while the video below was made in opposition to Ca. AB 2072, which was later vetoed by Governor Arnolds, much of what the parents have to share testifies to what could be in Indiana since the governor of Indiana (Daniels (R) has stacked the deck of the ISD board in favor of Oralism & Audism – including one board member who has put forth the unjust HB 1367- (Noe (R)- base on the bias office of management and budget report associated with Adam Horst
this video made me cry when i saw it the first time and still affects me when i view it again. these parents are so good and so sincere.
we share these truths, Indiana Senate, cuz we care. Do the right thing and say NO to HB 1367
im just WOW so happy that ya all are STANDING and DEMANDING that our TRUTHS BE TOLD
Julie Rems-Smario has launched a Lies AG Bell Told My Parents campaign
you can see the pictures / text / truths and info in the twitter and facebook accounts – please add yours and when you do in twitter add the hashtag of #liesagbelltoldmyparents and #HB1367 this way none of the good stuff goes missing
Thank you Julie for finding a positive and creative solution to the suppression and burying of the truth about the reign of error (oral / aural only) and the 2nd wave tsunami that is trying to hit us all via CI+AVT, LRE mainstreaming mandate and Oral ONLY schools resurgence
KUDOS and THANK YOU to all the folks in Indiana who are saying NOPE – nothing ABOUT us withOUT us – no way. and also they be saying YA BASTA to AG Bell and Co (see Hear Indiana and Karl White and Lisa Kovacs and…. we see u)
We aint gonna stand for this again – no way. And big thanks to Karen Kingrey who is making the trip from Austin, Texas to Houston, Texas today to hand deliver over 2,000 signatures to the hospital that will be experimenting on Deaf newborns and infants. You go girl! Pls sign the petition folks and get your family to too. Karen K aims to send the petition to the US Legislature and Senate and President Obama after February 5th so hurry and sign and circulate. Say no to eugenics.
Karen we are with you in spirit and indebted to you big time.
im in a rush so im just gonna feed ya some important links below but there are MANY more good stuff out there. many folks have been singing our songs of freedom – THE TRUTH – for a mighty long time folks and now we see a might stream flowing. this is good and important. – hopefully soon i can do a blog entry re: some of the important ART that has come out of the movement cuz a picture is worth a thousand words and the role of the artist is to disturb the peace ~ james baldwin (negative peace that is not positive peace – the telling of the truths gets us one step closer to a TRUE and POSITIVE PEACE of which MLK Jr Dreamed and STOOD and WORKED for)
we be jumping at the sun folks. You are BEAUTIFUL. keep shining and know you are LOVED!
and oh – AG Bell – yes i know you read me ; ) YA BASTA!
AGBell: The Elephant in the Room by Ella Mae Lentz
Shawn Elfink tells the truth about St Joseph outreach trying to upsurge ISD outreach as she is a survivor of the St Joseph system
Jay Kieger – Geese know something that we dont?
Jeffrey Robert’s AG Bell the Man and the Association
(cuz some folks like to pretend that AG Bell and co. have reformed their ways when they AIN’T. Just see the Pepsi letter they wont retract and the membership cards insulting teachers of the Deaf by calling them Hearing specialists and their FALSE PROPHECY motto of “Independence through listening and talking” – the Association was born on the bedrock of AUDISM – the belief that to hear and/or behave as a hearing person is superior to being Deaf and they have maintained that stance up to this VERY day. just see AG Bell’s components of quality auditory/oral program and their mandate to infiltrate public schools and how Hear Indiana an offspring of AG Bell Association and a devoted disciple of the oral / aural only any mean means necessary doctrine’s components of a quality auditory/oral program CHECKLIST. they aint been shy or quiet about it folks. u can spin, deny, detract, distract, minimize, falsely testify and “debate” all ya want but YA BASTA. Truths being told and the river is gonna flow. See ya all in st. louis)
Maisha blog with pix of the truth and Maureen Klusza awesome and famous Greatest Irony cartoon and our ancestor – George W. Veditz famous Preservation of Sign Language film with Dr. Carol Padden’s translation. I weeped!
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ~ MLKing, Jr
as most of ya know – im a pacifist. i dont support war or violence
so why would i be attracted to this song “Why We Fight” by the Decemberists?
Come the war Come the avarice (excessive or insatiable for wealth or gain) Come the war Come hell
Well cuz it came under my radar when someone created a video using images
specific to the fight for Deaf Equality and i thought cool beans. (scroll down for the link to the video) There has been a war against ASL and other natural signed languages for a mighty long time folks – Before and After ICED Milan 1880 and AG Bell. See Dr. Douglas Baynton’s Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language and Dr. Lane’s When the Mind Hears and his Mask of Benevolence for ample evidence of the systematic attempt at linguistic and cultural gencoide against Deaf folks in the U S of A. See Edwin Black’s War Against the Weak.
Yes, i am recommending u get ye self to a library and read a BOOK by a true Dr. versus some pseudo doctor / guru / 2nd coming revelation wanna be or lame a## pundits spouting out b.s. as facts and getting it carried on Deaf aggregators. You can even check out AG Bell (the man) own writings or the association’s Volta Review – they have not been shy about their aim, desire, ambition to remove ASL from the hands of wee things and to caral all the Deaf children into the sink-or-swim stream of life. They proclaim their cochlear implant & AVT revolution with great pride and strides.
Come attrition (A gradual diminution in number or strength because of constant stress.)
Come the reek of bones Come attrition Come hell
Attrition is still going on folks.
– check out how the NIH and CDC write about Deaf folks
– check out how AG Bell Assoc and co. aim to make it so Deaf kids dont even know they are Deaf
– check out how Graeme Clark (founder of Cochlear Australia) aims for 100% implantation of all Deaf babies and children (get them before they can resist)
– check out the stats in Denmark
– see the mainstreaming mandate (the creations of solitaires in society)
– see the remote control CIs turned off and on by parents, teachers, and professionals
– see stem cells and genetic engineering
– see the competition for a 100% implantable cochlear implant
Re: the reek of bones – see CI surgery and yes despite a representative of Cochlear Americas trying to give us the impression that the implant is all just under the skin and no biggy until i said “they do DRILL through the skull” and her colleague (a graduate of Gallaudet, former interpreter, and former audiologist but now marketing person at CA did confirm the fact that there is a drilling through the bone) Not to mention all the wracking of the knuckles with the ruler during the reign of Oralism (oral / aural ONLY mandate)
re: Hell – ask ANY Deaf person who has endured hearing test, cold earmolds, audiotory training, speech lessons, AVT , etc etc and they will say it was Hell. Yep, i’s know some will say it was worth it and some love to yoddle (i do too) but i dont know one who said it was fun being TRAINED. We aint dogs folks.
This is why Why we fight Why we lie awake And this is why This is why we fight
Yep, we do. We do fight and now that their masks of benevolence are coming down more and more folks are waking up and shaking up. Finding our feets and taking a stand. making some mighty REASONABLE demands like….
– dont demote and degrade a TRUE language to a systems of gestures and mimes – geez that AG Bell-like Italian Oral / Aural ONLY association – we see u!
– dont appoint three utterly UNqualified board members for a bilingual-bicultural Deaf school. Not only do these folks support and patronize programs that EXCLUDE ASL from the life of a Deaf child, they have the audacity to tell the Deaf community – we dont care what you think, know or want – we are staying put. Wow Wee. We shall see see.
– dont think u can fool us by chopping off the “without sign language or lipreading” in your AVT guidelines but still practice the hiding of lips and banning of visual acuity and sign language in your THERAPETIC practices!
– dont think u can fool us by silently removing Cochlear Americas and Advanced Bionics from your Circle Alliance founders partnership but still have them be major sponsors for your conferenes.
– dont think we dont see all your lobbying efforts in various state legislatures to mandate insurance coverage for the VERY expensive and UNreliable cochlear implants and a push to route the parents and babes to the oral / aural ONLY track via EHDI and other efforts
– dont think we dont see you setting up oral / aural only professionals training programs all over the country
– dont think we dont see you trying to rip down all the pillars of the Deaf community
no worries
Cuz this is why we fight
Italy LIS folks we are with you in spirit
Indiana IDS folks we with you in spirit
and more… and more
When we die We will die With our arms unbound
and if we did not fight – we would die with our arms bound. and even if we live to be 80 if we have had a death of the spirit at 30 or so we aint good to nobody – most especially the folks to follow. (See MLK and Ella’s translation).
The civil rights movement was about 30 years of activism folks (and a couple of centuries in the making) – plenty of disunity and disagreement but when common ground was struck folks engaged in DIRECT peaceful civil disobedience and kept their eyes on the prize and OVERCAME. This is why…
And this is why This is why Why we fight Come hell
This is why folks
Bride of quiet Bride of all unquiet things Bride of quiet Bride of hell
Deaf folks have been rendered SILENT due to the fact that the majority culture has so long been DEAF to our pleas and calls. We have been rendered invisible. The injustices lobbed against Deaf folks, the shackles and the chains, the yoke of the oppression have all been done in the name of restoring us to society – well, aint that the pickle? I thought we all have been living in society and who ever said we wanted to be restored if it meant having to annihilate that within us which makes us diverse, unique, and divine? hmmm Bride of silence no more
Come the archers Come the infantry Come the archers Of hell
They have new weapontry now and their aim may be more aggressive but their mark is the same. Mouths and ears. Its all about speaking and listening to make u (in)dependent. truly – think on it folks – it requires all the kings horse and all the kings men to try to restore the wee thing back to a “natural” state via UNnatural means and still most folks return to the fold – they come with REGRET, with UPSET, with ANGER – why wasnt i given natural signed language as a pup – why did i have to forever work for my words – why doesnt anyone in may family even learn to sign NOW NOW NOW after i have done all the labor of jumping through all the hoops to meet them on their side of the bridge – why wont they venture just a wee bit in my direction so im not forever having to work for my words – why cant i ever get a measure of equality of condition?
The infantry and the achers r mighty big boys these days folks ohhh and they are wealthy and comfy – dont get all worried that we is picking on them. they r doing just fine, driving nice cars, having big houses, nice portfolios, etc, they be fine.
This is why Why we fight Why we lie awake This is why This is why we fight
It may seem hopeless but we must remain steadfast. we must keep making the invisible visible and pulling down the mask for all to see. Oral/aural ONLY + CI mandate are crimes against humanity. Their intent and design is for a cultural and linguistic genocide – they are not shy about it.
And when we die We will die With our arms unbound And this is why This is why we fight Come hell Come hell
We got a long haul in front of us folks – this aint gonna be no picnic but remember: we aim for the greatest good for the greatest number and in this case that means the right to a natural and fully accessible language (they can throw in all that extra jazz if they so desire as long as – they dont ban ASL or other natural sign languages, they do not oppress the child, it is not given more priority than that of cultural, critical and functional literacy)
This is why Why we fight Why we lie awake This is why This is why we fight
So folks we fight how?
PEACEFULLY, ENDLESSLY, JOYFULLY – yep we do have fun. U should see us – we really do shine when we get together and that really does make ’em fume and fuss and take out the water hoses via webwires denouncing the first amendment right to assembly and free speech and makes ’em throw lots of money after security when we is a peace loving people. oh well.
No worries – they will come around cuz the truth and love always prevail. think of it always
When we die We will die with our arms unbound And this is why This is why we fight
So folks u must do do – not just sit, not _itch and moan, not REact to the banterings of nutters, not same ole same ole.
Yep, Deaf folks have been disenfranchised for a might long time but now is not the time to sing to the tune of “woe is me” – nope – now is the time to stand and deliver. Stand tall, stand long, stand in love and in peace. This is why …. this is why we fight
So come to me Come to me now Lay your arms around me And this is why This is why We fight Come hell Come hell Come hell Come hell
We got nothing to fear but fear itself and the fear of doing nothing! Cuz the 2nd wave of Oralims (Oral / Aural ONLYism) is here folks. Be Aware, Be Awake, and Be Busy!
“We must have the spiritual audacity to assert our somebodyness.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr
heye all
Warning – my spell check is not working (OMG pure badness) and im in a rush so im sure LOTS of typos and incoherence in places – will try to tidy it up later
wow wee – the Deaf world is a rumbling
& when we say world – we truly mean world – as in global as big ole marble called the planet earth (geez i wish we would take better care of her)
LIS issue art by Ramon Woolfe
so what am i talking about re: the Deaf world – no i aint gabbering about Ms. Marlee and what she done right and didnt do right. It aint that i dont care about her its just YAWN – i am not a reality tv show kinda gal. and i am not a celebrity click click click chick either – ie i didnt even know that Prince whatever oh william got married until i saw it on FB
re: Marlee – all i got to say is GET YOURSELF to the Tilden Walk/Run for Deaf Humanity – if u got another gig that day at least get a bunch of sponsors to toss some money there way – u r very persuaive. Im sure that trump would be happy to write a check or two in ur name. Starkey – NO THANKS. Seriously girl. Divest urself from that mess. they do not need u and u do not need them. Eject, eject.
now the Deaf-World a rocking
well folks its largely due to the fact that the 2nd wave of Oralism (“WTF – not again” we say – wasn’t once enuf?) is full-force now – at least it is picking up steam and making itself a bit more OVERT and BUSTABLE. Mask has come down here and there and we r seeing the wicked witch behind the scenes.
now by Oralism we mean – a system, practice and belief that to TALK is superior to signing and thus BANS signing. and this belief and attitude is RAMPANT and has been for a mighty bloody long time and all it has left it its wake is:
– some folks who can yap (yaddy hoo ha so what)
NOTE: i can hear and speak a great deal – it is no big deal. it just is. the problem is not with what a person can or does not do – the problem is how the person is treated because they can or don’t – that there is the issue and ORALISM is an extreme approach that EXCLUDES sign language from the living rooms, classrooms, and lunch rooms of Deaf kids and that aint cool.
– some folks who yap but ouchie on the ears (they are unintelligible to the average uninitiated listener but they 1. dont know it or 2. cant stop it cuz they have been co0nditioned “ordered to speak” – see peter cook’s cool poem on this subject – yes he too is a survivor of oral / only ism. WTF u say – this guy whose bread and butter is ASL performance was raised oral / aural only YEP! odd, eh?)
– some folks where physically, emotionally, culturally, spiritually HURT on the way to the quest for the near hearing-like existence (wrapping of hands with rulers – knuckles or palms, hands bound, kneeling while hold stacks of books, SOLITARY CONFINEMENT – this was a popular one – little black rooms or moprooms, badges for good speech, points docked for bad speech or for signing, sitting in the corner little jackie and jillie horner why? cuz u did what came naturally – u pointed, u gestured, u disobeyed, naughty naughty etc etc)
still happens today folks – dont tell me it dont. i thought it didnt but reports from Deaf oral school survivors tell me they get punished for pointing at a poster (all together now folks WTF!) and they are forbidden to sign or gesture during lunch – YES this is happening in 2011 in the US of A. so how is that for OPTIONS folks
(for one near u – see map of options schools – meaning a program that actively DENIES a Deaf child the option of gesturing or signing even during lunch or while walking down the hall)
but the worst abuses of ORALISM is LANGUAGE DEPRIVATION and STIGMATIZATION / COLONIZATION
educational systems that basically CREATE feral children – WTF folks!
so pls do NOT confuse the ability to speak or having been raised orally with U being oralism. U r not what u were raised
ORALISM is the system. Folks who oppose oralism are NOT opposing u. They are not even opposing your parents, they are not even opposing your teachers – they are saying the SYSTEM of Oralism sucks and #ucks with u and should STOP
its inhumane
so hear it comes again (the system is messing up your mind an fillin up your senses with a bunch of crap)
don’t believe me – well skeptism can be good at times but down right IGNORNACE s not cool and DENIAL SUCKS (yes i see u naysayers – lord u r tiresome and so so so out of tune with reality)
so proof that the 2nd wave is a cometh and we r not just hollow may 21st town cryers:
1. AVT audioverbal therapy is the rave even though it has been around since the 1970s and hasnt improved Deaf kids literacy skills or mainstreamability
hmmmm
and the byproducts of AVT often remark on how much they hated it. some even cringe when u mention that wittle fan thingy that u hold up over the lips so the acoustics come through but no cheating but usiing ur eyes to lip read (yes they actual manufactor and SELL such a “device” but others use their hands to cover their lips – yes irony of irony – u cant point or gesture but the oral pathologist CAN use her/his hand to DENY u even a smudgeon of access via ur eyes by covering ur lips) ahhhh torture in the 21st century
who said water boarding was not legal?
its for their own good – its “therapy”
oh really so why do so many byproducts of this therapy need THERAPY later?
2. cochlear implants are RAMPANT and there are problems
big problems folks – recalls, lemons, infections, deaths, explanting, re-implanting, effacicy?, data problems – like why dont they work consistently, reliably and well?
Yeah sure they got some star pupils who get lots of PERKS in exchange for their promotion of the device but there are far more who have had less then stellar and less than luke warm results
why isnt anybody tracking the rate in which folks JUNK their CI?
and how does one JUNK their CI when it is inside their HEADS?
headaches, dizzyness, skin breakdown, magnet dissenigration, LANGUAGE DEPRIVATION (say the word “hotdog” say the word baseball” but mommy i want to say I Love you in ASl and i want to say #uck off to the oral pathologist (ie SLP)
The Scream by Edvard Munch (nothing to do with Deaf folks yet everything to do with us "Ice SCREAM"
but i cant cuz she keeps smiling at me with th creepy RED lipstick im not allowed to lip read and the freaky monkey in the audiologist booth is creeping me out and … ok ok “icecream” – i sssssssccccccccrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmm
3. Deaf schools – the Auditory Industrial Complex is taking them over. if the govt aint trying to close them down due to budget cuts, the AIC are trying to rule them. See Brazil, Newfoundland Canada, NY 4201, Indiana, etc etc
now dont think this is crazy talk well take a look at how Wisc had an ORAL school law – thank u Frank Booth (a CODA himself – yep wolves in sheep clothing we got! see AG Bell) See PA push for Oral only. When they didnt legislate it formally they institituted it De Facto
and hence we had the reign of error for a might long time across the globe. Since it was an abysmal failure after a hundred years +, signing got reintroduced but in very BIZARRE and unacademically sound forms – SEE, SEE II, Sim-Com, LOVE, MCE, Cued Speech – u name it crude and yuck.
Sure there too were some success stories but all these WEE successes are largely attributed to:
parental involvement
love of reading
there are a million other factors like social economic background, education level of parents, geography, time periof birth, etc etc but the 2 above are the biggy – dont matter what language u r gonna use or DENY
now back to the point of DENYING – it is WRONG to deny sign language to Deaf kids. plan and simple ICED 2010 New Era and Accord of the Future clearly states that so STFU and stop that #hit NOW
no more shoving it into legislation and school board etc
EHDI – we have to watch this BIG time folks HUGE TIME
see France – they are NOT happy
EHDI is being used and abused as a gateway mandate to implanting and oral/aural only
they will only relinquish their choke hold on the children until they are beyond repair ie a failure then they will send them ur way and u have to try to undue the damage of language deprivation POST- the window of acquisition (about 5 yrs old)
#uck – havent we been there and done that?
yes sure some CI work well and help the kids talk and hear ALOT
but they are still WORKING for their words and there are still RISKS with CI soooo why all these efforts when there is something that they are entitled to
why DENY?
that must be looked at folks – look at it hard
i aint saying deny the kids a right to listen or speak – i am saying DO NOT deny them the right to sign
do NOT
yet we do all day and every day and in every way – slap, hit, yell, isolate, accommodate, regulate, click on and off (yes CI are now operated by remote control by the parents and teachers)
4. Legislation – Language and the Right to be … Deaf
Italy has the insanity to try to demote Italian Sign Language (LIS) to a Language of Mime and Gestures (LMG)
UK – already passed legislation saying u can not implant a gamet that u know to be Deaf
Tracking mandates – states across the US demand bloodwork on infants to track them re: Deaf genes
CDC and NIH have some MAJOR creeply language when it comes to discussing Deaf babies and people
so those are the WTFs – there are more but im getting depressed so lets move on to the Ya Hoos shall we?
YA HOO
folks are waking up
i LOVE the Deaf community
i love ya – i really do. u rock. when u r pissed – geez u get busy (yes i know that it takes alot to get u pissed and this is unfortunate but when u wake up u really do WAKE the #uck up so lets just focus on that – the positive)
– LIS Si LMG No – wow im speechless but thankfully we r not signless
the NAD is rocking the house. I know i know they aint answered Joey Baer yet that i know of but they have been doing MORE than just advocating for captioning lately. Do do?
– STRONG letter re: John T. Williams murder by a Seattle Police officer – family won $1.5million in civil settlement
– Postion on Deaf schools – see their posts and Howard Rosenblum (CEO) vlog
– Letter re: LIS situation
– Rosenblum and Shane Feldman attend LIS protest at Italian Embassy in DC
and more – ya hoo!
NOTE: Rosenblum has only been CEO since APRIL – this is rocking folks!
– CSD Fremont new supt
seriously how did that third choice get in there. just safety issues alone – come on! but u took care of it. good for u – fingers crossed for the best. and GEEZ where are the ladies???? come on Deaf-world start grooming and empoweringDeaf Women. if this is gonna forever be an Old White Boys network – you are loosing more than HALF of your potential – Deaf Women and Deaf folks of Color (Male and Female) rock – just start creating worthy opportunities and selecting worthy candidates
– Indiana School for the Deaf
oh please that is just so lame and wrong – the appointment of three folks who are CLUELESS about bilingualism-biculturalism and endorse and support programs that EXCLUDE sign language. UNQUALIFIED, UNQUALIFIED, UNQUALIFIED and insulting and unjust and wrong and geez governor Daniels! how about we put three people on your cabinent that no comprenda English and infact they think English is not a good idea for their own children – enjoy have fun and look forward to ur all working together. im sure u will be able to accomplish alot together
click, sign (u might have to register and click again), and circulate
AFA has been circulating this for a while but it was set up before some more friendlier online petition systems emerged so it has the same one up in Change.org – have over 2,000 signatures in the old form and hard copy.
Some of the signatories are big named Deaf and Hearing folks
the petition is just, right and fair. some folks have been weary to sign – they say “its sticky”
they say cuz folks will think they are against CIs -and/or against folks who have CIs
Truth is – signing the petition shows that you CARE for folks who have CIs and you care about CIs – we need answers not ignornace, not denial, not heads in the sand. There are problems with CI – that are not by and large horrific – THANKFULLY but they are present and some SYSTEMS are working MIGHTY hard to cover up these problems and working MIGHTY hard to sell these devices and make the govt foot the bill and soon they will be stripping away folks with CIs right to other accommodations because they will say – u can not have ur cake and eat it too. Dont believe me? it has already begun – i seen it and i aint lying.
We sign for them and for the future babies. It is the right and just thing to do.
Pls sign and circulate to all ur friends and all ur hearing family members and…. on and on. We do not want to look back at the end of this reign or error and see we did NOTHING!
there are alot of amazing voices out there – in vlogs / in blogs etc etc but two blogs crossed me path that have alot of authenticity and make my heart sing
they make it ouch too cuz the truth does hurt sometimes but they r important – i hope u will read them
– Nancy Rourke is pumping out great Deaf-centered Artwork (and no i aint just saying that cuz she saved me when i had dispair) She rocks – i said it before and ill say it again. All artists that make works about us – affirmation and resistance totally feed my soul. (the role of the artist is to disturb the peace ~ james baldwin. false peace he meant. we r blessed to have many GREAT Deaf artists)
there are more rays of hope but the outdoors calls
Keep shining folks
Keep jumping at the sun
this is gonna be a LONG HARD haul
The Civil Rights Movement in the US took several decades and was several hundred years in the making
Do not dismay – truth and love win – think of it always (loosy paraphrased from Gandhi)
NOTE: this is not a place for bringing up other old issues or for dissing any of the above folks. take it up in ur own spaces.
NOTE 2: i have named alot of folks here but there are MANY unsung heros – folks who drove hours to attend a rally on wed, folks who looked in basements for conulates, folks who wrote letters, folks who made vlogs, folks who uttered prayers, folks who took walks, folks who forwarded links, folks who woke up and said “what can i do?” and did something!
PEOPLE OF TH HandEYE -…first, last, and all the time” – g. veditz 1910 