Sunday, July 13, 2008
Historical Map Shows Us How Deafhood Latched Onto DBC
An unexpected source showed me an obvious historical map that showed me how Deafhood was led to latch onto DBC for political gain. Now what can the deaf community do about it?
The unexpected source: DerSankt's guest UK vlogger: http://blog.benvess.com
To refer to MZ's Transparency: http://blog.deafread.com/mishkazena/2008/07/08/dbc-bilingualism-audism-and-deafhood
To refer to Intregrity at Aidan's site: http://deaffilmblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/patti-durr-dbc-nad-striving-toward.html
Sorry. It looks like my link button is corrupted. All I can do is type the URLs.
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21 comments:
Tell me....how do you separate language, culture, identity? They go hand in hand.... Call it what you want. It is important that Deaf babies have all of this. Only through a strong language base starting with ASL is this possible.
Give DBC a break...I personally have had enough of this bashing and badmouthing of a movement that is empowering many to become involved in their own states and make changes in the early intervention system.
Those of you who are obsessed with this bashing, need to stop complaining and do some real work that means someting. Or maybe you should have attended the DBC conference to get a better picture of what DBC is all about.
Those bloggers that have started this, did not attend the conference nor have they been involved in any rallies since last July. They only know what they selectively want to know and try to convince others that they know what they are talking about....
Apparantly, they have nothing to do but tear apart well meaning movements and organizations and the people connected to them. They need to take a hard look at what they are doing for the future of deaf babies and language rights.
Greed.
The more DBC promotes Deafhood, the more workshops for DH leaders to give, the more profit for these leaders. It'll work as long as the Deaf Community is clueless.
Interesting piece, I would not say that it's "historical map" but rather your own speculation loosely based on others' experience.
How did you know that Deafhood actually "entered" into DBC without invitation? Do you know that for a fact? Maybe the DBC invited the individuals who happened to be strong Deafhood advocates. One thing leads to next. It is not unusual that many new groups/organizations evolve with new ideas, goals and plans in order to achieve the original goal.
At the DBC conference, although it was geared toward the parents, it was also open to the Deaf community and such. I do not see what is so big fuss over introduction of Deafhood as it's one of current movements. It is not that it must be for everyone. Nothing wrong with sharing information.
I went to various conferences. For example, at NAD conference, there was a workshop about how to do meditation. How could it be of relevancy to advocacy, actually none but regardless, it was offered. Same principle.
If you feel that there must be an organization or group to focus on a goal that you desire, why don't you do something about it? Did you go to DBC conference? Yes, why? No, why not?
I am just plainly tired of seeing people who do not walk the talk, but are full of talks with an intention to harm individuals' reputation.
Okay, you are tired of bashing, badmouthing, etc. Me, too, frankly. Have you wondered about why the leaders have not come forward and given a rebuttal? I'd like to hear from them, as I said at the end.
John was the only one who briefly commented but when some commenters made some strong points, he disappeared. So...now what? Forget this whole thing and pretend DBC is fine and move on? IS that what you are saying?
Like I commented in another blog, I don't feel that they need to respond to couple of disgruntled persons.
It is interesting to see that you noted that commenters made strong points, but actually there weren't that many but there were way too many of verbal bashing and personal insults.
Now that a trust has been seriously violated, I do not believe that they need to respond but to continue focusing on what they can do to move forward.
I don't think that there is anything they, and I can do about those disgruntled persons. All I can suggest is to MOVE ON and be productive instead of going out damaging other people's names in the process.
The whole thing sickens me to no end!
To Cy...
What should DBC admit? Or better yet why not keep saying things for DBC? They did not start all this nonsense. They were busy putting on a conference and empowering others to go out and do some work in their state systems.
An angry man with a personal agenda decided deaf babies weren't as important as his need for an apology. His need for an apology now has become a need for the search for integrity and transparency. Why don't we all become transparent? You can start if you like?
Geez don't we all have something else to do?
DBC Core leaders just want popularity and money. That is all.
Or they need more funds from university research project grants for silly program - Deafhood.
Even they set up a political organization. They will be failed.. even with $1 million dollar budget.
Party organization requires a lot of members and above 20 million dollars budget for a bill proposal to US congress.
Uncle Sam wants $$$ and political effect in exchange.
Impossible for that tiny and cave people = deafhood cults.
They are NOTHING. So, don't worry about them.
sigh...
please realize that people are people first. they have families, jobs, elderly parents, their health, etc. to take care first before anything else...
do not accuse any of the dbc folks for not responding with rebuttals or such...
it is july and many of us have long-standing commitments such as family vacations or business trips...
it is ridiculous to expect that the dbc folks would be on the top of everythng 24/7...
for all we know, the dbc folks are probably busy with their previous commitments...
i do not speak for the dbc core folks but i can well say that if i were one of the core members, i would wait and digest it a bit more before i respond for the ugly attacks on them have been so UGLY, beyond words...
i am sorry you continue to fuel the attacks on the dbc folks and deafhood...
the whole picture has been grossly misinterpreted...
First, Ella Mae Lentz, David Eberwein and sometimes Genie Gentz present Deafhood workshops in USA.
Second, John Egbert was the one who founded Deaf Bilingual Coalition
Then Ella and David grabbed John's idea of DBC and left John as the fifth person (David Reynolds as the fourth person.
Several months after DBC was formed, Ella and David cleverly stole John's show by adding Deafhood.
But if you attended Deafhood workshops, you'd find many misinterpretions from Paddy's book. That's why we witness the FALL OF DBC EMPIRE.
I wish Paddy is fluid in ASL. He'd be able to tell whether Ella & David misinterpret or give right interprettion of his book about Deafhood
Some of you made some valid points, however, that they have other committments and don't need to concern themselves with replying does not fly. They are only adding to the fire of suspicions and gossip by ignoring. One of you even hinted they are busy having vacations and etc and probably don't know about what is happening on DR - who are you kidding? They know. John knows and made a few responses - what John knows, the others know, too.
Well all I can say is they are doing more damage by not replying. They are casting doubts by doing this. They are leaders. They need to have transparency. A presidential candidate responds to suspicious or questionable action. Any leader with integrity will respond. Hiding only feeds fire to the rumor mill. Anyone with any brain knows that.
Remember how Tom Cruise hid his baby for the first several months after her birth? That fueled a lot of suspicions and gossip that the baby was probably not his and they even released her birth certificate with delayed reigstration date at the vital statistics, fueling more suspicions and gossip. Some even suggested Kate faked a pregancy and they adopted a baby, etc. It was not until the baby was publicly photographed at long last at their wedding that the rumor mill stopped. Tom finally came forward into public with a baby the world thought probably did not exist. The baby looks like him. So, all yapping mouths shut up.
Hiding and thinking themselves above needing to reply is doing more damage which is unnecessary.
They are leaders. They need to start acting like one.
Anonymous 11:27 pm - You got the info wrong. The Deafhood Trios collaborate with Paddy Ladd, sharing ideas and materials. It's not like Ladd is clueless about what the Deafhood Trios are doing. Get your facts straight!
Next, be careful with libelous statement. Ella and DE didn't grab John's ideas, and such such such. I would suggest a historical introduction of how DBC was formed, because there are way too many very far-fetched stories about how DBC was created and how DBC was hijacked and stolen, and such such such.
Whew! Geez, I finally got back to DeafRead, and I already wanted to run away and never come back! Congrats to yall!
And, lastly, CY, yes it's true that many of DBC folks are B-U-S-Y and they don't keep up with DeafRead. You... you didn't even answer my question: Did you attend the DBC conference?
Hmm! I am finding it interesting how things are going. I am running a workhop and I did invite the three of them to come. I am not fazzled by all the controversies going on. It is normal as we have growing pains. I can take them to task in front of people when I get the workshop going.
I am sure they meant well. I am sure everyone had learned something at DBC. It is nothing new how gossip mill runs. It happens everywhere.
The bottom line is that we agree to adopt Deafhood and DBC. So we need both to survive.
May the Deaf Force be with us!
=)
Brenster,
Leaders are never too busy to respond.
Whether I attended or not is not the point. Some conference attendees videotaped the events and there were plenty of evidence Deafhood was part of the conference.
I never said the Deafhood Trio stole idea of DBC from John. Their agenda always has been Deafhood but they lateched on or Piggybacked on DBC to promote Deafhood for themselves. Exploited the DBC conference for their own personal gain was the story going on now - not that they stole the idea of DBC from John. What they "stole" was the conference and injected Deafhood into it. What is the complaint? That Deafhood had nothing to do with DBC and shouldn't be a signigicant part of the DBC conference which was targeted at the parents of deaf children. It is questioned as to why both Deafhood and DBC are run by the same leaders. Initially, DBC was John's baby and Barb came in. She has and always has been a strong advocate of DBC. She is an educator and has done many, many vlogs and blogs on ASL, Bilingulism, language development, etc, so it was not at all surprising she became a core member of DBC. Tami, the hearing parent, was also a part of the "trio" with John and Barb. The question running around is how and when did the Deafhood trio come into the picture?
These leaders, with a click of a keyboard, can easily respond and put an end to this within minutes. Yes, they may have gone on a retreat for first few days after the conference as I am sure it was exhausting for them putting so much of their energy into it. It's been two weeks now. Again, it takes just minutes to respond and put an end to all this.
Any leader worth his/her salt will respond. John did. Seems he is the only one worth any salt. He is a leader in my eyes. But he is not an experienced leader and probably feels overwhelmed by all of this. He cannot do it alone. He needs support from the others. Will he? I wonder.
Finally, the Deafhood trio invited Paddy Ladd only ONCE. They don't collaborate with him on Deafhood on ongoing basis. Paddy Ladd was interviewed by some UK deaf people and he said he was SURPRISED Deafhood was turned into a movement in America. It was just a thesis he wrote and decided to publish it. He did research and felt it worthy to be published for his fellow UKians. He never thought it would become "global" and that Deafhood would go beyond a book and into a movement tinged with politics. His book was intended for personal journey by the individual deaf person. That is why we don't hear or see Paddy much. I understand that he has no interest in doing so - being part of the Deafhood movement. He was invited to speak once and that was enough for him. I can't remember whose vlog featured this video interview with Paddy around 2 years ago when Deafhood first surfaced.
I did browse through the book myself - it is like reading a bible. From what I've seen in workshops on Deafhood, it seems to me Paddy Ladd's book is open to varied interpretations therefore it renders the workshops useless except that it helps introduce some key concepts to deaf people such as audism, colonization, etc. Of which I am already familiar with so I never really bought into Deafhood myself but as for DBC, hell YES. DBC is what we truly need in name of our deaf children and their parents. I am doing this for DBC's sake, its fate, not for the leaders or Deafhood.
Cy, good posting.
Deafhood is a complex concept for us to understand so it is better to be separate from DBC or any organization. What is more, DH is solely for personal use, from my understanding. I see there are two versions of DH... British and American. So mixing both DH and DBC together sends out complicating messages, even to us who understand Deafhood (or think we understand DH... but it is really our own interpretation of DH that makes us decide we understand it.) DBC is more of an educational and resource movement (bilingualism, cognitive skills, etc.) DH... is just another agenda, another mission, another whateva. Hearing parents are RARELY ready for listening about DH... They'd be interested in learning about DH but they'd be more concerned on providing resources for their deaf babies so that they could live in the hearing world, giving them a headstart, etc. Babies' first exposure to culture often start at home... hearing parents' home.
WARNING!!!!!
Deafhood members do not know BSL.
Paddy Ladd is a native of BSL.
He is not a fluent ASL signer.
CY, just FYI that my last comment was in reference to Anonymous 11:27 PM. Only in the last paragraph, I talked to you. Sorry for the confusion.
Since you shared information that there was no collaboration between the Deafhood Trio and Paddy, do you have something or a lead that I can check out? He was surprised in good and delighted way. I know why we do not hear much from Paddy, but it is not my place to say but I can say that it has nothing to do with lack of interest in Deafhood movement.
This is off the point, but thanks for the discussion.
Brenster,
I believe Paddy Laddy was fascinated in the fact Americans managed to turn his thesis into a movement. They aren't doing it in UK - the birthplace of Deafhood, however, he has no interest in being a consultant.
Deafhood, he said, was intended for personal use, not a tool to start a movement. He did say he wonder if his book was interpreted in a way where it could be used in workshops rather than self-journey as it was intended.
Anonymous,
Yes, Paddy signs in BSL. If I remember correctly, the video interview with him was captioned.
Karen,
~but it is really our own interpretation of DH that makes us decide we understand it.) ~
Precisely. In Paddy's interview, he said his book was intended for personal use and wondered how it works in form of a workshop much less a movement.
Yes, thats what many of us have been saying - Deafhood is a self-journey, and as what I said, psychological based. Deafhood Trio knew that and tried to figure out how to help their Deafhood movement grow by injecting it with politics. DBC opened that window for them.
Paul
"The bottom line is that we agree to adopt Deafhood and DBC. So we need both to survive."
I agree with you. AGBell: A cutting-edge research symposium entitled “Hear Our Voices: New Mechanisms in Auditory Discrimination and Speech in Deafness”
Deafhood and DBC should be together like AGB and deafness
Anonymous,
The problem is Deafhood is NOT about deaf education. It is a SELF-journey to identify ONESELF as a deaf person. DBC is different - it focuses on EDUCATION. It is a resource and service issue. Deafhood has no connection to any of that. DBC can offer Deafhood in form of a brochure or resource for parents who are interested in beyond deaf education and language development, but deafhood shouldn't be an equal with DBC.
Cy, I don't agree with you. Deaf babies and Deaf children go on the journey to identify as a Deaf person with hearing aid or CI or not.
Is Deafness education for Deaf children?
Is Deafness equal to Deaf babies and children?.
Anonymous,
Deaf babies hasn't begun any self- journey due to lack of life experience thus Deafhood has nothing to do with it. For deaf bsbies, it is all about early intevention for language development.
With or without CI, the babies are still deaf. If the parents wish for their children to have CI, that's fine. The point of DBC is incorporating ASL into the language development alongside CI/AVT thus why it is called bilingulism - using both. Many hearing parents of CI children are told ASL damages language development and English mastery so ASL is banned from their educational process. Parents are not given a wide range of information about deaf education, including ASL. They get only one sided information. This is what this is all about and absolutely nothing to do with Deafhood.
Deafhood is for adults. Deaf adults. Teenagers probably benefit from it as well. Deafhood is a complex concept.
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