Comments on Deaf Tea Time: DBC: Restrategize Counterattack On AGB

One can't hold Ella alone to be accountable, David...

2008-07-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

One can't hold Ella alone to be accountable, David Eberwein as well.

Any DBC leaders who make direct financial profit from Deafhood need to resign.

-Ben

I just viewed the interview with AG Bell President...

2008-07-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

I just viewed the interview with AG Bell President, Jay at http://deafanthology.blogspot.com/2008/07/da-vlog-interview-with-ag-bell.html and was surprised to see that most if not all Barb’s hot air (questions) never made it to the interview. Barb demonstrated so much hyper on the stage but in reality the interview was moderately managed. An interesting point to make. Jay with AG Bell said that DBC has never prepared a formal letter or seek formal meeting to introduce itself and seek dialogue with the organization. In short, DBC jumped the gun and prepared a costly rally ($35,000 or more) without allowing for due process first. All that expensive rally have in Milwaukee been done in vain. Deaf people who paid their expenses to attend did it in vain because DBC misled them. A simple formal letter of introduction to AG Bell would have led us to healthy dialogue with AG Bell and seek solutions. Now, how did it not happen and why?

Simple answers. Deafhood. Deafhood is more interested in making hearing people and AG Bell look bad in order to validate itself and to empower its movement. Second reason. Ella, John and their DBC Core Group only understand intimidation tactics because that is what Deafhood promotes. Evidently it backfired. This is an embarrassment.

Cy,That is an important question. How do I propose...

2008-07-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Cy,

That is an important question.

How do I propose to change the dynamics of the DBC hierarchy?

Yes, having grown up in deaf community I too know that it is extremely difficult to change or replace key deaf leaders who gained respect and admiration from the community through the years.

I, for one have never been interested in booting anybody out of their league. I do not believe it is even necessary because it is all about education and traininig. If one is unable to learn and become educated then somebody else will take over. It is a natural process. I always feel bad or sorry for leaders that's been dislodged or displaced after so many years of service. They deserve honorable mentions.

I have always viewed John as a man with good heart but he is without backbone. He only understand intimidation factors. He's more of a soldier material than a leader. It does not make him lesser or greater than others. He is our equal but he is unique in his own right just as you are unique in your own right and I am unique in my own right. When we work together we be successful.

Having said this, I know for a fact that John is a good man with good heart but he is not somebody you want to be in charge of DBC or any type of advocacy group. He say things carelessly and it is his nature. It is not something we should exploit. However if he really believed that he is GOD in Deaf people's eye as many have made him to believe then it will probably get into his head and sink in and he'll eventually believe he is superior than us. That is where it becomes dangerous. What he has allowed to happen to me and other initial founding members of DBC is wrong. I know it is not his own doing but he, of all people should preserve integrity and stand up for us. BUt no.. he was more interested in Ella's magical power to attract deaf people towards the movement. Ella really has him under her spell.

You are right. If it was not for my involvement with DBC I would not know any better. I would not know the harm they were inflicting. I would not be talking about it today. I recognized the fact that not many deaf people had the privilege that I had so I don't blame them for thinking that I'm doing this out of crab theory.

The unfortunate thing is when I first joined DBC I assumed it was a legal entity, that of incorporated organization until I saw that meetings took place without notices and things were processing without due processes, without by-laws and recorded minutes.

I stopped them and asked for due process only to learn that they were not even a legal entity. They told me they were just a movement. Ella fought against the idea of starting an actual organization and wanted to stick with the movement. Initially I did not understand why but now I do.

She does not want the due process that is involved. She does not want to be bounded by recorded minutes and by-laws. She thrived under that environment because she is able to engineer DBC to work in her best interest. John also saw the same opportunity and told me his ultimate dream was to attract support from insurance companies who would stand to save millions of dollars in CI expenses and pay him to be their traveling spokeperson. He told me how much he loved to speak in front of large crowds. That was his motivation. Nothing wrong with that but let's do everything with a legal entity and follow due process.

This is DBC's underlying problem.... the lack for legal due process. At this point Ella and John are able to do whatever they pleases. Ella controls DBC at the disposal of Deafhood's Seework site. She is able to make modification and cut somebody off with a click of mouse as she did to me. This has to change. They need due process. They need an official entity, an incorporated organization with by-laws and recorded minutes to protect EVERYBODY.

It is not happening. They opted not to legalize their movement because they did not want to be held accountable for their actions. This is the first step DBC has to make to restore the movement.

DBC raised over $35,000 recently and spent most of it. Without a legal entity and by-laws they are not required to disclose where that money went. Who, if any, profited from the movement? We will never know. Is that why they didn't want legal entity in the first place? Is that why they didn't want to be held accountable?

These are valid questions to ask. I know because I've been part of corporation world since I was fourteen years old, binging my total experience to over 27 years. I preside over three different corporations today so I know how valuable the system is and why we have by-laws and recoded minutes. These things are there to protect us. The only time people don't want such protection is when they don't want to be held accountable for something.

Like you, I do not know these people. I only met them through the internet. Only people I had VP with was John and Ella. I only met knew Kristen once, the State Chapter Director who introduced me to DBC. Beside Kristen I have never met anybody in person.

Since I'm not deeply entrenched in deaf community I do not know their reputations either. It does not matter because I learned long time ago to look at people at face value, learning to trust everybody from the very beginning and entrust them to exercise integrity, giving them no reason to betray me. For that reason I do not worry about people's reputations. Naturally you get burned often but it does not leave me with any conscience if they choose to betray me. The conscience will be theirs to keep.

And yes, as in politics there are always agendas and hidden motiviations. It is to be expected coming from people who have financial interests. People who do not have any financial interests are oftentimes honest leaders who are out there to serve others, not themselves.

I am sure all of us have sincere desire to lead DBC and help it become successful moderator of bilingualism for deaf children. I don't doubt that for a second.

I, too hope that these leaders will take our message as a warning calls and shake off whatever they were doing and restore integrity and place it back in its rightful place. That is what I am aiming to do and we all should do the same. Demand integrity.

I do not know if either one has the leadership and political background. I will leave that for them to decide. I am more interested in restoring integrity so that we are able to advocate bilingualism for deaf children... the initial mission we all were led to believe.

I ran into another interesting VLOG / Blog at http...

2008-07-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

I ran into another interesting VLOG / Blog at http://lenois.com/?p=117. It was rather interesting because first question generated wrong First Impression. Second and third and fourth question also generated wrong impressions. Nearly every questions demonstrated bashing efforts against AG Bell and oralism. See it for yourself. This video was taken and released by a private citizen. Not videotaped and released by DBC. I copied that tape in case they erase it later.

Many of the questions were tricky as if they thought it was AG Bell’s job to define things for us. Actually it is DBC’s job to define and present ASL / Bilingual facts. Barb finally asked the right question in the very end, proposing a summit between AG Bell, DBC and NAD. Just as soon as I thought they finally had some dignity David called AG Bell a Square Head. That’s right he signed it loud and clear on the video. Based on his degradatory comment at the end we can understand why AG Bell rejected an interview and will likely reject a summit.

Dr HocokanHow do you propose to change the dynamic...

2008-07-08T10:22:00.001-07:00

Dr Hocokan

How do you propose to change the dynamics of the DBC hierarchy? Having grown up in deaf community, it is always hard to boot off key deaf leaders who gain respect and admiration from the community. Deaf at large do not see between the lines, have insider information, so they don't see the harm these said leaders inflict upon the organizations through self-serving actions.

I don't know these people - only by their reptuations, but as always in politics, there are always agendas and hidden motiviations. I am sure many of these leaders have sincere desire to lead DBC for its purpose of promoting bingualism, and I hope these leaders will do something to shake the hierarchy back in their proper places. My guess is John Egbert is only interested in seeing through with the convention and NAD...I am not sure if he has leadership background or political background.

Dr HocokanHow do you propose to change the dynamic...

2008-07-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Cy, I agree. Deafhood movement is minor in my vie...

2008-07-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Cy, I agree. Deafhood movement is minor in my view compared to what DBC COULD HAVE BEEN.

However Ella led John to see differently and made him believe that DBC needed the Deafhood Foundation to get to where it wanted to go. In reality, it is the opposite. Ella and her Deafhood Foundation needed the publicity and saw DBC as the mechanism for free publicity to take where she wanted to go. End result? It worked. Deaf people who went to Milwaukee felt good about DBC and Deafhood but the rest who didn't go are not as optimistic. Even worse, the media giants saw DBC under negative light. Worse even, connection with hearing parents were not made.

In short, Deafhood gained grounds and received free publicity just as Ella planned. Bilingualism got no where because it was robbed of the opportunity. AG Bell is evidently happy with the result because they won the publicity war with media giants. Hearing parents still do not understand why it is beneficial for deaf children to learn ASL and that it serves as the bridge to reading and writing English language.

You are right. DBC's current strategy is not working. We are not bashing DBC or its movement. We are upset with how Ella and Deafhood robbed us of the opportunity to demonstrate trye bilingual spirit, giving equal footings to both languages, ASL and English language with equal air time.

As DBC's strategist for the past four months I could not get them to change their strategy because Ella controlled DBC and the seeworks under Deafhood Foundation. She was determined to use Deafhood's strategy instead. That is probably why she engineered my departure. That is why David (R) celebrated when I resigned. John told everybody to not to communicate with me. My access to seeworks was cut off without notice in advance and without consensus approval from the core group. It was dictator at work. And yes I am fuming here because what happened was highly unethical.

Dr Hocokan,Deafhood bigger than DBC? I think not. ...

2008-07-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

Dr Hocokan,

Deafhood bigger than DBC? I think not. DBC is bigger than Deafhood because there is so much at stake for our deaf children. Deadhood is simply a self-help tool for deaf adults. Deafhood is strictly a choice made by individual adult whether to buy into it while DBC reaches a larger public - hearing parents of deaf children - larger need for this organization. EBC's agenda is bilingualism and education while Deafhood is not about that.

If one wants to make a living on Deafhood movement, just write a book. I am not saying to plargize Paddy Ladd's book but to do a book on it - interview people about their experiences, collect some research data to validate Deafhood, etc. That better than piggybacking on another organization. This seems self serving and exploitative. But then we live in America - everything in name of profit...captialism...

Yes, I'd be more than glad to email anybody a copy...

2008-07-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'd be more than glad to email anybody a copy of DBC's power point, which was sent to me on the evening of DBc conference in Milwaukee. The individual asked me to help even though I've resigned from DBC because we started working on it together and she felt we should finish it together. That is why I have a copy. Email me directly at drhocokan@gmail.com if you want a copy of the powerpoint. Deafhood is mentioned in it.

Additionally, during my four months tenure with DBC, I received hundreds of emails from Deafhood Foundation email address. That is because DBC uses Deafhood Foundation's program registered at seeworks. Deafhood Foundation controls (moderates) the account and brought the entire DBC affaird into seeworks. Ella is the moderator of deafhood's seeworks therefore she controls the entire DBC affairs single handily. All of the work that's been done is stored there and Ella has her fingers on top of everything. Ella is also the leader of Deafhood Foundation. See the connection yet? I do.

When I met with Ella for the first time via VP I told her about DBC's potentials for grant of license rights from my company's bottle water venture. I was thinking about granting the license rights to my company's bottle water ventures to help and raise funds for DBC's capital needs. As soon as I explained the potentials Ella's eye widened and then she told me about Deafhood. She told me that DBC was a small thing and the bigger picture was Deafhood. She then asked if it'd be possible for us to help Deafhood movement. Naturally I was being polite and told her that it was a possibility. But after that VP call I saw where her real motivation was. Deafhood weas her main interest and she was more than willing to cross the line and attract whatever support DBC was getting for her Deafhood Foundation, which she has financial interests in. Since I learned about her true agenda I observed how she engineered everything so that her Deafhood Foundation is able to ride on DBC's back and take advantage of free publicity for her movement at DBC's expense. She's done it in name of bilingualism and deaf children.

This much was confirmed in one meeting among core group. Mind you, I have a hard copy of that meeting and will make this information available to those who wish to see it. In that meeting Ella said she did not know what DBC's future was after Milwaukee because she did not have any plans. She was only interested in Milwaukee and then she wanted to move on and do something else. As a leader she did not have the commitment towards DBC. Her comments in that meeting fueled anger and outrage among other member. Little did this other member realize that Ella was never really that interested in DBC. She only saw DBC as the tool to promote Deafhood Foundation.

Again, if any of you wish to see hard evidences you may email me directly at drhocokan@gmail.com.

Deafchip DavidCan you tell us what they were talki...

2008-07-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

Deafchip David

Can you tell us what they
were talking about Deafhood
at DBC in Milwaukee, please. Thank you.

RLM,How do a bill get off the floor? The usual con...

2008-07-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

RLM,

How do a bill get off the floor? The usual contact-your-legislator route?

It'd be nice to post the bill in its entriety or summarize it in layman's terms?

Cy, I had two blog postings about the question of...

2008-07-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

Cy,

I had two blog postings about the question of EDHI bill introduced to the U.S. Senate for final votes anytime before this August 2008.

EDHI bill must be withdrawn and revised before it get passed as a law.

The EDHI bill in the U.S Senate is S 1712 (Re-Authorization of Hearing Detection and Intervention) sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton as an amendment to the Early Newborns and Infants Health Screening.

Go for more info, check out the GovTrack.com for S 17172 or EHDI in full name. Please read the full text of legislation. You will be totally shocked how this bill is written that way.

No wonder the AGBell and other audiology industry heavily invested in this bill along with the CI manfacturers.

Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

Hi Cy,Your question about Deafhood and other subje...

2008-07-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Cy,

Your question about Deafhood and other subjects is very good.

I personally believe that the convention is only for bilingualism with some "brief and basic" resources and referrals.

If parents want to know more about Deafhood, let them have that.

If parents want to know more about AVT, let them have that,

If they want to know more about Deaf history, let them have that.

I believe every parent has a right to know any information that relates to their Deaf children.

For new parents, they need to focus on bilingualism and its resources first. They will learn many more later.

Hope this helps
Deafchip

Deafchip,Yes, you've said the convention was all a...

2008-07-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Deafchip,

Yes, you've said the convention was all about bilingulism - that was not what I was asking...I asked how YOU felt about Deadhood and other topics being part of the convention - are you ok with it or do you feel it should be only about bilingualism and that Deafood should be held elsewhere and at another time? The convention was about communicating with AGB parents about ASL. My point was whether it was a good idea to throw in Deafhood and other topics? I would not have any problem if they were held in private rooms away from the main part of the convention where DBC's platform would be open to public which should be only on bilingualism. I agree with you - DBC should be about bingualism, nothing more or less.

Hi Cy,The convention was all about Bilingualism to...

2008-07-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Cy,

The convention was all about Bilingualism to promote parents of Deaf babies and children to use both of languages.

THe convention was NOT about Deafhood.

Deafhood and other subjects were briefly discussed at the DBC Chapter workshop for Deaf people who are interested in helping setting up chapters. I was there.

Hope this helps.

Deafchip

I took a brief break from hiatus to check on a few...

2008-07-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

I took a brief break from hiatus to check on a few of latests on DeafRead. I read blogs and viewed vlogs with a heavy heart. The crab theory is still at work.

Only thing I want to say:

DBC folks, GREAT JOB! KEEP IT UP!

Deafchip,Okay, so Deafhood was part of the convent...

2008-07-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

Deafchip,

Okay, so Deafhood was part of the convention as a whole, and do you feel it was appropriate? How do you feel about it? What do you think about it?

Dr Hocokan,

Would you be able to download clips of the convention on your blog? I am no techno but I've seen some bloggers do that. Perhaps download it into a video maker and provide a link for viewing or something.

Karen,

Thanks. I wonder if the AGB chapter in Indiana is a more "gentle" version since ISD started the first BiBi movement and possibly AGB got involved in a way and perhaps both institutions learned it is more benefitical to work together than against each other? And perhaps because you are familiar with ASL already and have deaf in your family, AGB was wise to back off on their mission of oralism/auditory/AVT approach. I think had your family been new to deafness, their approach may have been different. And perhaps the AGB chapters vary place to place. AGB as a whole seems to be devoted to oralism and in that, that ASL weakens oral skills and/or acquisition. But if they want to work with people like you, they may know it may not fly with you. You are more educated in this area than most parents of newly deaf children. They may adopt a different approach to work with you and your son. They might have figured that because you come from generations of deaf family, your son would be a good model to demostrate that even AGB can serve kids like him. Possibly a clever strategy and movement on their part.

Nonetheless, if you are happy with their services, then stay with what you feel is best.

Yes. I have a hard copy of that power point presen...

2008-07-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Yes. I have a hard copy of that power point presentation. DBC's State Chapter coordinator emailed them to me on the evening of Milwaukee conference and asked me for my input. I can email anybody a hard copy of the power point presentation. Contact me directly and I'll be more than happy to provide you with a hard copy.

From Anonymous2: ---------------------Dr Hocokan s...

2008-07-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

From Anonymous2:
---------------------
Dr Hocokan said...
Take a peek at this slideshow;

http://www.xanga.com/Frank_Sandra/664464538/dbc-conference-slide-show.html

and go to 2:52 and you will see Deafhood in power point presentation. It had no business there.
----------------------
Can anyone transcribe the lists on a slide at 2:52? It is difficult to read the lists on the slide.

I can answer that question. The Deafhood power po...

2008-07-06T06:58:00.000-07:00

I can answer that question. The Deafhood power point presentation was at the main convention center, open to public, splashed on a big screen for ALL to see. I gave you a link to the vlog and pointd to 2:52. You will see 'deafhood' movement's power point exposed at the expense of DBC and bilingualism. Should not have happened but it did because the head figure (leader) of DBC is also the same head figure (leader) for Deafhood movement. Ella. This individual hijacked DBC and rode on its wave to promote Deafhood movement because she makes a living as a Deafhood presenter. This person needs to go.

I'm calling for Ella's resignation. We all should demand the same. Deafhood movement needs to go with her departure because DBC is about something else. She has the morale responsibility to restore DBC back to us and allow us to promote bilingualism for deaf babies without being trampled by Deafhood issues and Ella's financial interest in Deafhood movement.

And CY, you are right. I am more interested in restoring DBC for what we all thought it was going to be. Certain leaders that currently hold DBC hostage has to go. If they don't, we will start a new movement / organization to preserve the original movment and to discredit DBC for what it has done. And it won't be difficult.

My hope is they (current DBC leaders) will have enough integrity and senses to restore DBC back to what they made us believe it was going to be. To think that John allowed these corrupted behavior to happen is mind boggling for me. He may have a good heart but does not have enough backbone to stand up to Deafhood leaders. John only understands intimidation tactics. It is because he is linear thinker. During my four months tenure with John always spoke in term of intimidations tactics. That is why many viewed him as the BULLY. It is probably the truth. The media also saw DBC as the bully and favored AG Bell's approach. I tried to help John see a better way to relay DBC's message to the public but he was still stuck in linear mode. For some reason he remained linear and only had his sights on AG Bell. After all it was his idea to "hate" AG Bell. DBC's quest to stand up to AG Bell belongs to him therefore the destructive result is his responsibity. Because of it, DBC's scars will remain for all to see as long as he is part of DBC.

Regardless, DBC should not be about John. It should not be about Ella. It should not be about Deafhood or what few celebrities they host. It should be about deaf children and everybody (human beings). It should not be used for personal gains or monetary gains. Integrity has to be restored before we're able to move forward.

Hi there,I would like to clarify that it was for c...

2008-07-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I would like to clarify that it was for chapter workshop for anyone who plan to set up chapters anywhere. The term of Deafhood was only mentioned for several minutes out of one and half hours workshop.

The leadership of DBC emphasized us all that we must focus on Bilingualism.

It was all about BILINGUALISM nothing more nothing less.

Some people, who criticized DBC, would support and defend DBC if they were at the convention.

Deafchip

AND... my son's teacher of the deaf WAS one of the...

2008-07-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

AND... my son's teacher of the deaf WAS one of the directors of AGBell's chapter in Indiana (Hear Indiana) and she used to teach at ISD and she knows sign language. Even Hear Indiana quickly offered the intepreter for my son who went to AGBell's sponsored camp last summer (my son declined the offer)... I even did NOT ask for the interpreter. And Hear Indiana again offered me the interpreter for this summer's camp (my son again declined the offer.. I did not even request for one.) AGBell is NOT against sign language as many people like to believe.

Oh wow. I thought Cy's v/blog was an excellent, h...

2008-07-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

Oh wow.

I thought Cy's v/blog was an excellent, helping shine a light on DBC and I understood the parallel of the birth of USA and DBC... of course there were MANY different opinions (Royalists, farmers, etc., in 18th century in America, compared to today's oralists, ASLists, etc.) She was not being critical... just constructive.

BUT... can anyone see new parents learning about Deafhood right away? Deafhood is more for older deaf people, not babies nor new parents who are simply NOT ready unless they want to learn about deaf culture and advocacy for their deaf babies.

No one needs antidepressants. The way I see it, everyone is voicing his/her opinions. Of course... when one feels his/her feathers being ruffled, one becomes defensive.

Overalls, I think the majority of the commenters participated constructive dialogue... we expressed our concerns, etc.

As for me, I am sorry to say but I am comfortable with AGBell because it is a good source of wealth and I feel comfortable with DBC's appraoch to the babies, especially the part about cognitive development... AGBell because it is a good source for anyone who wants to know about mainstreaming deaf children in hearing world and I learned from AGBell... DBC does not have the info about mainstreaming (how to make it succeed, etc.) Every organization is different. Advocacy is different in every organization.

Cy, good job.

Cy-I can't answer to your comment because I am not...

2008-07-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

Cy-

I can't answer to your comment because I am not sure where inside building was used for the presentation on Deafhood. Remember it is a first time convention and many information has to be shared to the audience. I also believe that DBC committees were surprised that 500-700 people showed up for the first time. Have you sent a personal e-mail to John Egbert about your concern? I do not wish to analyze everything to find mistakes because it is a first time convention. If we plan for next convention then we can participate and share our ideas and concerns when the time is right. DBC committees worked their ass off to prepare for this convention. They gave up a lot of their time and MONEY too. I am sure they thought what worked best. Give them a chance. Next time and next is always getting better. I am not even going to worry about it. Some AGB members’ watched DBC supporters on streets…they even waved and signed back to “ILY”. Some even met with DBC supporters for social during evening so that said a lot too. I am impressed how both of them respected to each other throughout weekend. Wow! We never have seen like this for over 100 years.

Penny,If Deafhood was presented in a special prese...

2008-07-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Penny,

If Deafhood was presented in a special presentation in a private room as a special feature to the convention, then I'd have no problem with it. It'd mean it is optional and whoever is curious and wants to learn about it can go in and listen. If it were thrown into the mix with the DBC platform agenda, then it sends confusing and contradictory messages, then I'd have a problem with it. If Deafhood was presented in a private room with featured speakers, then it'd be a great opportunity for many deaf adults to attend and learn all what it is about. Perhaps even some parents might be curious to learn about a deaf person's journey and see an insight into what their deaf children's journey might be like. It may scare some of them off and some might embrace it. As long as it was not part of the convention as a whole, it'd be ok.