Crab Theory on a Pedestal

You know, after all these years I've seen it happen again and again and again in the cultural deaf community. For some reason or another you get a group of people who would target certain deaf individuals because he or she has gained a bit of recognizance for his or her successful efforts. That negative exercise is called "Crab Theory."

The definition of "Crab Theory" is described in a report called “Review of Deaf Mental Health Services in British Columbia” by Linda D. Hill, Ph.D.and Patricia Nelson, MA.

The tendency of members of an oppressed group to use criticism, pressure, gossip, and in-fighting against group members who appear to be too successful or who appear to be becoming too much like the members of the dominant group.(pg 41).

A better definition seen in Wikipedia is more accurate on what has been happening lately:

The analogy in human behavior is that members of a group will attempt to "pull down" (negate or diminish the importance of) any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of envy,[4] conspiracy or competitive feelings.

The funny thing is that whenever one is accused of "Crab Theory" the person will provide the usual response proclaiming it's really about a person's "character" as a justification to heap scorn, hate, half truths and lies instead of applauding and supporting a deaf person's hard work in his or her rise to success. Often they'll tell stories of year's past as anecdotal evidences without any shred of proof  with the intention of targeting the successful individual to fail in his or her quest. That's the number one motive and that is to get the person to fail.  Other methods would be to use a series of negative comments in quotes that was supposedly said by the so-called "guilty person" as if they're solid proof that he or she actually said those things. Of course, all without offering any links to the actual source of those comments. Their motive is to drag the rising star down at all cost. Sometimes you have people who pretend to be neutral about the whole thing yet continues to heap negative comments. Those are examples of Crab Theory.

Why Crab Theory? Had the person not been successful in his or her efforts while gaining more name recognition in the public, better fund raising efforts or more public support then this whole effort to discredit the successful person would not have happened in the first place. That tells you one thing and that's they are practicing Crab Theory by putting out stories and unfounded and unsupported damaging claims against the successful deaf person without any shred of proof.  No links to sources or videos that would have captured what he or she has said or done.  Just stories. As far as I'm concerned they're fictional stories. Just because somebody shared that story does not make it true. Petty stories make for a petty person.

It's funny how some people in the deaf community behave like that. Here you have an opportunity for the deaf community to help a deaf person become successful by recognizing his or her hard work and successes while climbing the ladder to his or her goal.  People do have the right to not support a person. However, there's a difference between saying that you do not want to support the person versus writing a 4 or 5 page public rant on a website of something that happened 10 or 15 years ago what the person supposedly said or done with an obvious goal to make sure the person would fail. Doing so makes the Crab Theory practitioner look petty and little.

Which ones are living in the past and have grudges or hate vs people looking to the future in the hope that this deaf person will succeed while supporting him or her in such a positive manner that would benefit the deaf community once the person reaches his or her goal?

Crab Theory. That need to stop. People need to stop acting childish by focusing so much on the past of unfounded accusations with no shred of proof. People over time do change into something better. Past is past. No one is perfect. Unless you are perfect in life in everyway then I suppose you would have the right to judge people. But you're not perfect. Might as well step down from that soap box of hate.  Now is the time to focus on the present for a better future.

Sarah Churman's book "Powered On" is Number One on Amazon

How impressive. Sarah Churman's book "Powered On" has hit the number one spot on Amazon's best "mover and shaker."

Sarah and I just wanted to shoot out another e-mail saying THANK YOU to all who participated in yesterday's best seller launch on Amazon. By 8pm last night, 'Powered On' earned the best seller title! Sarah's book started out the day ranked #381,773 out of all books on Amazon. She went all the way to spot #361! She got 'best selling biography/memoir' coming in at #64 out of the top 100 best sellers, and eventually earned #1 'mover and shaker' on Amazon books. We are so excited, but more importantly, so grateful for everyone who helped make this happen. We hope everyone who ordered books will enjoy them and return to Amazon to leave a review.

If you want to order Sarah Churman's book, "Powered On", go to Amazon and get one today.

What are the reviews saying in Amazon?

Sarah Churman does an incredible job of taking us into her world of silence along with the challenges of living in a hearing world, bullying, and simple day to day activities that the hearing community takes for granted. She is transparant in sharing her feelings and her journey. It is a beautiful book not just for those effected by deafness but also those facing other serious challenges in life. Thank you Sarah for sharing such a beautiful story.

And that is just one of 29 reviews for a total 5 stars out of 5. Not bad.

Open vs Closed Societies

President Hurwitz made it clear on the danger of practicing exclusion in his his February 19, 2013 State of the University address "Open the Gates Wide: Diversity and Inclusion at Gallaudet" speech.

Hurwitz warned against the destruction that exclusion can bring. "The wider the gates of acceptance open, the more room there is for all. Sadly, the community that excludes shrinks and dies," he said. He encouraged members of the audience to expand their circle of friends and colleagues to include those whose background is different from their own, and to embrace them "in the common cause of advancing our community and humanity."

It's the same warning that Deafhood? No Thanks Facebook group have told people for years, even before when the group became established, that it's better to accept people for who they are rather than to exclude them just because they do not pass your ideological purity test or don't believe in open thought or diversity. 

Symbolically, in American Sign Language, the sign for diversity is to reach out, while the sign for inclusion is to draw in. "All of us at Gallaudet ... must reach out and must draw in," he said. As members of a university community-traditionally a haven for open thought and respect for differing opinions-people who live, study, and work at Gallaudet don't need to be convinced of the benefits of diversity and inclusion, said Hurwitz. However, he acknowledged unresolved conflicts between groups on campus.

Those "unresolved conflicts" would be the whole McCaskill/Gallaudet/Hurwtiz/Bienvenu snafu and the seemingly racist hate letter aimed at McCaskill by a "former friendly colleague" at Gallaudet University.

Will Gallaudet University ever become a recognized university known for its inclusion, diversity, and open thought? An institution with the goal of being diverse in its language and communication approaches without resorting to gutter politics and political correctness? Only time will tell.

Mystery Colleague at Gallaudet Univ uses the "N" word in Hate Letter

Mystery Colleague at Gallaudet Univ uses the "N" word in Hate Letter. Yeah. You heard it right. An overly immature if not wholly unprofessional letter was directed at Dr. Angela McCaskill who was recently re-instated as Chief Diversity Officer at Gallaudet University.  The source of the letter was found in Facebook under The Intersection: Deaf/People of Color Forum which is a closed group (private). The letter was procured from that Facebook group in an excellent blog piece called Diversity: Holding the Chief Diversity Officer and office accountable – epilogue written by Kojo Amissah (note: the offending words have been partially redacted in my blog).

Dear Angela, 

 I am a colleague of yours at the University and it was with great dismay that I heard the news that the University has reinstated to you to your position. The University is a chicken-shit organization for re-instating you, Angela. Your signing the petition against gay marriage shows that you are a bigoted, religious freak, out of touch with the majority of citizens in your state and in the country. 

 In fact, your signing the petition shows that you are just a stupid, ignorant nig*** b itch. There, Angela – how do you like being called names? You are a nig*** bitch. I said it again. By signing the petition showing that you are against marriage for a gay person such as myself you show your ignorance and stupidity. I frankly don’t care if it is your religious faith – your religious faith has NO business in politics. 

You are not wanted here at the University, Angela – you should pack your bags and leave – why don’t you get a job working for some right-wing, anti-gay organization – you’d be much, much more comfortable in such a position. You performance here at the University, frankly, wasn’t that great anyway. Stupid nig*** – see, again, how does it feel? It hurts, doesn’t it? I hopes it hurts you as much as your position has hurt me. 

When you see me smiling at you on campus you won’t know it was me who wrote the letter. But I’ll be there, watching you, you hypocrite. 

Signed, 

A former friendly colleague

I don't know the situation behind this letter or how the letter arrived, or whether there's any truth that the letter did in fact come from one of the teachers or professors at Gallaudet University since this "mystery colleague" signed the letter as "A former friendly colleague."  Let's assume this letter did come from one of the staff members at Gallaudet University.

First off.

Whoever wrote this letter is a coward, possibly a racist, possibly against diversity, and certainly a person full of hate against Dr. McCaskill, That much is obvious. This "mystery colleague" is not the sole arbitrator deciding who is not worthy to stay at Gallaudet University. It's the tried and tired "agree with me or else" political correctness attitude just because somebody doesn't fit your own ideological purity test. It's people like "former friendly colleague" who gives Gallaudet University a bad name.  A person who refuses to allow true diversity on campus. A person who twist the words of Dr. McCaskill. A letter that is perhaps just as bad as instigating a witch hunt against her in the name of political correctness. And yet this "former friendly colleague" forgot the fact that even those in the gay community supported Dr. McCaskill.  She has not used hate words against people in that manner like "former friendly college" either directly or indirectly.  There is no justification to write that letter in that manner.

And now you have this "mystery colleague" walking somewhere in the midst of the Gallaudet University campus. Each student will now sit down in class and wonder, "Is this the teacher who wrote that racist letter."  Or perhaps a staff member will be thinking in the back of his or head while speaking to another staff member, "Could this be the letter writer?"  A ghost walking amongst them.

Maybe teachers and professors at Gallaudet University ought to stand up and identify themselves and condemn that hate letter written.

Deaf pianist donates $2 million dollars to Fresno State

A deaf person who also plays the piano donates $2 milllion dollars to California State University, Fresno.

Retired architect, vineyard owner and piano player Robert Duncan Nicol, who has been deaf since birth, says he is living proof "that deaf people, indeed, can do many things." That includes being a generous benefactor. Nicol on Friday gave $2 million for The Silent Garden program in the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies department at California State University, Fresno. The donation will help deaf and hearing-impaired children, their parents and teachers, as well as adults with hearing loss.

Deaf Gain? Blind Gain? One-Hand Gain?

There's a new term being used and that's "Deaf Gain." Jannelle Legg and Sophie Sok at Gallaudet University explained in an article about the term.

The term “Deaf-gain” was coined in 2005 by a British performing artist visiting Gallaudet. Deafened later in life, Aaron Williamson noted that with each interaction doctors repeated that familiar refrain “hearing loss.” This experience, familiar to most deaf people, compelled him to posit the question, why “hearing loss and not gaining deafness?” That question is an important one because it calls attention to a fundamental issue in Deaf studies. The culturally Deaf experience is not, as many believe, a dramatic loss of hearing. Instead, deafness grants an entrée into a language, a culture and a way of life that is not only unique, it is valuable.

I have no compunction in pointing this out in my blog about the term, which is fine and dandy if people feel the need to use this alternative but positive term, however, a person is still a person and he or she is just as important as the next one.

But let me put this into context about "Deaf Gain."

What about terms like "Blind Gain" as something that's (supposedly) positive for those experiencing vision loss or complete blindness? Or what about "Deaf-Blind Gain"? Or "One Hand Gain" for those who lost the functional use of their hand or through amputation?

I understand how some deaf people are trying to put a positive spin on their deafness and access to deaf culture but the medical fact cannot be escaped or hidden away. A person may have a condition either involving hearing loss, vision loss or a missing or malfunctioning extremity such as a missing hand or whatever else that's "missing" or not "functioning" properly. A person is still a person no matter what. Best to make life as positive as possible with what you have rather than not what you do not have. That's what makes a person whole.

However, there are those who have a condition or senses that are somewhat "functional" such as those with, for example, mild, moderate or severe hearing loss who use a hearing aid. Though not at the level of a hearing person but it's the next best thing to have. Same for those with varying amount of vision loss requiring thicker or stronger lenses to see better for those with 20/40, 20/50 or 20/60 vision, for example. A semi-functional hand though weakened in it's functionality. Or a person with limited hearing loss and vision loss but is able to use those senses with limited success with various aids or devices used.

Even with limited functionality, a person can still feel whole as long as he or she is treated with respect as a human being for who he or she is.

Let's take myself as an example. I have a moderate-severe hearing loss in my right ear while my left is no good with profound hearing loss. I'm not afraid to use the term "hearing loss" because that is what it is. A hearing loss. A medical fact. But with my right ear I use a hearing aid that can boost what hearing I have left. My hearing aid has allowed me to successfully use what limited sound I can get out of it to the point of using the phone with anyone, field radios, talking with strangers in the street, help modulate my voice, and so on with success. In fact, I'm thankful for the limited hearing that I have. Just as I'm thankful that I can still see even though I need to wear my reading glasses. As for my hearing aid, it gave me "Hearing Gain." Would that be a term I'd use? No. It wouldn't make sense. But that hearing aid has allowed me to access to the hearing world the culture of sound. Without it I would have never taken up piano at age 7 where I'm now a Ragtime pianist.

It's all about preference when it comes to describing how one positively sees him or herself as. Again, not about putting down "Deaf Gain" but I am questioning about the use of that same term for other loss of senses and re-frame it into a context of a person who, for example, lost her sight completely, would that be a "Blind Gain"? Or a person who lost an arm? "One Arm Gain"? Or lost the use of her legs unable to walk for the rest of her life? "No Legs Gain"?  Or a stroke affecting the mental capacity of a person, would that be "Mentally-challenged Gain"? It would just sound totally creepy if not pitiful.

The point is people would find it odd to think that losing one of your senses later in life would constitute as a "gain." I understand the whole point behind "Deaf Gain" but it's not a term that every person with a hearing loss would use.

Obnoxiousness rears its ugliness

Not only that but you have utter and total ignorance when you have a hearing person complain about deaf people who sign and the interpreters they use.

Whats with these cocky a** sign language people these days? It started with Mayor Bloomberg’s Sign Langauge [sic] Sensation Lydia Callis. Then we had that bro who looked like Don Flamenco signing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. And then just last night Feitelberg blogged that chick who looked like Morty Seinfeld signing at Menino’s blizzard press conference. All these f****** think they’re the belle of the ball! The star of the show! Well guess what you deaf a*******, it ain’t all about you! F*** you and the deaf horses you rode in on. Some people are trying to listen to Bloomberg to find out pertinent information after our city was decimated and nobody can take their eyes off the a****** who’s putting on a puppet show with her hands. I’m trying to time the National Anthem for the over/under and I’m losing count because this guy is doing his little deaf people dance the whole time. Does anybody in the city of Boston have any information on the impending blizzard of doom? Probably not because all they could focus on was the old broad up there signing like shes was a rockstar at some big old deaf concert.

Any emergency announcement on TV can be heard and not miss a thing regardless if there's an interpreter signing. An interpreter will not somehow magically block the spoken word for hearing people.

I have a message for the complainer since his/her world is crumbling because of some interpreter signing at an emergency announcement with a Mayor or whomever into a context that a hearing person would understand:





For those who missed John Maucere (the "Don Flamenco" guy) signing the National Anthem, here it is again.  Enjoy.

John Maucere as "Eddie Munster"?

Did TMZ go to far in making light of John Maucere's appearance while signing the national anthem at the Superbowl saying he looks like "Eddie Munster"?

Frankly, myself, I don't put too much stock into TMZ or their attempt to get laughs out of this one.

The funny thing is, the author of that "joke" is unknown for not putting his/her name on the TMZ site.  Funny, coward or wot? Not?

Just saying.

NAD lacks technology coverage for deaf people

Interesting conversation I had with my wife and it made me think. So, I went over to NAD's website and looked over their technology page section "Making communication and information accessible."  There it is. "Making communication accessible." NAD pride itself as the

"...nation's premier civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America."

One major civil rights issue among deaf people is to have equal communication access with their hearing peers. How can NAD be an "informed consumer advocate" if they refuse to cover easy to use face to face communication devices such as the UbiDuo, the only device that use real time typing communication via a split screen? NAD covers only assistive listening technology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, Captioning for Access, Internet Access and Broadband, movie captioning, telephones and relay services, television and closed captioning, and Video Remote Interpreting.

NAD explains that

"....people who are deaf or hard of hearing were early and eager adopters of accessible text-based communication and information systems, such as pagers, e-mail, instant messaging, and the Internet, as well as early adopters of videophones."

There are thousands of early adopters of UbiDuo users who covet the real time nature  and ease of communication (there is no"typing a response" notification where you wait for a typed response) with hearing people who do not know sign language. These deaf people who are UbiDuo users are the bulwark on paving the way helping the hearing public on recognizing their need to have immediate communication access using a communication device that allow real time typed conversation on a standard sized keyboard using common, every day language such as English.

But on the NAD technology page there is no where to be found that discusses face to face communication devices. Using NAD's search feature I typed in "UbiDuo" and found no results.   The same for "communication device" but it came up with one search result but it's not the same thing on what I'm discussing here. 

Both culturally deaf and non-culturally deaf people use the UbiDuo. It's not like no culturally deaf people use the UbiDuo. They do. And, boy, do they ever use it. But that's beside the point here. The point is that NAD claim to represent and help deaf and hard of hearing people but do not even cover a very important communication accessible technology devices such as the UbiDuo. A simple communication concept that ensures leveling the playing field using the English language, for example. NAD does not have to tote the brand name but by the mere mentioning of a "typed face to face communication device" would be sufficient enough to let deaf (and hearing) people know those types of communication devices do exist out there.

Face to face communication concerns is a Civil Rights issue (See Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division - Disability Rights Section page).  NAD needs to understand that text to text (typed) communication via a communication device is a Civil Rights issue under the ADA. Not covering it on their website, touted as the "...nation's premier civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America," would be a sin.

NAD, do the right thing and help deaf people become more aware of other kinds of communication technologies that exist in the United States.

Deaf Girl's Mail without Postage Stamp Arrives at Grandma's house

I'm sure many of you recognize this little deaf girl who sent a letter in the mail to her grandmother but forgot to put a stamp on the envelope as well as the address to her grandmother's house.

A letter sent by a little girl to her grandmother didn’t have any postage or even a name on the envelope. Yet it still got delivered to Utah thanks to the Postal Service. Valerie Welsch, with the U.S. Postal Service, says, “I think that somebody probably figured out it was a child writing and went ahead and let it go through from the goodness of their heart.” From St. Louis to Salt Lake City, with no name and no postage. Katrina Jensen, who wrote the letter, is happy the letter made it saying, “ I was surprised and I feel like something. So I feel like a rock star.” Katrina has hearing trouble, and her parents move her to St. Louis so she could attend the Central Institute For The Deaf. But that took her away from Grandma.

Katrina "Kat" Jensen is the well known deaf girl in the deaf and hard of hearing blogosphere who wears a cochlear implant. Her mother writes about her daughter in her blog called, "Miss Kat's Deaf Journey."Utah television station, KSL, learned about the story and picked it up and interviewed "Miss Kat."


The video below of Katrina Jensen isn't captioned. Complaints about lack of captioning should be sent to KPLR 11 news in St. Louis on their Closed Captioning page.

Video of Announcement of the Next Generation UbiDuo

If you missed the announcement you can still go and watch the recording of the announcement of the next generation UbiDuo by Jason Curry, CEO of sComm.  And you can also watch the YouTube recording (Part 1, 2, 3, and 4) with captioning provided by a CART typist. Videos uploaded to YouTube were done a blogger, Mike McConnell, who attended the widely anticipated and celebrated event.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The old sComm website is now in the history book. The newly revamped and totally reconfigured sComm website with new themes introduces the next generation UbiDuo, the world's most ubiquitous communication device. The next generation UbiDuo face to face communication device is now lighter, sleeker, with touch sensitive screens to navigate functions better and easier. The new UbiDuo automatically turns on for you the moment you open up the 2 in 1 communication device without the need to go through steps in turning it on like the older UbiDuo.  The UbiDuo makes it more enjoyable and easier to communicate face to face between deaf and hearing people. It is 100% one-on-one communication equality with zero bluffing, zero frustration and zero communiphobia.  And the best thing of all? The new generation UbiDuo is engineered and manufactured in the U.S.A. as exclaimed by the CEO of sComm to his audience.

Now, this is what I'm very, very passionate about. The UbiDuo 2 is engineered and manufactured in the USA! That is what I'm fired up about. It's important to my heart. I wanted the UbiDuo 2 to be made in the USA! It's time to give all of the manufacturing business back to America! That is what's important to all of us. 

Sneak preview pictures of sComm's launch party

Some preview pictures of the stage where the announcement will be made by Jason Curry, CEO of sComm, along with band, Cherry Bomb, is setting themselves up.

On Saturday, January 26, 2013 starting at 6:45 PM CST (7:45 ET, 5:45 MT, 4:45 PT) will be a LIVE STREAMING EVENT at sComm. Be sure to tune in according to your time zone.  sComm will be live streaming the unveiling of the answer that two men found in the trunk. For the exciting conclusion to the Project Black video series, please visit LIVE STREAMING sComm. Jason Curry, CEO of sComm, has an important announcement to make tonight.

If you've missed parts 1, 2 or 3 of the Project Black videos then please click on one of the three Project Black videos seen on the left side of this blog site.

UPDATE!  The streaming live TV will be delayed until 7:15 (CST) due to a large number of people attending as we get things squared away. 

LIVE STREAMING AT SCOMM TONIGHT!

On Saturday, January 26, 2013 starting at 6:45 PM CST (7:45 ET, 5:45 MT, 4:45 PT) will be a LIVE STREAMING EVENT at sComm. Be sure to tune in according to your time zone.  sComm will be live streaming the unveiling of the answer that two men found in the trunk. For the exciting conclusion to the Project Black video series, please visit LIVE STREAMING sComm. Jason Curry, CEO of sComm, has an important announcement to make tonight.

If you've missed parts 1-3 of the Project Black videos then please click on one of the three Project Black videos seen on the left side of this blog site.

Check out this video of a pre-launch party and get a glimpse on who will be attending today's launch party.




I will be live blogging this event. So, watch for more pictures and videos!

UPDATE!  The streaming live TV will be delayed until 7:15 (CST) due to a large number of people attending as we get things squared away.

Can you spot the difference? Win $15 gift card

Can you find 8 things that are different in these two pictures? The first person to answer all 8 correctly will win a $15.00 Gift Card to Outback Steakhouse. Go to sComm Facebook page to see the two different pictures. Can you spot the differences?

The winner will be announced today after 5pm CST.

Domestic Violence Against Men (and Women)

It's an ugly thing for both sexes who are the victims of such undeserving action whether one is deaf or hearing. It's just not the females who are victims but the males, too, believe it or not. There are organizations that help support victims of DV for one or both sexes such as Domestic Violence Against Men in Colorado, for example, National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the many organizations on stopping violence against women.

In the Domestic Violence Against Men in Colorado it has an interesting article about the problems of dialing 911, not that you shouldn't, but there are some unforeseen potential actions that could result in dialing 911 with unknown consequences with a warning, "descent into hell often begins by dialing 911." An eye opening read from the point of view with males being the victim.

Regardless, it's ugly for both sides, and often times children are on the short end of the stick watching it all unfold before them and the police barging in to investigate after a 911 call. Work it out if you can. Or leave for awhile to cool off. Find some outside help first. Think twice, three times before picking up that phone and dialing 911, through a video phone or by texting 911 calls.  Emotions are hard to deal with and that sometimes rational or common sense thinking can go out the window. 

Switched at Birth petition controversy re-visited

Last year in March I covered a petition that was against the show "Switched at Birth" simply because some of the cast of characters weren't "Deaf enough." That is not enough deaf people (as opposed to hard of hearing) who are native signers. The petition provided insight to the amount of shallowness and cruelty considering the fact that the show's main cast of characters have more culturally deaf characters who are native signers and more hearing characters who pick up sign language for the benefit of their deaf sibling, deaf child or deaf friend (such as the hearing character, Bay, who was dating Emmet) than there are hearing characters who do not know sign language. The show is actually a great example of what diversity is like among the main cast of characters who are culturally deaf, hard of hearing, hearing, signers and non-signers. You can thank Marlee Matlin for that.

She also pointed out that until recently, deaf characters were generally a guest role written in to just a handful of episodes at best. She credits Marlee Matlin, who plays a mother of Daphne's friend, making a difference, saying, "[She] really did an incredible job of paving the way for deaf actors." 

But she noted that "Switched at Birth" has taken the progress one step further. "You get four characters with hearing loss, and different ranges of hearing loss, and it really accurately represents the culture, the issues within the culture, and the way people feel about the culture."

You have three main characters who commonly appear on the show who are culturally deaf and they are Emmet (Sean Berdy), Travis (Ryan Lane), and Melody (Marlee Matlin).  The other deaf/hh (main) character is Daphne (Katie LeClerc) whose grew up speaking and listening as a hard of hearing person that wears a hearing aid and knows sign language. Whenever deaf characters speak to each other the audio is edited to remove all background noise except for ambient noise. This allow viewers to focus on the visual emotions and physical nature of sign language while at the same time provide a perspective of what it is like to be deaf and not hear sound around them.

Rob Nielson, a  Deaf ASL teacher in Texas, was the original author of a petition (with a paltry 100 signatures) against the show reasoning that the show isn't suitable to be shown on the ABC Family channel tv show because

"the main Deaf character isn't even Deaf and a so-called "family channel" is resorting to scenes of drug use, sexual innuendos, and in a recent episode, gratuitous teen sex."

Yet in the petition it was made more abundantly clear it was more about the main character (Daphne) wasn't "Deaf enough" for Rob and his students.

ABC Family first dropped the ball by hiring an actress who is not Deaf. Katie Leclerc is an actress that only recently started losing some of her hearing due to Meniere's Disease. The only reason she knew any ASL before the show was because she took it in high school and that was because, In her own words, "I was very bad at Spanish." Leclerc has to take voice lessons in order to "sound Deaf" on the show. Leclerc portrays herself as an ambassador of the Deaf community - "I feel comfortable in the deaf world I feel comfortable in the hearing world," Leclerc said. "I'm glad I can cross over." - There is no crossing over. She is a hearing person that is playing the part of a Deaf character. She is not a part of the Deaf world. Thus, some of the things about her character are not things that are normal for a Deaf person who grew up in the Deaf world - such as her ability to lipread flawlessly, her constant sim-com (talking and signing at the same time), and her signing being jerky and awkward at times. There are many talented and beautiful culturally Deaf actresses that ABC Family could have hired.

The part about that Katie LeClerc is a hearing person is absolutely false.

Katie Leclerc is hard of hearing in real life
Playing a deaf girl comes more naturally to Leclerc than it would to most actors because she has first hand knowledge of what it's like to live with hearing loss. At the age of 20 the actress was diagnosed with Ménière's disease. She explained the affliction, "[It's] a problem with fluid retention in the inner ear. You get fluctuating hearing loss, attacks of vertigo, ringing in the ear, and pressure in the ear. So it is a very sporadic disorder. The attacks come and go as they please with no rhyme or reason."

And although the condition sometimes makes it difficult for Leclerc to work, she never loses sight of the important role hearing loss has had for her as an actress. "Without the Ménière's disease, I would not be able to play the role of Daphne. In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss… you have to have hearing loss. So without this Ménière's disease, I wouldn't be able to have this dream come true, this role of a lifetime, this incredible opportunity."

She found out she has Meniere's Disease at 20 years old that explained her losing her hearing which gets progressively worse as she gets older. Katie LeClerc made clear that she is in fact a hard of hearing person, and not a hearing person that Rob is claiming.  She made no claims of being an "ambassador of the Deaf community," either.  That was Rob Nielson's doing by turning it into a something else to suit his own agenda (of insecurity).

According to Don Grushkin and other culturally deaf people they would agree that Katie LeClerc is a Deaf person (go here and here to see why) with "Deaf" to mean an all-inclusive word. But according to Rob Nielson he is basically saying that Katie LeClerc's character, Daphne, is not "Deaf enough" solely on the basis that the character does not behave like some culturally deaf, native signer as clarified in Rob's petition.

She is a hearing person that is playing the part of a Deaf character. She is not a part of the Deaf world. Thus, some of the things about her character are not things that are normal for a Deaf person who grew up in the Deaf world - such as her ability to lipread flawlessly, her constant sim-com (talking and signing at the same time), and her signing being jerky and awkward at times. There are many talented and beautiful culturally Deaf actresses that ABC Family could have hired.

Which is it, Rob? Accept a deaf/hh character (or for that matter in real life a deaf/hh person) for who he/she is or get nit-picky because the character doesn't sign flawlessly or smoothly enough for you? On the show you have three characters who sign "flawlessly" that fits Rob's ideal world and you have one hard of hearing character who does her best at signing to communicate yet her signing does not fit Rob's level of signing proficiency because, ya know, she's all jerky and stuff.

Again, Katie LeClerc is most definitely NOT a hearing person but hard of hearing.

Maybe it's time Rob, the "Deaf ASL teacher of Texas," the fair and "open-minded one," should publicly apologize for saying that Katie LeClerc is not a deaf/hh person and that her character is not "Deaf enough" because she's not like Marlee Matlin who can sign "flawlessly"?

This is deaf identity politics at its worse. That kind of ugly discrimination need to stop.

Chance to win $10 Outback Steakhouse Gift Card

Check out sComm's Facebook page and see if you can give out the right answer to their question about communiphobia. The winner with the best answer will be revealed on January 25, 2013 at 10 A.M CST and the winner will receive a $10 Outback Steakhouse gift card. Yum. One of my favorite restaurant! Love those ribs!

Don't miss out on the contest! Click on the "Like" button on sComm's Facebook page to receive future contest announcements.

Well known deaf mystery person to show up

If you want to find out who this well known and liked deaf person who will show up at sComm this Saturday night (see count down clock on left) then be sure to check out sComm's website or Facebook revealing the mystery announcement.  Who is this person? Come and watch, and find out.

Deaf lifeguard be qualified under the ADA?

Check out this recent news of a 22 year old deaf man who rely on sign language to communicate was found disqualified to be a lifeguard at a swimming pool even though he successfully completed lifeguard training. He does wear a cochlear implant that helps him detect noises, although having one does not help him pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from. After he was rejected he sued the county claiming he was qualified under the ADA because he could do the essential elements as long a he gets reasonable accommodation.  The county disagreed with that assessment saying hearing is an essential element of the job.

However,

A lower court sided with the county. But on appeal, the case was reversed and sent to a jury trial. The appeals court said that whether a job function is “essential” under the ADA is typically a fact-based question for a jury to decide. Several experts for Keith had testified that the ability to hear is not essential to the successful performance of lifeguard duties because swimmers in distress use hand motions to signal for help.

Plus, as Keith's experts noted, the world record-holder for most lives saved by a lifeguard is by Leroy Columbo—a deaf man.

Something to think about. What do you think?