizant of how ASL impacts all babies, for example, in coming generations, and strive to act in ways that will experience the 17th-19th century Marthe's Vineyard Island where everyone spoke sign language and where sign language and the English language were never merged into one dialect, and where everyone was bilingual in every respect.

Does striving for excellence in ASL have a shelf life? Is it part of our makeup that we are doomed to fall after we've risen awhile? Or is it possible, if we learn from past mistakes and patterns, to chart a course that will enable us to move on with ASL toward excellence, without ever compromising with the English language? What did Thomas Jefferson, our American philosopher-king, mean when he "argued strongly against relying too heavily on the wisdom of the past" in our search of a more excellent society? Must we study well the vices that corrupt ASL? To whom do we the Deaf owe such an excellence? What happened to Deaf people after the 1880 Milan Resolution banning sign language, then, leads to these question: Is ASL doomed to end precisely because of such a belief that spoken language is so precious that it must be learned? Is it absolutely necessary that each Deaf baby learn to "listen and speak"?

What about ASL? Let's look at "stealing" by Alexander Graham Bell of the telephone fame that has since become not the glory but the suspicion. Does today's most technologically advanced societies have an ethic at least equally excellent as the Deaf communities, or are they bogged down in the same type of worldview that enabled Alexander Graham Bell to rob the Deaf of ASL and to make them forget that they are Deaf?

We must change the world. We must strive for excellence in ASL. As Mohandas Gandhi had once said: "We must be the change in the world that we want." We want the world of ASL!


With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

My Dialogue with Socrates

I wake up confused! Am I reading too much!

I find myself en route to the ancient agora of Athens, Greece, and I am accompanied by someone who claims to be my "escort" translator and interpreter.

I look around and find there are about twenty of us huddling together in an open wagon pulled by a fine-looking horse. All of them are using sign language that is new to me so I look back to my escort for some explanation. Most of them are "mutes" ... the term my escort uses to mean "Deaf." They tell me we are going to meet Socrates in the "marketplace," or as my escort points out "gathering place."

I realize that the English verb "to gather" is from the Greek verb "ageiro." So the noun agora must come from the same Greek term.

I get confused because I'm not sure if I'm dreaming. Maybe not! Oh, the horse-drawn wagon stops, and we better get off now.

Oh my goodness, there are many people milling about the agora, not minding our presence. And I am learning a new sign language, and it must be ancient and complex.

Yes, I'm a fast learner simply because I have undergone language change and culture shock, which is lingering within me for a lifetime.

Oh, I see in the center of the marketplace ... pardon me, but my escort insists it's gathering place ... a short, robust gentleman that resembles Santa Claus in his light toga. I know he must be Socrates. As he speaks, he makes a lot of gestures I could almost laugh because I know what he is talking about, with my escort translating and interpreting.

I laugh because Socrates must have repeated his thoughts and ideas so many times they become old. Oh my, he is now talking about us. He makes some people around him to look at us and nod. One of them gives us two thumb-ups, and my escort tells me to return my thumb-ups. I look back to this guy and recognize his broad physique. Plato!

Am I still dreaming? Or am I waking up? Or am I still reading?

Not Deaf Enough?

The game card "Not Deaf Enough" took some time to acquire its disparaging connotation. The game is applied by Jane Keheller Fernandes to Richard Roehm. These people did not win for themselves general respect and esteem. They are forever responsible to account for their own false reasoning.

In a recent vlog, Richard Roehm explained that his company/organization, Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center, is an advocacy group that is preparing to host a social event, disc golf tournament, bidding for $12,500 in community sponsorship. It was obviously unsuccessful; hence, Richard Roehm suggested the "Not Deaf Enough" game card.

Disc golf can be fun and economical. It promotes sportsmanship among the players. Winning some money prizes and collecting a tournament t-shirt and commemorable disc could be great, but they don't promote or advocate Deaf Awareness.

The "Not Deaf Enough" card is yet another product of deficit thinking we are learning to understand its connotation. Let's thank Richard Roehm for helping us understand a strange association between his advocacy group and the "Not Deaf Enough" game card. And deficit thinking, too!

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

Deficit Thinking Is Not The Pursuit of Happiness

There are some pointy-headed people who think that it is no use to beat a dead horse because embracing human diversity includes deficit thinking. OK, fine. Let's tell them that deficit thinking is not the pursuit of happiness.

The term deficit is neither a half full cup nor half empty one. Click here to read about deficit thinking that doesn't hold water.

There is no curriculum anywhere that includes objectives and result goals for deficit thinking. There is no organization that taps into someone's talent in deficit thinking. Nor is there a university that bestows an honorary degree upon someone for deficit thinking. Deficit thinking is abnormal and it is not a choice.

Something obviously is not right within the Deaf world. We are listening to things and could feel the panic. And we know the cause was 1880.

That's the 1880 Milan Resolution, an iron-fisted, anti-sign language proporal passed by the International Congress of Educators of the Deaf. The proclamation went to all government agencies and schools for the Deaf to stop using sign language for Deaf people. The proclamation's most controversial provisions make it a shame to use ASL in the United States and most Canada, and it still does.

Think of an enormous societal problem--no American Sign Language (ASL) for Deaf babies. Convincing parents to not use ASL can be a lot easier with the help of someone who neither knows anything about ASL nor is even a near-native user of ASL. These parents are suffering not only deficit thinking, but als erratic behaviors in communicating with their babies who need ASL.

We know deficit thinking doesn't come easy. However, in our country people do make a mess of their life, but then turn around and pull themselves together. We like to think so. It is never too soon or late to replave deficit thinking eith a good one and swear off 'listen and speak" fads in favor of principles that works for Deaf babies. Think wisely!

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

A Perfect Example of Deficit Thinking in 2006

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: I found an outstanding example of deficit thinking in the year 2006. Gallaudet University's President Designated Jane Keheller Fernandes explained away her thoughts about ASL and challenged whether David Reynolds objected to her ability to match signs with English words. JKF was neither a cup that is half full nor a cup that is half empty. Just deficit thinking!
Please check in my comment for a must-see link to the David Reynolds-Jane Keheller Fernandes vlog.

2007: Year of Slamming Deficit Thinking

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: If you enjoy slamming deficit thinking, then review all blogs, vlogs and comments in DeafRead. For those unfamiliar with the branch of cognition called "slamming deficit thinking," the critics are trying to inform that deficit thinkers are human, too, and they have the freedom of speech. It's like hip-hop without the music, which focuses on naming deficit thinkers in the Deaf world. Carl's dual goal is to get people to realize something deficit and to open their eyes to Socratic inquiries for, Platonic allegories of, and Aristotelian approaches to "slamming deficit thinking."
Happy 2008!

Eat to Live and Live to Eat

During my walk in the forest of ASL Dragon, I obtained a copy of book about Moses Maimonides, a 12th century Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt. I am reading it now and there is some thoughts and ideas that captured my attention, and I thought my readers who follow Laurent Clerc should be made aware of Maimonides' work.

So too, he shall only desire the things which the body needs and without which it is impossible to live. As it is said: "A just man eats to satisfy his desire." Likewise, he shall only labor at his work to acquire what he needs for the present, As it is said: "Good is a little for the just man." He shall not be exceedingly tightfisted, not sqaunder all his wealth, but he shall give charity according to his means and lend a fitting amount to the needy. He will not be gay and buffoonish nor sad and mournful, but rejoice all his days, calmly, with a cheerful demeanor. And thus shall he order the rest of his character traits. This way is the way of the wise men.

When I read this above paragraph in the book, Ethical Writings of Maimonides, I thought of Professor Hotchkiss telling about Laurent Clerc's lecture on "eat to live" and "live to eat" in the NAD film.

Okay, let me go back to my walk in the forest of ASL Dragon!

Happy Holidays!

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

A Walk in the Forest of ASL Dragon

An announcement vlog by Carl Schroeder: In retrospect, many thoughts were made in blogging and vlogging.

"That's not what I meant!"

"I must qualify this so it won't be misunderstood."

"This will never wash!"

"Boy, it is really painful to think, to write and to use ASL and why not!"

I'm NOW ready for a walk in the forest of ASL Dragon!

Happy Holidays and see in in January!

Deficit Thinking Does Lead To Erratic Thinking

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: Not many people like to discuss thinking because it is not answerable and foreseenable. Deficit thinking causes a series of erratic behaviors. Carl also shares his deficit thinking that causes his friend to exercise erratic behavior. Bad thinking just gets worse.

We All Are Thinkers

SOCRATES: In order not to feel pity for your thirty-year-olds, you must be extremely careful how you introduce them to dialectic. . . .I do not think it has escaped your notice that when youths get their first taste of reasoned discourse they take it as a game and use it to contradict. . . .The delight like puppies in pulling about and tearing with words all who approach them.

GLAUCON: Most true.

SOCRATES: But an older man will not share this craze; he will imitate one who is willing to converse in order to discover the truth rather than one who is merely contradicting for play. He will himself be more deliberate and will bring honor rather than discredit to the pursuit of philosophy.

GLAUCON: Right.

Plato, Republic VII, 539b-d

After I coined the phrase "hearing supremacy," a kind of arrogant behaviorial stance by people who are neither Deaf nor happy about "being Deaf," I know that we the Deaf have been a subject for study. However, we are not like rats that run and run through the maze, a little bit faster each time. Are we any closer to determining the reason of "being Deaf"?

Deeply touched by the thought of Spinoza and Gandhi, I begin supporting clandestine resistance against a vision of hearing supremacy in which the Deaf children are segregated by "listen and talk" propagandas. We need to protect American Sign Language (ASL) as a part of ourselves, never in opposition to humanity.

Between the exponents of the different opinions of "being Deaf" great controversies are set afoot. I hold that the standpoint of "being Deaf" is untenable in conflict with the timeless laws of reason, or typical of hearing supremacy. Many hearing supremacy thinkers put forth their points without much hesitation as "the solution of the problem" for all the Deaf. I think otherwise; the discussion about "being Deaf" has already been lasted some 2500 years, since Plato published his book Cratylus in 350 B.C.

Nothing is as complicated as "being Deaf." We will see enough of this kind of dialogue in DeafRead as well as at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. The inquiry yearns for precision, while responses remain exclusive. Yet, the answer shall come out in the rhythm of ASL. There would be no single empirically deduced "common sense" -- the answer should cover the spectrum of philosophical viewpoints from throughout the history of the Deaf.

If I were to compare the explicit and implicit views of ASL in question by deficit and critical thinkers, I would find only two small differences. Deficit thinkers separate "human" from "being," but critical thinkers associate "being" with "Deaf."

Inconclusive, you say? It is often said of philosophy that questions matter more than answers. This may be why the same debates go on for two and a half millenia with a sluggish progress. In fact, Deaf people have been around since the dawn of humankind, but now we are very much into philosophy. And there is no way out of our "being Deaf!"

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

ASL Coaching Best Through Community Theatres

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: American Sign Language (ASL) coaching is possible best through community theatres in which ASL is used and interpreted. The users and friends of ASL are encouraged to set up a community theatre.

Are Deficit Thinkers Mad?

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: I have gotten so much enjoyment watching the bloggers and vloggers go at deficit thinking her A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: I have gotten so much enjoyment watching the bloggers and vloggers go at deficit thinking here. Are the dumb attempting to lead the indignant? Where are the intelligent people? Where is the humor? Are deficit thinkers mad?

What about critical thinking? But to know about it means that you are probably well read and not fearful. Have faith in the Deaf, and their language and culture. Life is way too short to get hung up on stupid views and to spend any real time arguing about some small phrase , deficit thinking, is just, well, silly and wasteful of this thing we call life.

I talk as if someone is actually going to take this deficit thinking to heart and mind. When I know no one will. So go on, I like this face-slapping contest. There will be no winner. Because if there is nothing else I know, I know this.

If there was any real truth in those deficit thinkers it would have came out anyway. And the Deaf world would be a better place if we manage to shift them to critical thinking. But instead we have more of the same, mad people, which is unfortunate.

Just wondering if I am the only one here who actually watched those blogs and vlogs about deficit thinking. I think not! That is more truth in one place than I have ever seen before.

Like Special Olympics, nobody cares who wins. They all get a special ribbon at the end!

Vlog of a Naked Self: A Poem

I study it carefully now

the vlog I completed

a while ago

I have told myself

in a green tee shirt,

long sleeved.

And if I can't recall where...

one lapse of memory

proves nothing.

I'm familiar with

every move that I make...

inside my head.

I can envision those

naked messages that

I have told.

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

Deficit Thinking Provokes

I thank Ella Mae Lentz for her clear and thoughtful vlog on deficit thinking. She is guaranteed to receive an abundance of scathing comments condemning her position. But she is absolutely correct about this. She inspired me to google for deficit thinking, too, because, like Ella, I am new to this way of thinking!

Many years ago, in the 18th century Martha Vineyard Island, everyone used sign language for everything imaginable, from town meetings to military exercises. They lived in a democracy of the people, by the people, for the people. By the 19th century their language and culture began to change with the agenda of Alexander Graham Bell: "deaf forgetting deaf" and eugenics, especially banning Deaf-to-Deaf breeding or marriage.

The fact is, educators of the Deaf today have us all, the American public, addicted to deficit, and that "listen and talk" propaganda has clouded our judgment. Advertisers convince us that we need a device capable of bringing sounds into our head synthetically. In reality, we stuck in gridlock while American Sign Language (ASL) is still used.

Our critics will no doubt point out each and every flaw (some true, some not) associated with ASL. They'll scoff and say ASL shall fade away. Deaf babies get implanted. It's too easy. It's too convenient. It's too this. It's too that. They'll do it to justify their addiction to fixing the hearing gaps. But now that we're getting old and honest, our vision of ASL becomes crystal clear.

Perhaps in time others will see how happy we are, knowing that our language and culture will thrive. Deficit thinkers will become critical thinkers, no?

Life is good but ASL is better.

With Aloha
Always From
Ka'lalau

ASL Dragon's Cave

An entertainment vlog by Carl Schroeder: Gisbatzed explains why ASL Dragon lives in the cave under the ASL Dragon bridge in the forest valley where two rivers meet.

Testing YouTube

I'm totally frustrated with YouTube!

Ignore Those Deficit Thinkers

Just ignore those deficit thinkers!



They need attention and they are incapable of making a move without there being some advantage in American Sign Language (ASL) for them. In order to be heard, they must first see how they may gain from ASL.

This gain serves as the fuel that gets those deficit thinkers moving. The fuel is either the immediate or future gain they envisage. If they do not feel there is any profit, they will immediately criticize ASL and its users. That is because they cannot exist without feeling they will gain something.

There's a wonderful lesson here. We, proactive and deficit thinkers, are stereotypical opposites, yet the best of each is woven into DeafRead. We know that we influence ASL as much as ASL influences us. Those deficit thinkers are a wonderful reminder that we all need to keep weighing, sifting, and reassessing our own indignations.

There is a wonderful lesson here: Just ignore those deficit thinkers.

With Aloha

Always From

Ka'lalau

My critique on "Clementine & Stacey"

Click here for Carl Schroeder's critique vlog on the Clementine & Stacey" cochlear implant propaganda.

No American Sign Language, No Heaven

Take all the knowledge, technology, intelligence
All the sciences and the humanities known to us all.

Remember this very true rule about humans:
We don't know anything yet,
Even our most brilliant minds.
Don't forget that, it will be important.

Pack all of the above into a nice little rowboat,
Push it off on the Ocean of Space and Time,
Destination Eternity.

Remember that evolution continues.
It did not stop when scriptures were written,
It did not stop when Plato died.
It did not stop in the tiniest portion of time
We now call History.
Evolution keeps chugging along.

When I think like that,
Considering what we know now,
I get a better picture of our Earthly perspective,
Which is almost infinitely minuscule.

If you get that far and concentrate on it long enough,
You will never declare there can be no heaven,
No God, no American Sign Language, and so on.

Just keep an open mind.
I see so many who close their minds,
They determine their own limits!

Let them write about their lies,
Separating the thinking mind
From trees waving in invisible winds.

Mrs. Claus Is DEAF

An entertainment vlog by Carl Schroeder: When our son Justin was 3 and daughter Vivienne was 1, we took them to see Santa Claus in White Marsh Mall. To our surprise, Santa could sign and he told us his wife was DEAF. One year later, Justin and I were discussing that there's not much to talk about Mrs. Claus. He reasoned that she was DEAF. I asked how he knew about Mrs. Claus, and he said he remembered Santa saying so.

A New ASL Dragon Story

An entertainment vlog by Carl Schroeder: Once upon a time a long time ago existed many dragons....

It Is My Hearing Friends Who ...

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: Carl Schroeder discusses the implicature of each word in the statement, "it is my hearing friends who ..." that he received in numerous anonymous comments which hold no water. It is a hearing supremacy by-product.

By a Stroke of Magic: All is DEAF

American ships

in New England waters

flew a "Liberty Tree" flag

in 1775.

It shows a green pine tree

on a white background,

with the words,

"An Appeal to Heaven."

Imagine that as if by a stroke of magic, the whole world was turned DEAF, starting at midnight tonight.

Think of the mayhem. Business people would have to rely on emails or instant messengers or video phones. Managers and directors would have to stop small talks in meetings. Governments would have to stop manipulating spoken information and start using sign languages. Schools would be forced to create new curricula that are based on American Sign Language (ASL). Public relations would probably start spinning on ASL and so on.

Truth is not terribly attractive. It is terrifying really. Still--not to worry--truth isn't happening just yet. Instead, copious great lies about hearing restoration, especially through cochlear implants, can be sustained a little while longer because people like it. They buy it, thinking that when enough people buy a lie it eventually becomes a truism. So, in our society, truth is partly a factor of popularity. Popular lies are truth; unpopular facts are heresy.

The lies about ASL as a lifelong uphill battle have always been there, but over the last fifty years the linguistics of ASL has become more and more a vogue. ASL becomes so real that it's considered a full-fledged language and culture. However, we expect people to lie about ASL. They even have laws (IDEA, ADA, etc.) that prevent DEAF children from being exposed to or learning ASL. Many facts about ASL are hidden from the people, especially the parents and medicine professionals.

Of course, someone might ask how hiding ASL is in the interest of the public. Answer: It is claimed to be in the public interest that a DEAF child be able to "listen and talk." A second lie is then required to make sure no one asks any awkward question about the first lie.

When the time is right, anyone can speak for ASL. Right now, hearing supremacy has such a power to manipulate opinion that it can kid everyone into pledging alliagence to the "listen and talk" banner.

Let's now talk about the ASL banner that is yet to wave. That's our "Appeal to Heaven" flag.

:-)

Be Real; Be DEAF!

For many hearing people, we the DEAF are in a prison of their expectations. We are expected to read their lips, behave a certain way, use English--all because we are DEAF beings.

This pressure to conform with hearing people is part of a group dynamic. Every social group has requirements to belong, and in many parts of the DEAF community, the cultural standard is set with an idealized behavior. So many of us, DEAF people, found that lipreading and behaving the way hearing people expect us to do are unrealistic, the real enemy.

Discrepancies between how we feel and how others see us can emerge in many areas of our individual lives, but those surrounding us may be the most ingrained. We may know how others see us and be aware of their attention, but that awareness does not necessarily mean we are whole persons. Our mind may say, I can speak or lipread or hear, but the reality replies, "You do not speak clearly," "you do not lipread everything," or "you don't hear the way it should be heard."

DEAF being is not just how we think about being DEAF. It's the kind of condition we have that requires American Sign Language (ASL) in terms of using it for information, knowledge and communication. ASL defines us in the same manner as we define ourselves.

Be honest. Be specific. What do we want others to understand about our being DEAF? Our strength? Sense of humor? Independence?

Be real! Be DEAF!

Philosophy on the Way to ASL: Learning How to be Hearing

A philosophy vlog by Carl Schroeder: I had a great opportunity to be with a friend of mine Merle for lunch. Among different things we pondered whether it is always DEAF people who inform hearing people that they are hearing. What does it mean to be hearing?

My Reactions to Jack's Eyes: I Was A Jailbird, Too!

CLICK HERE

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: Many years ago Carl Schroeder became a victim of identity theft, and he was falsely arrested for pawning stolen items. Carl spent a whole day in jail. Interpreting services are always something that we the DEAF remain vulnerable.

A Chanukah/Christmas ASL Dragon Story

A Christmas ASL Dragon vlog by Carl Schroeder: Carl Schroeder wishes you Happy Holidays and the best of 2008! Enjoy!

Chapter I: University Lecture
Professor concludes his lecture: "All languages have two important potentials: developing an unlimited creativity and designing a symbolic archeton."

Chapter II: Gisbatzed Invites Professor
Gisbatzed tells Professor: "Come to my village and explore what it means to know ASL Dragon."

Chapter III: Village Feast
Sooket explains in the feast: "The celebration for Professor is not like some yellow brick road waiting to be discovered, but it is right here as we feast."

Chapter IV: Meeting ASL Dragon
Professor understands from ASL Dragon: "In learning to speak about who I am, you'll always need to explore about me."

Chapter V: Professor's Lecture
Professor opens his lecture: "I'm on this journey already -- with greater ease and awareness of the very core of the existence of ASL Dragon."

Chapter VI: Sooket Visits Professor's University
Sooket defends the ASL Dragon village: "That is just your mind protecting what you think ASL Dragon is from what actually exists in your unconscious."

One-Hand ASL Translation

An entertainment vlog by Carl Schroeder: Carl attempts to translate a course description in one-hand American Sign Language. Not very easy!

Former JrNAD President Offers Advices

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: The Junior National Association of the Deaf (JrNAD) chapter can go underground with supports from the parents. The JrNAD members and their oral friends should meet to brainstorm items, categorize them, prioritize them, and share them with the public media. The newspapers and TV reporters should be invited to listen to your situations,and they might follow up with the school to hear them out. Always be sure that the parents are present during the progress. Good luck!

A Chanukah Story

An entertainment vlog by Carl Schroeder: Carl Schroeder shares one of his favorite Chanuka as told by his father.

Telling Me What I Can and Cannot Tolerate

While I had every reason to expect far from my blogspot visitors, some of them have been pompous, cruel and incompetent as they wrote me private emails. Yes, there are a great many of people who are very supportive and intelligent.

I am here to tell you: I won't take trashy comments any more!

Those who wrote trash have acted in direct contravention of values that we, as DEAF people who love this world, hold dear. It has been absolutely astounding how they have committed the most horrendous acts, causing needless tragedy in the lives of my family, yet they wear their so-called I-am-better-than-you nonsense. Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling -- and disgraceful.

I will take an example out of a retired Gallaudet professor, who has deceived not only me, but also my friends who received a carbon-copy from her in the most cynical, outrageous ways. She has breached trust with us in the most egregious ways. She has utterly failed in the performance of retired professoriate as well as the Gallaudet University community representative.

Let me now quote from her email in part:

I am not going to put it up with him after he has used the most horrible name (fuck you) to me. Now I see his true dark colors. I can now understand why Carl DuPree was quite upset by his verbal cruelty. His verbal cruelty resulted in DuPree's death. Carl has NOT learned his lesson. I cannot imagine that a professional at a college does like that. I hope that he will never, ever, teach at Gallaudet; otherwise, we would see another Carl DuPree!

To my very good luck, there are some people who know and love me the same. This morning I received an email from a long-time friend of mine who believes we are seeing clearly what we are doing when we describe ourselves. She wrote in part and published to all libraries in the nation:

I agree with Carl Schroeder, one of my favorite bloggers, that it is also time for deaf people to start waving their language on December 10, 2008.

December 10th is the date we all must remember for two important reasons. It was The Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet's birthday. Also it is the interntaional Human Rights Day, and we are to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights next year.

What is the truth? In the case of "waving our language," the truth is that we need to be proactive about our language, American Sign Language (ASL).

Why do I blog or vlog? Generosity is a whole-being practice, and I experience it most deeply when I blog or vlog. I learned how to notice the impulse, and how to use imagery and generous thoughts to summon our generous feelings. As the user of ASL, I give of myself to help be aware of potential pitfalls. Do I expect thanks? Do I expect my gifts to be used in particular ways? How unconditional is my giving?

I identify generosity by three signs. First, it arises from a sense of rightness strong enough to take myself past the ego's comfort zone. Second, generosity is balance which neither bankrupts nor weakens myself. Third, generosity contains ABSOLUTELY NO regret.

So this holiday season, I am giving thanks to my ability to tolerate what I can and cannot. I need to make some changes if I want different results. Treat myself not to negative comments but to more healthy choices like thoughts and ideas people share with me. I am thankful, because I'm in charge if I want to be.

Now that's what I call a celebration of Kalalau's Korner.

Woman, Jew and DEAF Ask God (Revisited)

WOMAN, JEW, and DEAF ASK GOD ...

In Praise of Paotie's Jesus

Don't believe what you read. Neither Paotie's blog nor truly yours.

We do get a lot of our best lessons from reading that rarest of all phenomena, the worthwhile blog. I've never seen one that is useful in its entirety, but by reading carefully, I've learned to mine the nuggets from the discourse.

Years ago, my favorite TV program was called "Spenser: For Hire," with Bob Urich in the title role as a private eye, and Avery Brooks cast as his highly disturbing associate, "Hawk."

In what amounted to a ringing endorsement of Hawk's moral fiber, Spenser the Private Eye once described him by saying, "He won't say 'yes' and do 'no'."

When I saw the translation of it in American Sign Language (ASL), it struck a chord with me.

I like the high-minded tone of the message. Beyond that, I know how rare it is to run across people who take their word that seriously.

No matter how insignificant the message might be, reading a blog from someone who touts himself an atheist but portrays Jesus correctly and properly is a deep-seated comfort. Whatever other worries I might have, I know that "Jesus Hates Deaf" blog is dealt with.

Even a professor of philosophy at Gallaudet University, Dr. Jane Hurst, participated in his blog by making a comment. However, another critic wrote an email to me: "Paotie is a provocateur ... makes wild and preposterous statements merely in order to laugh and mock at people who take him seriously."

Look at the difference between a praiser and a critic. Aren't our critics the ones who are most reliable when the chips are down? And for anyone DEAF (without ASL), the chips are always down. Why are praisers always blind and oblivious of the chips being down? Listen to both of them.

The first step to becoming that kind of reader of Paotie's Jesus is to avoid saying "yes" and doing "no." I might be premature here, but I would nominate Paotie's "Jesus Hates Deaf" blog as the "2007 DeafRead's Blog of the Year." It's up to you to believe it or not!

Happy Fourth Light of Chanukah!

DEAF SACRIFICE: A free lance poem

had our society known when deaf father cast forth his offering to the sea of deaf mother's womb what creation their joy would bring would our society has welcomed the human/deaf child in its birth heralding the duality as nature's zenith in human form and bless the child the society held for all to see keeping deaf/self obscured, until the child understood the deaf destiny or would the child have shuddered at the fate if the realm of sign language is oblivious to the child, observe with keener eyes those our society defames with such vigorous animosity our society have been forcing to shame the child for deaf destiny in the hearing implants because our society denies the child the privilege of consorting openly with sign language the deaf child is a creature of dreaming the birthright: DEAF.

Pray in ASL or Chinese: Does It Matter?

An entertainment vlog by Carl Schroeder: Say your prayers in ASL ... or Chinese!

Use ASL: The 60th Anniversary of U.N. Declaration of Human Rights

December 10, 2008 will be that time again when all of us can join together and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. It's going to be a good time to wave our language flag!

We can speak up and speak out on the issues that must be corrected if our society is to be all that we want it to be. We can make a difference by sharing our ideas for changes that are important to us. American Sign Language (ASL) for all babies should be our top priority.

In 1983, during the 35th anniversary of the universal human rights declaration, I was privileged to travel to Europe as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow to observe and report human rights of Deaf people in Holland, the country of my birth. It was also during the same year that the Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf was held in Palermo, Italy. I also had splendid opportunities to meet many different Deaf people from all over the world in Palermo.

I now count that as one of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my life, although it was heartbreakng to listen to the wrongs that many Deaf people had suffered around the world.

Most people had been denied their own sign language and education that are basic human rights. Those who spoke used this opportunity to let others hear personal hurts and struggles that only they could share. Sometimes I cried with them.

Unfortunatly, some of the scars were so very deep. By December 10th of the next year, we must share our desire for changes.

If we need something changed, improved or kept the way it is, then join other thinking people. Remember: Tomorrow will be not the same if we make a difference.

Speak up to make a difference. Speak out for ASL so our American society will start to think about ASL.

Bad ASL and Good ASL (Redo)

A redo vlog by Carl Schroeder: Good ASL. Bad ASL. Fancy ASL. Poor ASL. Clear ASL. Vague ASL. What ASL?

I Am Not DEAF ...

No!

I am not DEAF
By your definition.

I will not stand
In the spotlight
Like a Christmas tree
With all trimmings
And wait for presents.

I'm sorry, but
Morality will just
Have to change.

I speak directly
To the children
Of your image,
Under the sun,
With the angels
Glorifying halelujah.

We have burned
Hearing supremacists
In effigy - and in person,
There will be no more
To wake old feelings
Of dumbness.

We love ASL.
We tell them
So directly.

Care of the wind,
Wherever it blows,
There is no categories.

Once I was crucified
Too many times
But felt nothing;
I was also shot
As many times
As Sebastian
But was not hurt.

Thank goodness!

I just am
Being DEAF
Knowing myself
Better than ever,
Thinking myself
Just fine!

If interested,

Please write

To this poem,

Not to its poet.

Bad ASL and Good ASL?

Comment Anonymous in my recent philosophy vlog asks whether I could give an example for good and bad ASL. As for good ASL, I refer to DeafRead's recent announcement of the master of ceremonies for its first DeafRead Conference Award Banquet next February. As for bad ASL, I simply give my account of a recent experience I had with a DEAF woman from Indiana.

Our Battle Banner: In ASL We Muse

A Poem Vlog by Carl Schroeder

Philosophy on the Way to ASL: Language Continuum

A philosophy vlog by Carl Schroeder: The continuum of ASL exists in the broadest sense that no part of it can be distinguished for any neighboring language. The ASL continuum consists of bad and good ASL, and all language components, i.e., phonology, semantics, syntax, discourse and pragmatics, are included in this language continuum. English has its own continuum of poor and outstanding English, too. However these continua shall never meet eyeball-to-eyeball.

What Does It Mean to Be an User of American Sign Language?

If you asked me what it means to be an user of ASL, I would probably come up with a witty and wioe response. I am DEAF.

Well, it depends on your viewpoint, your age, and your status and where you are from.

Using ASL may mean a boastful pride in the phrase "ASL is beautiful."

It could convey our intense sense of language independence.

It could portray our persistence to withstand language bigotries: "ASL will fade away," "no ASL for babies with cochlear implants," and other language calamities.

We still use ASL to say HELLO and GOOD-MORNING to non-signers as we meet them.

We believe in a freedom of speech--reasonable and responsible. ASL is our form of speech--honest.

We do not take ourselves too seriously, except for football, politics and philosophy.

We prefer to use ASL everywhere in the United States and most Canada.

Pitfalls in Creating the Label: "American Sign Language Culture"

There are numerous pitfalls in trying to make any kinds of generalizations about what characteristics make American Sign Language (ASL) Culture "real." Once such a definition is created, those who fall outside of this generalization could, by implication, be categorized as "not real," or worse, hearing supremacists. In order to be considered an insider of ASL Culture, need a person be born DEAF, so glossed to mean growing up without the sense of hearing, or use ASL for 10, 20 or 30 years? What about CODAs (children of deaf adults) whose parents don't use ASL?

There's certainly the traditional image of the individual, born-DEAF or born-CODA, who loves ASL, loves to use ASL and loves to play with ASL. The problem is, just about the only people who come to mind who fit that description are DEAF.

The fact is, ASL Culture is not all-DEAF. Are people who use or support ASL be welcomed into the world of "real" ASL users? How about those who claims in ASL that it's fading away? Only time will tell.

I've lived in the United States since I was ten; I don't know if that qualifies me as a "real" user of ASL or not. But I will try my best: ASL users are creative, generous and hardworking. ASL users believe that ASL is a good language in which to communicate information and knowledge.

In short, what makes ASL Culture unique? The fact that ASL exists and it is our culture.

ASL VLOG: My Reflections

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: Timothy Withrow and David Martin proposed creating a new sign for ASL VLOG and seeked opinions. As student of linguistics, Carl brings up some linguistic principles involving the economics of thumb position in fingerspelling and possible movements involving fingerspelling-loan signs.

Can't Blame Cochlear Implants, Too!

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: We cannot blame cochlear implants (CIs), of course, but Carl Schroeder is concerned with misleading propaganda related to CI people who said they could hear. Hearing is not the same as comprehending what is heard.

The Fruit Orange and William C. Stokoe

Just watch this and learn about American Sign Language.

What Is Your Definition of Deaf Culture?

Here are some extracts from

email messages circulating

about defining Deaf Culture and

American Sign Language (ASL).

I thought you would be interested

in what is cooking right now.

You're welcome to share your

thoughts and ideas. All hostile

comments will be filtered out.

Carl

I have read Joseph Raymound's blog wherein he wrote about Paddy Ladd's Understanding Deaf Culture : In Search of Deafhood. (Myself, I have not read Ladd's book.) Joseph said that Paddy puts CI, oralist, Cuer, Deaf under Deaf culture.

My opinion has it that CI, oralist, and Cuer, who do not know sign language, are NOT culturally Deaf; Therefore, they are not members of Deaf culture. Deaf culture means a person who cannot hear and uses sign language and depends on a sign language interpreter. My opinion is also my definition of Deaf culture. Did I miss what Paddy means?

So, my question is: What is your definition of Deaf culture?


Carl’s Response

I will be honest here that I'm not quite comfortable with the term Deaf Culture because language and culture are embedded with each other. One cannot really discuss language without culture and vice versa. The word Deaf is from the English language. It is a pathological term. If I were to discuss it without making any reference to the sense of hearing, then I appear erratic in English.

That's why I'm beginning to borrow this ASL term DEAF, so glossed, to discuss that defining being DEAF is ASL.

E’s Response to Carl:

I agree.

It should be called ASL culture Deaf culture is misleading as it doesn't corporate all subgroups of deaf people... There are some hearing members, i.e. spouses, CODA, and interpreters who live among the deaf people and interact with them heavily.The major determination of culture is language.

B’s Response to E and Carl:

Actually, I just realized that "ASL culture" does seem to have a good aspect of accuracy, because it shows that different cultures around the world associated with signed languages are not one monolithic culture. There is one in America and Canada that is unique. Previously, we might say "American Deaf culture" to show this.

That is a problem with the term "Deaf culture", because people assume that all deaf cultures around the world are part of one big culture, but I don't see how this is possible. There is too much geographic dispersion and too many differences between all those people (different signed languages, some differences in values, etc.)

Response to the NAD President's Message

Inspired by the NAD Across America bandwagon ...OAD Across Oregon is what Carl Schroeder is interested now. OAD and NAD needs to invite hearing people as they might be important to our language and culture movement.

Where Hearing Supremacy Rules

Hearing Supremacy is alive and well around the world. What is dead is any justification for the comparisons to choices in communication.

And what an instructive juxtaposition of facts. Today's baby with cochlear implants (CIs) would have to wait until at least 2012 be thoroughly assessed for language acquisition. The CIs babies are in the hands of hearing supremacy, the mind-set of these hearing people that a DEAF child should be raised with synthetic sounds. Degrading the nature of being DEAF and the gift of American Sign Language (ASL) with derogatory remarks is now in their vogue, cheered also by some, yes, some people with CIs. Babies born being DEAF do not suffer any loss, period, and being DEAF is a special gift.

Hearing supremacy is a very powerful and convincing mistake. No hearing supremacists (people--both hearing and DEAF--who believe it is better to hear than not ...) has succeeded in blowing ASL out of the water. If they want to hit the high points, their number one is there will be no ASL, that's all. Which means they won't be spending all this unbelievable amount of money making all those DEAF babies hear. That money will be available to practice genocide of the DEAF genes which won't be anything like so illegal and expensive.

Since the beginning of civilization, hearing supremacists have been aware that being DEAF is ghastly ... terrifyingly horrible to their senses ... and that it is utterly inevitable. For them, being DEAF seems ghastly in its silence and sterility. Forebearance from speech and deficiency in speech are frightening to them so they have two choices. Either they spend their lives being preoccupied by this ghastly future of DEAF babies, or they find some way to get on with their lives and make the best of it.

As long as hearing supremacy rules, there are some, yes, some people with CIs bow at their feet and kiss them as if they are divine or near-divine.

With aloha always from Kalalau

Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

The 1995 Panel of Cochlear Implants Doctors Said No!

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: In 1995 there was a big conference on cochlear implants at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Carl Schroeder went there and asked the panel of the doctors whether people with CIs hear the way they hear normally. The answer was unequivocally no!

Cochlear Implants: Exporter of the Year

What a morning to remember! I wanted to watch TV news about the rainstorm here, but it was about doctors not reporting medical errors. More than 50% doctors did not report their errors, and the media was after that type of medical practice. I thought of how many cochlear implants were erred. Maybe I should investigate over the winter break.

En route to work, I got stuck by bumper-to-bumper traffic in downtown Salem. You see, I live in west Salem, across the bridge. Yes, some floods had strange impacts on the roads here. At red traffic lights, I decided to Google cochlear stock shares. Wow!

On November 23, 2007, about two weeks ago, a bionic ear company that manufactures and distributes cochlear implants in Australia was awarded "Exporter of the Year." In the world of medicine, cochlear implants are the bestsellers. The stock shares surged, especially after the Boston-based ear implant manufacturing company announced recall as the result of meningtis crises.

The Australian Stock Exchange shows that cochlear stock shares continue to surge in full anticipation of profiting from the Boston cochlear implant recall.

Like I said earlier, what a morning to remember. The bottom line for cochlear implants is NOT hearing restoration. If you have cochlear stock shares, you would buy and sell. The increase of manufacturing and distributing cochlear implants has also triggered an increased purchased of health insurance stock shares.

The Boston-based bionic ear company spokesman said he's unaware of cochlear malpractices. Well, that was what TV reporters are after ... not reporting medical errors. Being Deaf is not a medical condition; it is biological.

As long as people with cochlear implants do not hear the way hearing people NORMALLY do, the hearing restoration propaganda is merely a hoax. Synthetic sounds are not biological ... not natural.

Out - Cochlear Implant; In - Hearing Implant

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: In the Seattle Deafhood Workshop, David Eberwein presented the paradigm/archetype model to shift from negative terms to positive ones. Carl discovers that there exists the archetype of cochlear implant which is hearing implant.

DEAF NOT TO BE CUT OFF

A philosophy vlog by Carl Schroeder: Technology makes us seem so estranged from the stars, so utterly cut off from the trees. We the Deaf, like those trees and stars, have souls. Technology is a man-made probability.

Haiku: KNOW SNOW

First snow

Makes all become now

That I know

Photo credit:

Brenda Duval

Location:

Koolhaas,

Seattle, Washington

Why We Must Remember JKF?

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: Imagine a time when American Sign Language (ASL) is declared unnecessary for children with cochlear implants by a university administrator, Jane Keheller Fernandes, regardless her whereabouts. JKF has been promoting cochlear implants and dismissing ASL in public, especially in academic settings. (We must also remember that JKF has been lying about her being DEAF. According to the spring 1983 issue of Gallaudet Today, a university magazine, JKF was born hearing.)

Stocks for Cochlear Implants?

A discussion vlog by Carl Schroeder: Genie Gertz and I had a fascinating opportunity to discuss economics of the DEAF colonialism after the Seattle Deafhood Workshop. It was an eye-opening experience for me! I think we must pursue this information to the fullest!

Deaf Being or Being Deaf: The Eternal Question

In the Seattle Deafhood Workshop last Saturday, one of the workshop presenters, Ella Mae Lentz, asked a Socratic question to seek an account of what the sign DEAF, so glossed with the English term to represent the sign, actually is without making any reference to the sense of hearing. When she invited the audience to say what DEAF is, the audience already enumerates so many different embodiments of DEAF.

We need to question the real meaning of the qualitative instance we unthinkingly employ DEAF in our use of ASL. We need to abstract these embodiments from our experience that seems to exemplify DEAF.

However, I have little interest in these multiple embodiments of DEAF, except in so far as they all partake of some common, unchanging element, which I would like to abstract and ponder on its own.

In the Seattle Deafhood workshop, I realized that Ella attempted to induce a reflection upon the quality of DEAF as it exists in ASL. The specific embodiments of DEAF that we encountered last Saturday are necessarily variable; genuine knowledge about the sign DEAF must be of what is eternal and unchanging.

Socrates talked about Meno who bombarded him with different instances for virtue: "I seem to be in luck. I only asked you for one thing, virtue, but you have given me a whole swarm of virtues." Ella asked for one thing about DEAF, but the audience gave her a whole swarm of what is known as the eternal and unchanging question: Deaf being or being Deaf.

End of the discussion! Deafhood continues!

Seattle Deafhood Workshop Journal 5

Deaf Being = Being Deaf

I'm now riding back to Tacoma where I'm staying with family friends of mine for the weekend. I had a brief opportunity to talk with Ella before going away. Briefly we discussed replacing the term deafness that I often used in my writings with Deaf Being.

Here are my own reflections:

!. First and foremost, I remembered from my Dutch childhood when I listened to my uncle, oom Roel, of Deaf Amsterdam debating something like this: Deaf is as Deaf is. My understanding then was that Deaf being is about being Deaf.

2. In one sense, we all know there's nothing new under the sun, and in another sense that every workshop makes a new perception. The difference is in consciousness of Deaf being and being Deaf.

3. This was what the Seattle Deafhood Workshop was all about: It's a major change in consciousness found within each of us as we learn to bring forth and manifest powers that our being Deaf has always potentially had.

4. As Deaf beings, we struggle to develop talents and powers, and our efforts build power in the collective unconsciousness, the soul of being Deaf that suddenly makes these same talents and powers easier access for the world.

5. We still have to learn the "rules" for developing and applying these powers, but it is more like a "re-learning" than a new learning, because with the Deafhood it is as if the basis for these rules had become genetic.

6. When we begin this Deafhood journey, it is always best to know something about our destination. We need to know what to expect. What to look for. We need to be able to equate Deaf being with being Deaf.

Seattle Deafhood Workshop Journal 4

It's snowing! Well, David Eberwein was first to discover the snow. The audience got a little shaky. One of ASL students at Western Oregon University told me she had to leave because of it. However, I was thrilled. It was my first snow since Hawai'i!

After break, some people left, which is understandable.

Deficit thinking = bad philosophy

There are many books written about deafness. Deficit thinking about deafness delineates erratic discourses and discussions.

Framing: Let's pray and thank for not making an elephant fly. Walt Disney only created Dumbo. (Oh my goodness, what's my point here?)

What a different way of thinking! Consider these reframing terms discussed concisely by Genie Gertz:

Deafhood
Deaf
Passionate
Challenge
Activist
Deaf-Centered
ASL=English
Clear Position
Healthy Family

Paradigm Shift discussed by David Eberwein:

Deafness - Deafhood
Deficitive thinking - Positive thinking
Unexamined - Examined

I'm sitting behind a group of interpreter students. It has been fascinating to "eavesdrop" their discussions. They were analyzing the sign EMPOWERMENT. They are questioning whether interpreters are capable of empowering someone if he or she's already empowered..

Ella Mae Lentz now.

Think seriously!
Examine positively!

Paddy Ladd: ...have some larger forces ensured our presence in human diversity?

Ilm thinking of the snow! I want to gp skiing.

Seattle Deafhood Workshop Journal 3

1066
1492
1880

What do these years have in the common? Language change. In 1066, the English language began to experience vocabulary expansion. The Spanish language began to expand after Christopher Columbus discovered Americas in 1492. Sign languages, on the other hand, began to suffer ostracization after the 1880 Milan Resolution.

Language colonialism has strange impacts and implicatiopns in the Deaf world. Defending deafness is like deploying Deaf against Deaf.

Ella Mae Lentz is a master storyteller. Loved her story about New Orleans where MJ Beinvenu and she had a good time joking with a hearing guy making fun of ASL that his mother looked like a monkey.

Seattle Deafhood Workshop Journal 2

The "Deafhood"--it's a catchword we use, but what does it mean? Does it mean tuat we are entering the "New Age"? Does it mean that a new Messiah is coming to use American Sign Language (ASL) to correct all that is wrong and make the Deaf world into a Garden? Probably not--but the idea of a major change is there, combines with awareness that ASL-English bilingualism can bring us toward a Garden; that hearing supremacy is not an evil that we must accept.

Optimists, dreamers, linguists ... nearly all of us believe in a "better tomorrow," and that somehow we can do things now that will make a better future life for all the Deaf and for coming generations of Deaf people.

In one sense, I know there's nothing new, and in another sense that every morning makes a new day.

Merle Baldridge, Brenda Duvall abd Joe Turner came to get me in Tacoma where I'm, stayoinmg with my family friends. We're now on the way to the workshop. We're also tryiong top find a restaurant for breakfast.