I want to thank the humourous posters for the lighteness and fun they
have added to the list. I feel this opens the list up to more
postings and encourages the shy or lurking people to contribute.
THANKS! I think maybe your dropping off consonants and vowels will be
made up for by my adding letters when my buffer malfunctions.
Smirking
I want to add a thing or two ( ok maynbe three orfour) to the discussion
about deaf Deaf disabled, people with disAbilities or other labels.
(I was using that tongue in cheek cause some organizations in Canada do
say disAbilities) Anyway. I presented at an academic conference with a
paper suggesting that little d deaf is to big D Deaf as sex (bio) is to
gender (soci0-cultural) I know that is not a perfect analogy and that now
the issue of whether sex is in fact biological or cultural is up for
debate- but let me go on. I think this can also be used with people with
disabilities/impairements and Disabled people. Like it is also used with
deaf people. People who HAVE or EXPERIENCE a disability or disablement or
oppression, or difference, MAY or MAY not want that to be their identity.
I see more diversity among the list posters than similarity.
There are wide differences among people who share or differ on their own
disability experiences. That is not ALL austic people or people labelled
with autism claim their autism as a master status just like not all Queer
folk claim being queer as their identity ( even if they are). True too of
Deaf and deaf- that MANY (if not MOST) small d deaf people are not capital
D Deaf- that is , as Mairian pointed out- most people who do not hear do
not identitfy as part of the sign language using Deaf community. Some of
the capital D Deaf people are not EVEN small d deaf ( that is they are
hearing children of Deaf adults or spouses or well connected interpreters
etc, and they are still culturally Deaf but do not have a medical hearing
loss as measured by audiograms. Same MIGHT be true for average heighted
children of people of short stature or maybe children of austic parents.
I don't know that for sure. But I do know that I am not in the business
of DECIDING what is right for others, in fact the "independent living"
movement ( which has its own problems) has fought for self-determination
and consumer control. What we don't want is a new dogma that forbids any
language use ( wheelchairs or blind or anyother countries who use
spastics, fits, cretins and other language that MIGHT not seem right to
people in North America. I believe firmly in the right of indviduals,
including those belonging to organized groups, to self identify- and to
change their minds, or change what they present as their identities. I
personally do this alot and find its a coping skill that I could NOT live
without. Identity management is not just for the "spoiled" identity
(Goffman) but also for the multifaceted one. I am me, always will be but
ME is a complex person and does not always feel or act "disabled" nor
"Deaf" nor impaired, yet be government definition I am "disabled" and by
community agreement I am "Deaf(ened)". IN many cases the arguments are
more essential because the person with (autism for example) a
developmental disability is not given the choice to self-identitfy. Thisis
done for them by care givers teachers and parents. I found the use of
the word mentally-challenged (yes in Canada0 to be non existent among
people first members ( organized group of self-advocates) yet quite common
among "trained/enlightened" professionals. I do think language is an
essential part of how we construct our realities., I think its
under-researched and poorly understood but as someone said- knowing the
ZRIGHT WORDS does not NECESSARILY mean the person is using it in the
RIGHT WAY or for the RIGHT REASONS (It could be something we could
investigate further using ethnogrpahic or content analysis but I think the
language is only the tip of the deeper structures of attitude. Language
makes attitude visible ( or tangible, or in some cases (smile) audible).
PS for those of you not familiar, there are three or four distinct signs
to describe the TYPE of deaf person ( Deaf , deaf, deafened and a
perjorative dearie/heafie (deaf person acting hearing). So these
distinctions may not be audible to the hearing ears but they are all
toooooo visible in sign. Tanis
(I kept all the letters in my name but please continue with drpng ltrs)
(smirking) ;-}
Tanis is moving in August please stay tuned for new address and phone
number. Visit http://members.xoom.com/doetanis1/newhome.html for some
links. Pls send attachments to [log in to unmask] not to this email thanks.
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