This press release came out just earlier today.

NAD Files Complaint against Washington Redskins and FedEx Field

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Joseph B. Espo, an attorney with Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP in Baltimore, Maryland, filed a class action lawsuit against the Washington Redskins and FedEx Field football stadium. The complaint, filed with the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, claims that the Washington Redskins and FedEx Field failed to provide captioning for announcements made over the public address system before, during, and after Washington Redskins home games, as required under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (more…)

I’ve enjoyed this summer immensely. It has indeed been one of my favorite summers. Way too many concerts. Actually, no, there can never be enough concerts. I’m making up for all the concerts that I never went to when I was younger.

An interesting trip to the Jersey shore has made me realize how spoiled I am in Baltimore and how much I love that city. Despite all the bad things I’ve heard about Baltimore growing up, it’s a city I’ve grown to appreciate and love. (more…)

On the Green Line towards Congress Heights, my children and I witnessed a desheveled, Latino man wearing a hearing aid. He apparently was hoping to trade a card he was holding for cash. I thought to myself, “He’s on the wrong line. Shouldn’t he be pestering the Rich, Red Line Folk instead of us?” As I quietly sign to my children and motion for them to not make eye contact, the deaf man, recognizing our lenguaje de signos mexicano (LSM), appoaches us and pulls out a bottle-wrapped-in-a-paper-bag while signing, (more…)

Well, a new academic year begins brightly on Kendall Green. Freshmen stand around the circle in front of Benson Hall, looking for rides, while graduate students swarm into their labs in the Hall Memorial Building. In many aspects, it is just another fall semester, with the usual cheerful atmosphere of high spirits and far-reaching hopes.

But there’s, of course, that proverbial elephant in the room. (more…)

So I’m sure a lot of us are used to ignorance by other people. And it’s not just because we’re deaf; we also deal with ignorance due to race, sexual preferences, gender, etc. Everyone deals with ignorance. Not just certain people.

But what I dealt with on Saturday night wasn’t ignorance. It was his preference. (more…)

I was pretty shocked when I found out about reality TV show Survivor’s newest concept: segregate contestants by race and let them battle it out.

Now, thank Goddess: a NYC group (among others) has responded, damning the idea.

(more…)

What is a Macaca? Is it a macaw (a colorful large parrot)? A macaque (monkeys from the genus Macaca)? Or as Virginia’s senator George Allen put it, a MOHAWK and/or a MULLET (particular hairstyles)?

Senator George Allen, who is a Republican (had to throw this in there), started out his speech at a Republican rally in southwest Virginia by saying that he was going to lead a constructive and positive campaign. He then turned to a Democrat, a UVA student who is of Indian descent but an American citizen, and referred to him as a “macaca” two times. Of course, his campaign said that he meant nothing racial by it, but was rather referring to his hairstyle which appears to be a mullet. Allen has also denied that it was a racial slur. (more…)

Innocuous questions are the worst kind - they’re the ones that are often asked in earnest search of meaning during small talk. Instead they reveal insidious underlying tones of social unconsciousness that, once I realize what they’re really asking, really piss me off(before I go any further, I should warn you, you’ll notice a very specific strand of questioning that particularly sets me off).

Unfortunately, though, since they’re always asked in the sweetest way by the most inoffensive (usually) people, I can never really let loose. (more…)

I was just scrolling through the movies and seeing what was captioned this week. I don’t know about you, but I still haven’t really seen anything that I absolutely am dying to see.

There’s World Trade Center. I refuse to see this because I don’t advocate them making this movie, even though they say it’s about heroism. I don’t like the idea of people making money off of this movie. (more…)

HA! No, I’m not talking about Jane Fernandes. (For the record, Dr. Fernandes does say hi.) I’m talking about Linda Cropp, one of the two leading candidates angling to become D.C.’s next mayor.

A bunch of friends and I were at Ben’s Chili Bowl last night, and there was some sort of “Meet Linda!” event going on in the back room all the way at the end of the restaurant. Throngs of people wearing lipstick-red Cropp stickers were packing themselves into that room. The cheerfulness of the Cropp-supporters were positively infectious; many looked up (or more accurately, down) with adoration at their hopeful future mayor, who was clad in a lilac-colored power suit. (more…)