EMPOWERMENT IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY:ANALYZING THE POSTS OF INTERNET WEBLOGS

Here's an August 2009 Masters of Art thesis paper entitled: Empowerment in the Deaf Community: Analyzing the Posts of Internet Weblogs. In this paper it covered several well known deaf/hh blogs or "the nine amazing bloggers whose words can inform the world of the strength of their community," such as Kokonut Pundit, Fookem and Bug, Ear of My Heart, Ridor Live, Woparsb, Mishka Zena, Berke Outspoken, and The Deaf Edge (see page 38). Though the person who did the thesis tried to guess our age but missed mine by a decade. No contacts were made by the author of this study in order to reduce any interference or biasing.

In 2007 when the study began, several criteria were established to weed out 366 blogs where eight blogs remained (see page 34, note that Fookem and Bug is one blog with two bloggers). The thesis goes on to explain about the bloggers and the 416 posts (from April to June of 2007) that were analyzed:

this research examined personal and community empowerment in Deaf individuals as evidenced in 416 blog posts by nine individuals who are members ofthe DeafRead community. Common elements of empowerment found in the literature across a variety of disciplines include: evidence of valued social roles, improving others’ perceptions of oneself or ones’ own self image, overcoming stigma, changing or improving the community, informing the community and sharing expectations of what the community’s abilities. These elements constitute the framework for the current study. The study examined the degree to which Deaf bloggers discussed their sense of personal empowerment in their blog posts and the degree to which the content of Deaf blog posts advocated for community empowerment for their readers.

"Members of the Deafread community"? I don't see it that way but rather it's simply an aggregator site where you can submit your blog URL address to get it listed. No more different than Deaf Village as an aggregator site.

Secondly, the thesis goes on to describe Deaf bloggers which is incorrect since not all deaf bloggers are Deaf but deaf or hard of hearing. Just because one has a blog listed in Deafread does not make that person a Deaf blogger. I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted for the author to label me as a Deaf blogger, which I'm not. A deaf blogger, yes. A hard of hearing blogger, yes. That was the author's mistake to assume a blogger's identity without asking first.

All in all, this thesis study put out a good effort to analyze Deaf bloggers (and not so much for Deaf, deaf, and hh bloggers) and their role in the Deaf community, empowerment efforts and such. Although the author neglected to even consider the deaf and hard of hearing communities in her research of those born with a hearing loss or acquired it later in life.

To criticize Obama is not racist....

Cartoon courtesy of NBRA by Brett Noel.

Whenever there is a commentary in a blog criticizing Obama by taking him to task over certain short-sightedness or policy approach that has nothing to do with his skin color or ethnicity. Nor is it a racist, of course. What it boils down to is the right to freely express an opinion about the President of the United States but Liberals have decided to play the race card to the hilt but it has proven to be disastorous so far, of course. We see people who are being subjected at every turn called a "racist" by liberals' knee-jerking response who the overly protective and zealous Obama adulators. This, I'm sure, has happened many times when Obama first came on the scene back in 2007 onward for the 2008 presidential race and to today which has gone completely overboard with Obama contributing to the race card meme by calling Officer Crowley for "acting stupidly."

This whole racist charge isn't a just hearing people phenomenom thing, either. You have deaf people accuse others for being racist for making critical comments against the president. The first one that I remembered to have lobbed that charge, in so many words, came earlier this year. It was an unfortunate but a laughable charge. Mishka Zena (an Obama adulator?) had the, ahem, audacity to charge (J'accuse!) Rob Underhill in the blog comment over his blog article about Obama's trash after the inauguration stating what he wrote was racist. Mishka Zena made the charge with the presumption that by treating Obama differently is a racist act. Racist? You gotta be joking! Would it be any different had the President been a white Democrat with a green agenda and still saw messy result at the Mall on inauguration day? Ironically, it is the Democrats who are treating Obama differently by holding him up as the "messiah."

Nothing worse than to jump gun and use the color excuse and make a serious but unsubstantiated charges of racism. No matter what you say about Obama when criticizing him you will more than likely hear charges of racism from the mouths of Obama adulators.

There's no getting away from it.

Laugh at a political cartoon showing two cops who had just shot a crazed monkey?

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!

Compare Obama's ipost inauguration trash in DC to a post 9/12 million plus Tea Party protesters in DC with near clean results?

Raaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!

Obama's political experience is less than Governor Palin.

Raaaaaaaaaaacist!!

Obama picked a tax cheat for Secretary of Treasury.

Raaaaaaaaaaaacist!!

Obama's bailout package with one measure containing $4.2 billion dollars where ACORN (widely know for their fraudulent activities supporting Obama only and not a neutral organization) will be eligible for it...without question.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!

Obama's ears look funny.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!

Obama's a mulatto.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!!

Obama's black and white.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!!

Obama's is no Martin Luther King.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!!

Barack Hussein Obama Elected As Our Nation’s First Black President and Our Nation’s First Marxist President.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!!

Well, the bit about MLK, first Marxist President and the cartoon at the top came from the National Black Republican Association website. So, you can't accuse me of being racist which would be mighty stupid of you to try and do so.

So, please. Stop with the constant knee-jerking whenever one criticizes Obama that has nothing to do with the color of his skin or ethnicity but rather by the content of Obama's character and not his skin.

In short.... Mishka Zena, the people in Alldeaf and all others need to get past this myopic view of using race as your calling card which is a feeble crutch of a defense in the attempt to protect Obama at every turn by making baseless and unsubstantiated charges. Doing so shows desperation on your part. Remember, this is 2009. Not 1865. It's the Democrats who ought to owe blacks an apology for legitimizing racist attitudes of the past and even today.