Every morning, I slowly wake up by drinking bad office coffee spiked with a snowy cascade of sugar and reading the New York Times. I’m not sure what really wakes me up, the cheap acidic coffee or what I read.
This morning, I read Dr. Jordan’s op-ed piece in the Post for the second time in two days, groused a bit and then I moved on to the more interesting articles in the Times. As I read about the Chinese baby shortage and a documentary called “Crazy Love,” on a woman who married a guy who was responsible for her being blinded by lye, I kept thinking about the op-ed article in the Post.
My initial reaction was bemusement about the timing of this article and Dr. Jordan’s rationale for dredging up what should have been bygones. Now, I’m still thinking and I am frustrated because we have a powerful advocate determined to see Rome, oops, Gallaudet burn (and unfortunately, there are some people who are making it easy for him).
This op-ed exploits the fear that is an inherent reaction to a traditionally disfranchised community that has asserted its power. This op-ed, intentionally or unintentionally, reinforces the idea of deaf people as the “other.” That is damaging but at the same time, some introspection is in order.
I don’t agree with what Dr. Jordan wrote and question his motives for writing this but there is some validity to his argument. By making this statement, I am in no way endorsing this op-ed but beliefs don’t just come out of nowhere. They are shaped by experiences and situations. For example, according to some of my peers, there is an audist lurking behind every bush, waiting to jump out and oppress me. The glib use of the word “audist” undermines the legitimacy of the movement. Immediately finding everything and everyone who doesn’t spout the Deaf Power Party rhetoric suspect makes it harder to move forward. If I see the shadow of an audist behind every tree, how will I recognize the real thing when he leans out to pinch me on the butt?
It is our responsibility as committed and thoughtful citizens of this world to examine this polarity and the reasons for its existence. That is what this op-ed failed to do. The onus is on us to do this now, in the interests of moving forward.
Instead of being reactionary and worrying about the size of the audiology department relative to the size of the deaf studies department or trying to scare Jill Q. Public by invoking the specter of “absolutists,” we need to understand the protests, place them into context and remember that history has a way of repeating itself. We just need to take a look at post-colonial regimes in Africa that exploit their lands and citizens in brutal ways comparable to or worse than the Europeans.
This op-ed saddens me because instead of trying to understand the protests as a disfranchised group’s bid to gain a measure of power, dignity and redemption, Dr. Jordan used a polarized paradigm to try to shame his opponents for refusing to conform to his vision of what Gallaudet should be. People in power are convinced that their policies, beliefs and way of doing things are the right way and this is how they rationalize forcing them upon a resistant group. It’s for your own good.
It is our job to critically examine why the protests took place. Where does the resistance come from? Was there a failure to get buy-in for this vision? Is this vision really at all different than the reality of what Gallaudet already is? What abuses of power (real or imagined) contributed to the pressures that built up inside the volcano that exploded on the hapless President-Designate, Dr. Fernandes? What external forces are at play in shaping this movement? Above all, we must be mindful that the “other” has its own other too. We are the other, and they are us.
Protests don’t just happen in a vacuum. Absolutist is another word for extremist, and be cautioned…it goes both ways. Here’s looking at ya, kiddo.
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27 Comments
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Imho, it’s too much navel-gazing going on with that op-ed article by Jordan. All these arguments about deaf identity politics serve as a major and totally unnecessary distraction from what should be our main concern: accessibility, employment rights, educational reform, and spurring innovation in technology for the deaf.
We should be fighting for our rights as consumers in the marketplace, in our offices, and in the public sphere, but NO, we have to nitpick over what’s “Deaf Enough”, “absolutionists,” “audists,” and whatnot.
Noelle, it could be argued that the “othering” of deaf people is the reason it is so difficult for us to get access. Deaf people aren’t taken seriously as consumers nor are they viewed as a viable asset in the workplace. When deaf people speak up, the reaction is, “Oh christ, the death people are complaining AGAIN!” As “others,” deaf people are viewed as defective and a burden on society. That process dehumanizes deaf people and therefore it is easier to rationalize denial of access because its too expensive and detrimental to the greater good.
I’m sorry, I agree with Noelle! We deaf as a community are opressed by everything and yet when we speak up, as usual it’s at Gallaudet, which made “Absolutist” sound like we are some kind of cult of prejudiced people like KKK or Black Panthers or etc. but everytime a culture speaks out about their rights like NAACP which I applaud their way of approaching issues but you do not see them being nitpicked for speaking up. When a deaf culture does, it’s sickening to the public. It’s sad.
African-Americans were fed up from being opressed to be in the public and to be accepted in a workplace, we Deaf are experiencing the same problem as they did 50 years ago except we are allowed to drink water from a fountain but the point, what did the African-Americans do? They had a leader, MLK, and did a Million Man March. Where are the deaf people? Gally had a march down DC. I thought wow finally for our defa rights, but yet it’s only for Gally DPN. We have to focus on our issues in the real world.
We are fighting each other too much that the public cannot take us seriously! Like Noelle said, but NO, we have to nitpick over what’s “Deaf Enough”, “absolutionists,” “audists,” and whatnot. It’s getting out of hand.
Why don’t we just ignore IKJ and focus on what we need to address to the public and for our future’s sake!
What is very interesting is that it looks like to me that IJK specifically focused on two very simple groupings in such a way that it makes it very easy for one small subgroup to browbeat the rest into submission. If you don’t want to be an “absolutist” then you must agree with IJK.
It’s sophomoric, and it’s silly, and yet… it seems to work rather better than it should. So IJK needs to be called on his divisive tactics. Problem is the paradigm he’s exploiting is precisely the ones that hearies, esp. the ignorant sort, are very likely to agree with.
Jordan must be angry when writing his op-ed piece. It looks like he did not ask his close friend(s) to read it before sending it to Post. I am having a gut feeling that his close friend(s) would tell him he went too far or/and to revise it.
This is probably the first time IJK is sharing his opinions with the public on his own–without the considerable advantage of his public relations machine responsible for manipulating and spinning images and words toward his own ends. We are now witnessing his true color.
IJK is finally out. It’s time to clean the Gallaudet’s attics, the webs of corruption, audism, manipulation, and history of oppression and apathy to the ongoing crisis at our beloved institution of Gallaudet University.
Ah, there is no web in the attic now but later on plenty of them. From what? Frantic ASL religion and excessive Deaf Culture.
Oh, do you feel for IJK? Care to share your thoughts on his op/ed piece?
WAD: I’m sorry, this sounds illogical. President Emeritus doesn’t need his opinion validated by his friends. After all, he’s supposed to be the spokesperson and expert of deaf culture and whatnot. It wasn’t anger. It was just his own truth, dipped in bitter water.
Erm. Any good leader will have a circle of advisors constantly giving him feedback. The trick is to gather advisors who will tell you the *truth* and not be sycophants.
~ Deaf Pundit
Mila, wrong!
Dr. Jordan was never an expert in Deaf Culture. He makes it no secret of that, in fact. He once told a local paper that he considers himself “hearing-deaf person”.
He does not attend deaf schools on his own time, or even any deaf activities, picnics, clubs, organizations on his own — he does not know a zilch about Deaf Culture.
I do not view him as a representative of Deaf Culture. Yes, he contributed and worked at Gallaudet. But that is all it is to you.
R-
And what’s more, IJK was hearing from 0 to 17 years of age. He was readily exposed to spoken English from birth. At the time, there was only, and still is today, one language for him–English. That’s what I find so incredible, considering that the total population of the United States has recently reached 300,000,000 this year, and yet English is the one and only official language in the U.S.! IJK never had to deal with all artifical, deeply flawed, modes of communication thrown at him in an educational institution.
When we accepted and honored IJK as the president of Gally back in 1988, despite his lack of knowledge about the Deaf culture, his lack of innovative vision for Gally, and his limitied proficiency in ASL, it was our earnest hope he would be the one to kick many butts and make drastical changes at Gally. That didn’t happen. IJK and his administration did little to make a significant change in the ways that Gally functioned during his 18 years in office. His vision didn’t change, and neither did many of the things at Gally (e.g., audism, racism, problems of diversity and access, etc.). When the time came to select a new president, IJK pushed for JKF, a female version of himself, who would continue his traditions. IJK was a true defender of the status quo. He approved the way things were being done at Gally. He was seldom one who believed in–and pushed for–progress. He wanted the status quo to remain the status quo.
IKJ is feeling bitter, because we defied him and rejected a beautiful dream he had for us. And it is all the fault of a very few, but powerful Deaf Absolutists!
Ridor, I was being sarcastic about him being an expert of deaf culture. Deaf Pundit, your point is well taken. But, he doesn’t need a team of advisors to write what he thinks. And this is an op/ed piece. Just like us, he has every right to express an opinion now that he’s free to do so. You have to admit, it is interesting to finally read what he really thinks or feels in retrospect. I still didn’t like what he wrote.
I am postively sure that Jordan’s wife would have stopped him if she has read it beforehand. I still can’t believe that he wrote an angry letter to us thru hearing Washington Post instead of thru deaf newspapers or blogs… He portrayed us in negative ways in hearing newspapers. He is digging his own grave. Let him go before he makes more damages…
My dad often told me never to write anything you will regret it. There are three things in our lifetime that never come back: a shot arrow, a given word and a missed opportunity. IKJ shot his arrow, gave his words, and missed an opportunity to help heal our community.
Jordan is deflecting the PART report and the report of the accreditation committee onto the students. Also, he is taking credit for the grander goals of Gallaudet and implying that his leaving/Gallaudet rejection of Fernandes as his replacement led to the fall of these goals…but he is discounting the accomplishments of Gallaudet people and the inherent desire for a greater Gallaudet that exists in all of its constituents. With or without him, we will all see this happen.
The fox is gone, and all the sour grapes went with him.
IJK can kiss our ass. I am not worried about him. Life goes on, what are we going to do about the real issues. Seems we are only noticed in public when it comes to Gally issues. Come on! I’m so sick of reading or hearing about IJK. We are feeding the public more and giving the public more reasons to talk about IJK and our culture and the protest, it will never end. I know this issue will be forgotten by the public when something else happens but while the noise is still out there, we should say HEY, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT GALLY DPN, IT’S ABOUT OUR RIGHTS AND THE RESPECT WE DESERVE IN AND OUT OF GALLY.
I wonder who wrote that article for I. King Jordan? I knew he did not write that and he does not have that skill.
It’s painfully obvious Paul Kelly wrote it for Irving.
Erin,
With all due respect, there is NO validity in the comments Jordan made in the papers. He is an audist, an idiot, and an enemy of the Deaf community.
Jordan is just angry that he lost in the end, and he is screaming for help in the Quicksand Of Obscurity of which he is quickly drowning into.
Since he is still employed by Gallaudet… He is contradicting Gallaudet”s commitment to “heal”.
The one thing that puzzles me: Why has he not been fired yet? He does not deserve the President Emeritus status.
Jordan knows he will not ever be fully accepted in the hearing community, because the reality of life: we are surrounded by audists 24 hours, 7 days a week. It is a FACT. Since his hearing is not perfect, he will not be accepted.
And guess what, I. King Jerkhole? You have lost acceptance in the other and only community that had previously welcomed you with open arms. You, Jordan, are going to hell all by yourself.
Isnt this post against the blog standards to call out names and threaten people?
Why a lot of people assume that I. King Jordan retired on his own. He WAS forced to retire and that needs to be investigated. So the media can get accurate facts. Also, why was he forced to retire was it because of accountability issues with the U.S. Department of Education (OSERS)? If this is true then people need to know this. He is digging a hole and using flamethrowers on D/deaf people. This is a sign of his last fall at Kendall Green.
I was told that Jordan retired two years earlier than planned. How do you know he was forced to retire?
I. King Jordan mentioned to people. I think its on video somewhere. He does not want to retire also he said he loved his job. I recall someone in the government was questioning his salary.
I hope someone here can shed some light.
This is the first I’ve heard of him being forced to retire or retired early. What’s this based on?
I may be wrong, and I often am, but never in doubt (just kidding). I don’t know about you or anybody else, but I think it’s perfectly all right to make nasty comments about a third person, whoever that person may be (e.g., IJK, President Bush, Hillary Clinton, etc.), as long as that person is not one of the participants in the blog discussion.
KJ had an oppty to bow out gracefully and acknowledge the wishes of the teeming masses of students, faculty, ex-students, graduates, and generally most folks with hearing loss. It is unfortunate that he lost it. I would be very curious to see what historians will write about KJ - would history be forgiving and elevate him to greatness, or write him off as a bungling, inefficient and any negative adjectives as a Prexy of Gally? Or would history write him off as a bitter and spiteful emeritus prexy? As result of the student protests, the clarity of his past actions became all too obvious and at times painful to see that we’ve overlooked for so long or were prevented from raising the issues to the public (perhaps by political manipulations, constraints, threats (?), etc., by him or his loyal supporters).
On my part, I think I would be more forgiving in writing history as he did bring in lot of $$ than any prexy of the past; he did not destroy Gallaudet University; and I think a few of his actions were commendable. However, I would not elevate him to the greatness, but would give him the credit on issues where he should be given the credit. Student protest should not destroy everything about KJ; it has done enough job of downgrading him from perceived great to all-too-real characteristic of KJ where it should be now.
The irony of all this, though, it seems KJ is bend on destroying himself as his letter clearly indicate. He is to be pitied.