Carl, it is not up to you to decide

Barry describes himself in video he did in 2009 as "deafless" person which means he sees himself as a human being first, and not about his hearing loss, his deafness or whether he's hard of hearing, deaf or Deaf.  In the video below he asks a deeper question.

Does the term 'deaf' own us or control us? In some instances I've seen how the term 'deaf' control us to a certain degree where we are seen as slaves to the word. Have we forgotten the fact that we are human beings first before we are anything else? Think about it.

 

Carl Schroeder attempted to define a term for Barry is which is a no-no. The only person who is allowed to label or define him/herself as is the person him/herself. And not from other people. If Barry wants to call himself as a Deaf person, then so be it. Or if he wants to call himself as a deaf person, so be it. Or hard of hearing, so be it. Or hearing impaired, so be it. Or a deafless person, then so be it. It's important to see a person as a human being first with all other extraneous details as second. Once you get into the practice of that then it wouldn't matter if a person has a condition. It wouldn't matter if a person is deaf. It wouldn't matter if a person is blind. It wouldn't matter because the person is a human being first and foremost.

Granted that Barry went to Idaho School for the Deaf and graduated there but so what? Granted that he grew up in an nth generation household of deaf families and signing. So what? Lately the labeling of the term "Deaf" has increasingly become perverted away from the original definition to mean people who are culturally deaf. Now the label "Deaf" has become so muddled in its definition to mean anybody with a hearing loss. And how certain culturally deaf factions have attempted to hijack the term "Deaf" for their own selfish agenda as I have carefully outlined in a previous blog on that very subject. And why it is destined to fail in the attempt to mean an all-inclusive term.

It won't................work.

Carl, learn to respect those who prefer to define or label themselves as. Carl is attempting to control Barry. A typical M.O. of Carl's. It is not up to Carl to decide for Barry what label he should carry. That's Barry's decision. And his alone.

Lou Ferrigno - finally, the first non-Deaf star to be on "Dancing with the Stars" show

(See update below).

Thank goodness that the people of Dancing with the Stars were smart enough to finally "pick" a "non-Deaf" star, Lou Ferrigno (who is famous for playing the big, green hulking mutant in a 1970s The Incredible Hulk tv series), for a shot at the dance shootout. And, if officially picked, we'll see whether his feet matches his muscles, or perhaps his brain, in terms of dexterity, grace, and, without stumbling flat on his face, too. The last deaf person on Dancing with the Stars was in fact a Deaf person named Marlee Matlin who signed her way throughout the show but ultimately eliminated from the competition.



Now, the table has turned. We will have Lou Ferrigno who represents the majority of deaf people who do not know or use sign language to communicate but rather use oral/aural methods to communicate with the help of their hearing aids or cochlear implants in their everyday lives. Lou is a role model and an inspiration to the hundreds of thousands if not millions of deaf and hard of hearing kids who will get a chance to watch this "Deafless" guy dance (or stumble) his way across the screen. So the question is this. How light is Lou's feet? Well, check out Lou's 2007 audition clip where he didn't make the cut the first time around and probably enough to make you wince watching it, I did (sorry Lou). Just don't bad mouth since Lou is also a reserve Deputy Sheriff who was sworn in back in 2006.



Lots of hip swiveling with his white t-shirt and jeans along with fading in and out screen shots. Hmmm, 50s type dancing? Not really impressed. Probably the same feelings as the producers of the show who saw Lou's clip. But who knows how he'll fare this time around (I'm assuming his recent audition clip was much better than the one in 2007?) once he gets a professional dancer to teach him how to really dance. We might be in for a surprise. At least hopefully he'll go a lot longer than Marlee before getting eliminated.

Ok, folks. Calm down now. You can stop hyperventilating.

Geez.

UPDATE: Apparently last week on Good Morning America a list of names was read on those who were officially selected by DWTS Tom Bergeron. And the name Lou Ferrigno wasn't on that list. Lou's mad, or maybe was more surprised than mad but certainly his wife, Carla, is mad after whipping Lou into shape and have him lose 25lbs in bodyweight.

From E! Online:

Here's the full list of "stars" you'll see during the three-day premiere of Dancing With the Stars, kicking off Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC...

Kathy Ireland, 46, model
Macy Gray, 41, singer
Melissa Joan Hart, 33, actress
Mya, 29, singer
Ashley Hamilton, 34, actor-comedian
Michael Irvin, 43, football player
Mark Dacascos, 45, actor and martial artist
Donny Osmond, 51, entertainer
Kelly Osbourne, 24, singer
Debi Mazar, 45, actress
Chuck Liddell, 39, UFC fighter
Natalie Coughlin, 26, swimmer
Joanna Krupa, 30, model
Louie Vito, 21, snowboarder
Aaron Carter, 21, singer
Tom DeLay, 62, former House majority leader

I suppose they went for Chuck Liddel, a widely popular and well known UFC fighter, instead of the bigger (now slimmer) Lou Ferrigno? Who knows what the DWTS officials were thinking, especially picking a politician, Tom Delay, who is not even considered a "star" but more of like a very well known public servant whose only fame was getting kicked out of the House majority leader position.

Will Lou try again? No, not according to Carla and the fact that DWTS never had the class to inform him or his manager beforehand.

His manager and wife Carla told RadarOnline.com:

"They never even had the class to give Lou a call and tell him that he was not going to be chosen - this is the second time they haven't selected him but it will be the last."

"We couldn't believe some of the people they picked, and Lou was more surprised than upset that he wasn't chosen because we know he would have been great. "I mean, Tom Delay, a corrupt politician, a skateboarder [Louie Vito] who nobody has ever heard of, and what exactly has Ashley Hamilton ever done?"

Indeed. A strange list of "stars." But don't worry folks, Lou is still a role model for millions of deaf and hard of hearing kids to look up to.

Deafless in Seattle

Deafless? What in the heck is that word? According to Barry in the video below it is in a sense opposite of what "Deafhood" is about. For those who are "deafless" see themselves as human beings first and not about a person's own hearing loss (i.e. deaf first or in this case Deaf first and everything else is last) and not be constrained by the word "deaf." Barry makes some good points and all done in a veiled tongue-in-check response to "Deafhood." In other words, don't get your wet panties into a wad.


Barry makes a salient point about Deafhood and Deaf, and mocks to a degree about audism as well. Barry proclaims at the end of the video that he chooses to be seen as "deafless" which means he sees himself as a human being first, and not about his hearing loss or deafness that describes him.

What Barry said was pretty much what said starting three years ago when I did four pieces (see here, here, here and here) on my own "invented" word, "Deafhoodism" where I made the point that I see myself simply as a human being who happens to have a hearing loss. My deafness does not solely define me, it's everything else combined that defines me. I don't subscribe to a club mentalilty based upon a condition. There are commonalities, yes, but to make it as a requirement to be a part of one? No.

What's funny was that bloggers actually used my newly "invented" word for awhile as you can see in this Google search. Now, it's Barry's turn that people are suddenly using the "deafless" word but only in the context, as it would seem, to elevate themselves above to "Deafhood" status by looking down on the word or the people who use it. Even though Barry's acceptance of the word "deafless" was seen as a bit of a tongue-in-check to all this but, correctly so, it's the point he's making behind all that word. We're simply human beings and we should see each as that and not about belonging to some club or see ourselves as a deaf person but a person who happens to have a hearing loss.

And, oh, about "Deafless in Seattle"? Ever see the movie "Sleepless in Seattle"? No connection between the two. Just thought I put that one out. By the way, don't take the "Dummies" cover page seriously. All done in tongue-in- cheek with a variety of meanings behind my illustrated graphic page.