Apathy is defined as "a lack of emotion or an indifference to things in general", and it is certainly rearing it's ugly head somewhat in the deaf community.  One thing I have noticed that is a sad commentary about the qualities that define and perpetuate the stereotypes about the deaf community, is that posts on DeafRead that garner more visits or comments usually tend to be those that are filled with inflammatory statements, flamers in the comments, and a general lack of respect towards others.

What I would like to see in 2009 is for the deaf community to leave behind that infighting and rally behind true causes that impact us all.  Causes such as deaf education, lobbying for IDEA to be fully funded (with a few changes in how it is defined and enforced), fighting for captions in movie theaters and on the web (Bill Creswell does an AWESOME job of getting the word out on that kind of stuff.  Kudos to Bill.), talk about what YOU are doing to help improve the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing in your community, talk about the books that are being or have been written by deaf authors or with deaf characters as their central story line.  Not enough of them, you say?  WRITE ONE YOURSELF.  Tell us about your efforts to get it published or looked at by someone in the theatrical or movie world, and rally behind those that ARE trying to do things like this.

Pardon me if I could care less if Martin Ritchie does well or not on that modeling show, although I do see the importance of supporting a deaf or hard of hearing person in their endeavors.  Pardon me if I think that laws against texting while driving are not only NOT discriminatory towards the deaf and hard of hearing, I SUPPORT THEM.  It's a matter of public safety.  Pardon me if I feel that ALL deaf and hard of hearing people are part of the community of deafness, WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE CULTURALLY DEAF, HAVE A CI, CHOOSE TO SPEAK AS WELL AS SIGN, etc.  Pardon me if I could absolutely NOT give a flying fig if a hearing person is chosen to portray a deaf person in a movie, as long as the storyline remains true to the character, the deaf are portrayed in a positive light, and the deaf person is okay with it.

It's my personal opinion that 2008 was the year of Deaf Apathy in many regards.  We lost some of our luster, in my opinion, and we lost some of our fight.  We directed our energies in often misguided attempts to tear down one portion at the expense of others, or a singular portion.  I don't agree with everything the DBC does or says, nor do I agree with everything NAD does or says, or AG Bell, for that matter.  BUT, I agree that one central thing is in common amongst all of them, and that is that they ALL are for the advancement of opportunities for the deaf and hard of hearing.  Now THAT is something I can get behind.  Civil discourse is the root of our success as a country, as a deaf community, etc.  I'm not saying don't disagree, but be civil about it and see the big picture.  The famous patriot Thomas Paine had a couple of sayings I find extremely pertinent:   "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself."  and "Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us."


So, my wish for 2009 is that the deaf community coalesces behind the common goals of improving the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing, from ALL walks of life, and to show true character in doing so.

And so it goes.....

Eddie