Deaf Culture?

I posted a comment under Candy's Blog and thought I'd blog about it as well. Here goes....

Candy's blog offered an interesting read again. I decided to post my thoughts on the subject because of the irony. Last night I was having an interesting ‘cultural’ discussion with members of K’amligihahlhaahl. They're also known as Nisga'a. This Native American tribe is located on the coastal side of British Columbia. They are people of totem poles. They’re one of the most traditional tribe you will run into today, culture-wise. The photo seen here is a wooden mask used by K'amligihahlhaahl.

We talked about culture and the rules that people of ANY culture must follow. In this discussion I made several references to deaf culture. The goal was simple. We wanted to understand the principle of rules behind any kind of culture. A K’amligihahlhaahl woman showed me a book called “From Time Before Memory, The People of K’amligihahlhaahl”. She opened pages 14 and 15 and brought my attention to the rules of ANY culture. Needless to say that the article captured my attention.

It explained about Family and Identity as the primary ingredients and source of a culture. Ones’ identity is developed after he or she becomes actively involved as a member of a group or something. If someone asked who you were you might say “I am Bob” or “I am Kate”. But what if they wanted to know more? You might say, “I like to read. I am a fast runner. I have two sisters. I am honest. I like the color green”. These are all facts about yourself and together they make up your identity.

The book also identified two facts that are always used to identify person's identity. It boiled down to person's "tribe” and “house”. In white man’s layman term it would mean 'group’ and ‘location’, where we were raised. Some of us were raised in the big cities. Some of us were raised in a small town or on a farm out in the country. Therefore the culture of the very location where we were raised will play a role in our identity. Approximately 5% of us were raised in a deaf family therefore the culture of a deaf child of a deaf family will not be the same as a deaf child of a hearing family therefore it is impossible for us to expect ALL of us to share the same ‘deaf culture’ that we hear so much about.

Because we all came from different parts of the nation where there are multiple cultural bases, as in cultures of western folks, traditional tribes, red necks, hilly billies, etc; Everything that we’ve accumulated through the years do play an important role in how our identities are developed. Therefore the folklife of a deaf person will always vary greatly when we compare the two.

The book also pointed out the very basic rules of ‘membership’. It laid out four simple things to follow in order to hold an identity necessary for a cultural value. 1) Family 2) House 3) Tribe (group) 4) Nation (location).

Upon reading these basic rules I could not help it but ponder about deaf culture. Do we all share the same family? No. Do we all share the same house? No. Do we all belong to the same Tribe (group)? No. Do we all belong to the same Nation (location)? No.

Now, why are these things important? The book had an answer and I’ll share them with you. It says, “There are important rules in a society about how members of these groups behave toward each other. They are much like the rules that people of any culture must follow. These rules help a society know how to behave in different situations and during difficult times. They help keep the society strong”.

In short, without these basic rules a society will never be able to reach its prime as a cultural group. This made me think and ponder about Deaf people who love to tout their so-called cultural values on daily basis. Are these people mindful of the basic rules? At this point I have my doubts.

Why? If deaf people really understood the basic principles here they would know how to behave toward each other. They would know how to behave in different situations and during difficult times". I'm seeing an exact opposite of how a culturally based group are supposed to behave. I think I'm beginning to understand why there is a long history of divisive behavior within the deaf community. It may be due to lack of 'rule' laid out by the People of K’amligihahlhaahl.

My life long journey with the Native Americans continues... because I know they have much to teach us.

NAD, a society of the Illusions?

I'm presently enjoying myself some where in the far north this morning, smelling the scents of pine and tamarack trees with a world class view of a very calm river. I see a couple of fishing boats sporting for hearty meals, tempting me to try my luck some time soon.

As I sat here this morning watching the faithful sun making its regular visit this time of the day I had to wonder about NAD's ongoing events in Pennsylvania and reflect some the things that I've been able to monitor, thanks to DeafRead.com and DeafVideo.tv.

I took a peek of 'College Bowl' to get an idea of the so-called excitement and was disappointed to learn that it was more of a Trivial Pursuit, a popular game for those so-called geniuses with bulky memory drives in their head. I was hoping it'd be more of a debate club containing selections of qualifiers from three institutions. It's not just the base of intelligence and knowledge that will make or break our community. It's our ability to articulate thoughts and place them into a debate that will take us where we need to go. And then I watched to see how the representatives of Gallaudet University touted itself as the best "higher education" program for the deaf. Forgive me but it was a laughable moment for me when they made such declaration. Did they really give all other Universities with Deaf Education program the same opportunity to compete in this College Bowl? Surely not. The best, eh? Dream on...

And then I came across Candy's Blog. That was an interesting read. I had not followed NAD's CEO candidates so for that reason I appreciated what little information I was able to pick off and read this morning. I know and I understand that Candy's blog reflects how she felt and how she might see things.

Based on what was said in Candy's Blog I can appreciate Darlene’s desire for financial independence. I’ve made numerous financial suggestions to NAD through the years with hope that they would eventually learn how to build their financial estates rather than dwelling on membership dues and grants. Unfortunately such advice fell on deaf ears for a very long time so for that reason I’m surprised to see some lights in the tunnel. However, based on her view of abused rights of deaf babies, it rang a familiar sour tune for me. Radical. Extremist. I started to smell DBC, AFA, Deafhood and such. This, will spell death for NAD if they’re foolish enough to go down the same beaten path.

Experience has taught us to know that we ought not to confuse ourselves between the difference of a proven teacher and a proven leader and politician. It takes an exceptionally talented individual to accomplish the feats of a financial guru. I have yet to meet a teacher that was a financial guru.

As for Howard, I think I’ve seen him in a video once or twice but I’m not sure where. I’ll worry about that later. However, based on what Candy laid out, I’m concerned about the ‘lawyer’ mentality. A leader that has the mentality of an attorney is not always productive. They seem to think that everything is solved through legal means. They’re usually emotionless because they were schooled and trained to think that way. This much was assured when you laid out 7 E’s (Equality, Enforcement, Education, Employment, Enjoyment of life and Expansion of our members, most through enforcement). Scary because history will teach us how well ‘freedom’ and ‘enforcement’ mix. Not too well, if you ask me. The statement ‘most through enforcement’ caught my eyes. I’ll tell you why.

Enforcing equality? The law has tried it for many decades and we’re still very off the base. Enforcing enforcement? Sounds like a heavy hand tactic.

Enforcing education? As an advocate of John Holt’s unschooling philosophy I know for a fact that education will happen with or without a teacher. It’s human’s nature to learn the things we need to learn. In short, education will happen with or without enforcement. I have a problem with enforcing education upon others because we’re at an age where the things we need to learn are rapidly changing. Much of what we learn in the educational system are obsolete and outdated.

Enforcing employment? That’s the path our nation has undertaken numerous times and each time they did, they failed miserably. This is other word for artificial economy, as in stimulus economy. They tried to force employment growth, through unnatural methods and each time it resulted in ballooned debt and failed policies. I do not know Howard’s background and training in the financial sector but he would learn immensely if he began to study and observe these matters. Enforcing employment is a bad policy.

Enforcing enjoyment of life? Funny because our nation tried it many times in the past century. Sure, we had a blast in the 1910′s, 1930′s, 1950′s, 1970′s, and 1990′s. These years were the hey days where people enforced enjoyment of life and what was the result? Debts. More debts on top of debts, leading us to this mountain of debts we’re facing today. As a society we’re slowly learning the meaning of ‘spending within the means of our life’. In short, it means we ought to learn to spend less than what we bring in, barring the concept for liabilities and debts.

Enforcing an expansion of NAD members? I’d love to see them try and enforce me to join NAD. Mind you, it is not how they are going to win the hearts and minds of deaf people. I do not need to tell you that people are most effective and empowered when they join at their own free-will. The same is true for parents of deaf children. Forcing them to do something that’s against their will and you’ll create a powerful alliance you’ll wish y0u never created.

My choice for NAD’s next CEO? Those who know me know that I do not settle for second best so I’ll have to say that none of the candidates would have won my vote. And yes, I drive a very hard bargain every where I go. It’s how we excel in everything that we do. Too many people these days are too willing to settle for ‘second best’ therefore it becomes them, a society of the cynics.

Regardless, I’ll wish them the best of luck in choosing their next CEO.

Instead of a trivial game for these so-called geniuses I'd love to see some kind of debate club containing numerous deaf education programs from different colleges come together for a College Bowl event. It's high time we placed a greater challenge for ourselves.

And lastly, I'm still waiting, patiently, for answers on the four definitions of Audism that were endorsed by NAD. I certainly hope they have not swept the issue under the rug thinking we're going to unconditionally forgive them for their misgivings.

I'd better get back to the nature and reclaim some of my sanity. Be Hopi! (be happy)