Shift in my mental construct

Today I've been mulling over my attitudes toward Deaf people who are victims of dysconscious audism. I went through so much last month with the movement at work, and other situations have cropped up too involving cultural norms and being dismissed when I try to clarify what the Deaf cultural norm is. It's just been totally irritating and infuriating, not to mention frustrating. Somehow, last night introduced an unexpected shift in my attitude that took a bit of time to surface.

One of the big points that Genie Gertz made last night was that we are all constantly bombarded by messages created by systemic oppression coming at us from all sides, and it is no wonder that we have internalized at least a few of these beliefs to some degree. Thus, we are bound to express these feelings and thoughts in one form or another.

This is something I had already known, but for some reason, this knowledge went to a deeper level and affected me profoundly this time around. Last night, I was feeling vindicated and, dare I confess, a wee bit smug as I thought about specific people and situations that have occurred over the past few months. Today, I continue to feel justified, but that feeling has receded in intensity. The paramount emotion has become compassion toward these people. They have some work to do and some serious soul-searching to do, yes, but is it any wonder these issues have cropped up? In that case, I shouldn't be so irritated; rather, I should accept my role in their journey and do what I can to help them process their internal audism - even if my role is simply doing what I'm doing (being myself, doing what I believe in and expressing my thoughts).

Dysconscious audism

My new favorite phrase - dysconscious audism. Dysconscious audism is basically defined as audism (a belief and attitude that to be deaf is to be inferior to hearing people) perpetrated by members of the Deaf community because they have internalized attitudes that the hearing way is superior due to the systemic and pervasive oppression all around us.

Last night Dr. Genie Gertz of CSUN gave a talk, based on her doctoral dissertation and her research. (UPDATE: she wrote an article on dysconscious audism, and it can be found in Open Your Eyes.) It was so incredibly powerful. It validated so many things I've experienced recently and so many things I've known for years but never articulated. It made me realize yet again that some of what I've had to put up with is because I'm ahead of my time. For example, when a movement was at its peak last month, a couple of people told me I probably supported it because I've been influenced by whom I hang out with. *doink* It's actually the other way 'round. It's because we have vision and foresight that we made this demand, not because we were influenced by one person or something equally silly. Part of the reason we hang out together is because we understand each other and are able to get much-needed support. I'm so glad many things are happening, because wonderfully progressive as this local community is, it remains in need of consciousness raising.

But I digress... The talk was amazing. The woman is incredibly articulate and drove her point home extremely well. She gave many, many examples of dysconscious audism from all walks of life and many common situations - some of which I recognized as examples of national Deaf leaders and state Deaf leaders. I think for many less-aware people, the examples made it more "real" and enabled people to be able to take a look at themselves. F'r instance, after the talk, my boss came to me and quoted Genie: " 'There isn't enough room in the curriculum for Deaf Studies - it's too packed.' I am going to have to reconsider that," with a rueful laugh. She has said that so many times and it clearly hit home for her. Another point Genie made was that identity is made up of four components: language, culture, community, and education (general lifelong learning and experiences as well as schooling). Audism influences all four of these because of the systems in place that pervade our society. The information was so powerful that it needs to be in book form so the ideas can be circulated more freely and that the term "dysconscious audism" can become part of our vernacular. Anyhoo... another key point she made via her examples was that so many times Deaf people say "don't make waves," "don't rock the boat," "don't leave hearing people out," "wow, you're rejecting hearing people," "we need balance," etc, etc, but this functions to the detriment of collectivism and making progress.

The main thrust of the entire presentation was that because we have internalized audism to varying degrees and we express it, we are a weaker community. Dysconscious audism divides us and makes it extraordinarily difficult for us to unify behind anything. She's hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what happened with a recent situation. Hearing people supported us. It was Deaf people who were divided. Some said, "You're rejecting hearing people and that's not right." Other gems I heard included "It shouldn't matter," "You're too extreme," and more. One deaf person even gave me the most disgusted look, complete with eye rolls and pointedly looking away when I brought it up. Name almost any Deaf-related issue, and you'll find that we are a very divided community, due to reasons like needing to learn about hearing norms, we need balance, we shouldn't discriminate, we shouldn't oppress hearing people, and we need to face reality. Why is it so hard to get us united behind the concept that we are whole, wonderful individuals exactly the way we are and we have every right to demand respect as individuals and as experts in what our kind needs? Dysconscious audism is why, and that's scary.

On a side note - after the talk, there was a group discussing many things. During this chat, MJ Bienvenu said, "I've been told recently that I've mellowed, but the answer is no, I haven't. I have not changed! I'm the same! It's just that people have caught up to me." *laugh* She has a point.

The fall of an American icon

((written while I was stewing through a grad school lecture about how inclusion is the best thing since sliced bread))

Alexander Graham Bell...
Widely acclaimed for the phone...
Admired for having a deaf spouse...
If people only knew...
The phone was accidental.
The purpose was to eliminate deafness.
He believed that:
Deaf people were a scourge on humanity.
His raison d'être was:
To remove me and my kind from the face of the earth.
He hoped to accomplish this by:
Eugenics.
Yes, eugenics.

He may be dead,
but his destructive influence continues to this day.
The AGBAD wields so much power, it's sickening.
It is rich and powerful.
Its representatives are on all relevant boards and organizations.
It affiliates itself with research groups and the medical profession.
It stigmatizes sign language.
It is insidious in its reach.
The list goes on.

Fuck you, Alexander Graham Bell.
You are the Deaf person's Hitler.

2/15/06 17h35 PT