I’ve been obsessively reading and rereading media coverage of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. This incident is disturbing on many levels. It’s upsetting to me as a person who works on a college campus. I feel now, more than ever, that there really is no safe zone. This is the same feeling that I had on 9-11.
There is now a national debate on this issue, and many pundits are stepping up to talk about this…except deaf pundits. I checked DeafRead and all I see are vlogs and blogs about ASL, SLCC, deaf this, and deaf that.
I’m curious…why? Why isn’t anyone discussing this horrible incident and the implications it has for the rest of us? Is the deaf community too busy gazing at its collective navel?
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Maybe it’s too horrifying to blog about Virginia Tech because it could happen at Gallaudet (or even RIT, CSUN, or any of the other campuses with a large deaf population). I know that my first thought after “Oh no…” was “I hope someone doesn’t get the idea to do this at Gallaudet.” Gallaudet, to me, feels volatile right now. It is still healing from the protest where emotions ran high (and still are) as well as dealing with the fallout - MSA and the Athletic Department are examples.
I just feel devstated at the fact that people men or women would do crazy things and try to aim for fame, the wrong way. The gunman might be considered unusual in character, but does it give him the right to hold a gun and kill much more people than he needed to? It reminds me of the Amish shooting shock that really made a deep impact on the Amish school and community. The gunman who planned the shooting usually kills himself at the end knowing that he will face prison for life due to the acts of murder. What REALLY motivates people in general to do something crazy like killing more people and getting nothing back? What about the case where the minister’s wife kills her husband by “accident”? Are all killings by accident or with intent? Only God knows why these gunmen do those acts. Our society do not need to live by killing each other, only aim for peace.
As I watch the news about the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech, these senseless shootings take on a personal meaning for me - one of the victims is the son of a high school classmate of mine. Although I didn’t know the dad really well (we didn’t date or anything…), he was best buds with my cousin - the three of us all attended high school together and my cousin was the class president. I remember the three of us hanging out from time to time, and always thought this guy was really nice…and kinda cute. We parted and went our separate ways after high school, but I have seen him a few times since, and I know that he’s kept in touch with my cousin over the years.
Now to find out that this guy’s kid was killed just breaks my heart. I don’t have any children of my own, but I have plenty of friends who do…and I can only imagine what is going through this father’s head. To receive a phone call informing you that your son has died in such a terrible manner is something that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
I’ve worked with plenty of teenagers and young adults in the various positions I’ve held over the years, and with their parents and families as well. I’ve seen the pride in a parent’s face when s/he talks about a child, and I have also witnessed the concern they’ve expressed about raising a kid in these turbulent times. I have shared in such pride, and joined in such concerns.
And now this. I was teaching a sign language class last night in which my co-teacher and one of the students are both parents of children currently in college. During break we sat in numb shock watching the television and shaking our heads. We send our children off to college with hopes and dreams and our encouragement to be all that they can be. We expect them to come home with a diploma…not a death certificate.
My student, whose daughter is attending a top university in the East, turned to me with tears running down her cheeks.
“How can we keep our children safe these days?”
I wish I knew the answer.
Please keep my classmate’s family…and all of the families affected by this tragedy, in your thoughts and prayers.
Did anyone else read in the Metro Express today how the South Korean govt, upon learning of the shooter’s identity, expressed its condolences, and added that it hoped this would not lead to racial hatred? Interesting how only minorities seem to need to worry about the rest of the world thinking: “well, if *one* of them did this, who knows what the rest of them are capable of?” Had the shooter been white, would that have reflected upon white people as a whole? No.
What a senseless tragedy. And I guess the answer to Virginia’s student’s question above is obviously: we can’t.
That behavior isnt surprising, look at what happened to many American Arabs right after 9/11.
Hmmm Do I know you, was reading saw part of my name and was wondering…. SMILE
Do I know you, was reading saw part of my name and was wondering…. SMILE!
Chris, I just had the same thoughts yesterday. Yes, it is sad that some people will immediately blame the shooter’s country of origin. But now I’m curious what those same people thought of the gunman who killed the two Fairfax County policemen last year. As far as I can remember, he was white. A day before the shooting, his family may have been regarded as a typical, middle-class American family. I wonder what the pessimists are thinking about that boy and his family now.
I had to do a double-take when I read ‘deaf pundits’ in this entry. Heh. But yeah, you’re not the only one who’s wondering. I’m wondering too.
This is such a horrible, horrible tragedy. I cannot believe that 33 people are dead!
Maybe we’re not discussing it not because we’re busy navel-gazing, but because maybe many of us think what happened at VA Tech won’t happen to us? We’re pretty insular, after all, and issues like rape and domestic violence aren’t widely discussed in our community even though it does affect us.
The implications that will come from this senseless tragedy I feel, will be huge. I bet you that police training will be boosted to deal with those type of shootings. I also predict that college campuses nationwide will start implementing lock-down policies.
except for Gallaudet they are still naive…
Maybe because it doesn’t concern us as deaf people, but just people. The shooter didn’t seem to carefully choose his victims. And the unfortunate incident can happen on any university campus. That’s what I would hate: a massacre on Gallaudet campus and everyone thinking, Oh, that’s because the shooter was deaf. We certainly can separate our identity from the incident.
I really think there should have been a lock-down right after the first shooting. VA Tech security assumed that the shooter left the campus, but based on what evidence? The shooter actually lived on campus.
Did you know that there was a lock-down on campus last August when an escaped prisoner was in the area, but not on campus? VA Tech students carry a laptop, and the lock-down order was executed in mere minutes via e-mails, cell calls, and PA systems.
The president said a lock-down would have been “impossible” in this massacre, and caused chaos. I would much rather have a “controlled chaos” than 32 perished souls.
“based on what evidence?”
exactly. We don’t KNOW all the details yet.
I am personally refraining from waiting to judge the university on their actions until I find out what happened.
For all they know, the shooter could have told somebody he was leaving campus, and that was the information they had.
Do I know you, saw half of my name and was wondering! SMILE
If you check DeafRead Extra RSS, I believe there is one post there that touched upon this tragedy. Still, I’m curious as to why there aren’t more bloggers/vloggers talking about this. I was somewhat taken back as you were.
Maybe they will be covering this in the next few days when they have had more time to digest the information coming in from mass media?
I’ll be watching the comments on this post and hopefully see more people try shed light on the dearth of VA Tech coverage among the Deaf bloggers/vloggers.
If my prediction is correct, I would bet that we would have seen an explosion of blog/vlog posts if a Deaf person had actually perished in this ordeal. Because this hasn’t happened (as far as we know), there is this disturbing quiescence in the Deaf v/blogosphere.
If you check DeafRead Extra, you’ll see there’s comments and such about the VA Tech shootings. They’re just not making it onto the Best page.
One possible explanation for that is Deaf Read specifically filters blogs to focus on Deaf-related topics. You may find discussion of this topic on Deaf blogs that has not come through Deaf Read. That I do not know for sure because I mainly read the ones through Deaf Read.
Instead of asking why nobody is commenting about the tragedy, why don’t you do a blog on it? To everyone else’s defense, it seems that people are still processing the tragedy - shock, denial (?), grief, acceptance.. whatever the 12 steps are. I am sure people will start talking as the reality sinks in. It is only 24 hours later, a very short time for something this horrifying.
It’s not 12 steps. That’s for AA or a similar organization like that.
The stages are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Grief then Acceptance.
Uh, the thing is — the hearing community has already started blogging about it.. everywhere. Even if it’s only 24 hours later, and they’re now just passing through the initial stages of grieving.
Erin’s question was, why has the deaf community not yet given this much attention? And I consider that an excellent question for the deaf community to ponder. It may even change the meaning of deafhood for some.
Doesn’t this constitute a blog on this topic?
My purpose was to elicit discussion by being provocative, and I’m glad you all responded. Thank you.
My heart goes out to those families.
Erin, it is interesting that you are concerned about the folks at Virginia Tech but you did not mention about the robbery and brutal beating of Kris Gould at Gallaudet which happened last Sunday.
And you are at Gallaudet.
R-
Hm. I also thought of the Gallaudet tragedy — and am sure that Erin also was thinking about it — and was even all the more perplexed that nobody had mentioned the Va Tech incident thus far. Especially if it hit as close to home as this.
I know I’m going to piss off a lot of folks by saying this, but with all due respect, I will say it nonetheless…
Folks, have you seen some of the crap that people are saying on these blogs?
I mean, one of the top blogs over at WordPress shows what is supposed to be a cell phone video of the police actually shooting the gunman. Huh? From what I understand, the killer committed suicide, and no gunfire ever occurred with the police. And yet people are going to this site and commenting on what is clearly an erroneous video.
On another blog, folks are commenting about how if they had a gun, they would have “blown this sonofabitch back to Korea where he came from and none of this would have happened.” Hello??? This all happened because someone DID have a gun, and chose to use it indiscriminately. Yes, I’m sure the police would have taken this man down if the opportunity had presented itself. But that’s a job for law enforcement, not vigilantes.
And then I come across a post on another blog that is titled…”Why There Are Piles of Dead Bodies at Virginia Tech.”
I’m sorry, but that one just made me sick to my stomach. Thirty-three people lost their lives yesterday. They had names, they had families, they had people who loved them and cared about them and who now have to go about the process of accepting that they are never going to see any of them again.
And the best you can do is refer to them as “a pile of dead bodies?”
I’m sorry…but if this is the best that America can do to show its reaction to this horrible tragedy, then I’m glad that we in the Deaf Community aren’t participating. Yes, I realize it’s all part of each person’s grieving process - but I would hope that we could show a little more sensitivity and dignity to the deceased and their families than to putting up some of the stuff that I have been reading on these blogs.
Yes, perhaps after the reality has sank in and we’ve had time to process our initial thoughts and reactions, we can and will join in the discussions.
But for now…
Hah. Then don’t go over to Free Republic. From what I hear, they’ve got a rosing chorus of “If I Was There, I Would’ve Not Been Such A Coward Due To My Mad Skillz, Dude.”
My stab at Erin’s question is that none of us deaf bloggers (of which there is not really many) have any personal ties to Virginia Tech. Actually, I do — but it still did not compell me to blog; more rather I was still stuck in ‘WTF?!’ mode. And all in honesty, I’d really prefer to stick to the newspapers, not blogs, for a multitude of reasons — one of which somewhat echoes Virginia’s sentiments; I don’t really need to come across commentaries written in poor taste. And I consider very, very few deaf bloggers to be credible enough to “report” on such important news.
Let me edit that — very few hearing bloggers are credible as well!
You’re not the only one. I sort of had a tie to that place as well. Through my ex. Which I mentioned today on my blogsite.
R-
I agree. Blogs are not necessarily newsworthy but with nonsense chattering and gossips or a place for a person to express their anger, hatred, confusion, and wonders.
Ever notice if there is a fire or car accident, rubber neckers would drive by and look and then later talk about what they saw or people standing in corners talking to strangers oh this is what happened blah blah, blogs are no different.
It’s too bad that many cultures are focused on themselves opposed to what is really going on in this world!
VA tech is not the only bad thing that is happening to us Amercians! Look at our soldliers dying everyday, over 2,500 soldiers dead! You do not see us mourning over them but showing respect by putting a yellow ribbon then our lives are fine.
I think it’s all about how close it hit home then it will matter to you or others.
I do admit that I felt anger toward Asians only because I had no idea where he came from but then I said, look at us, we are no better either! Blacks, Whites, Latinos, they all did the same thing.
ONE THING I REFUSE to do is I do not want to know who the killer is, I do not want to know where he is from, or who he is. He does not deserve our recoginition! He sent photos and videos of himself to the news to make a name of himself, I think he did it all for legecy! I dont know but I refuse to oblige to the killer’s wishes by making him famous or mentioning his name. He does not deserve to be a landmark in Amercian history books! Sorry! Too bad the media are making a huge spectacle of this killer’s life!! EVERY NEWS STATON in my city is showing photos of this JERK who killed 32 innocent people who are trying to make a better life for themselves by getting an education and those who teach. Why can’t the news talk about the 32 people who have died? instead of wasting media time talking about the killer.
Why did the killer do what he did? that’s for the family to know. NO reason for us to make him famous! I’m digusted with him and will not take the time to listen to his reasons to kill.
I don’t necessarily agree the “Spiral of Silence” title. To me, it’s really the “Spiral of Shock.” I’m still processing and finding out what happened at VA Tech through news outlets. One of the students in my Deaf Culture class is from Virginia herself and is still trying to make sure her friends at VA Tech are accounted for. I’m focusing on supporting her and making sure she’s okay.
I’ve seen some Deaf blogs over at Xanga expressing their sorrow about what happened. My blogroll is composed of mostly hearing bloggers and very few of them mentioned about the VA Tech tragedy. It does not mean that they are ignorant about what has happened. We are all very much still in a state of shock.
You know though, to be brutally honest, I personally am not all that shocked. Yes, it’s close to home… some of the students who were shot were graduates of Fairfax County Public Schools, of which my wife is an employee. Nonetheless it doesn’t feel real.
I guess it’s simply that I wasn’t there. Had I been there or had I personally known someone, no doubt it’d be different, but I wasn’t and I don’t. So to me it’s simply the latest gruesome shooting, and in the future I expect the body count to go nowhere but up. Scary, what we get used to.
Just the bloggers/vloggers don’t cover it don’t mean that they are indifferent to this senseless massacre.
I agree with the other commenters. On my friends’ personal blogs (not on deafread)- there are a lot of entries about this tragedy. But on my pregnancy message boards, there is absolutely NO mention of VA tech– I think that most deafread bloggers blog about deaf issues, while pregnant women blog about being pregnant on those boards– that doesn’t mean they’re indifferent to what happened.
Criticizing bloggers for not covering the Virginia Tech tragedy is about like criticizing them for not covering the beating at Gallaudet’s Field House, or not covering the war in Iraq.
We all have our areas of competency, and are speechless when confronted with a senseless tragedy of this magnititude. About all we can say is “I’m so sorry” and worry what if it happened to us, our families, our college.
Actually - I think we are overlooking somthing important here.
This is not the only “blogverse” that I am part of. I am a frequent commenter on hearing blogs as well, and I’m just as familiar with them as I am with deafread.
I have been going over to THOSE blogs, reading comments and thinking about the issues, and discussing with others about the impact it had on me.
Not everything goes through the “deaf” filter first, ya know! When I heard about this, I skeddaled to my fave hearie sites, and that’s where I’ve been.
First of all, we do realize that deafread filters for blogs that are related to deaf issues. Secondly, I think we assuming too much by saying that “we don’t worry about this happening to us, so we must be insulated.”
I’ve been on a lot of blogs, and I don’t see other colleges and university blogs talking about this, either. Yes, they talk about the tragedy, but notably absent is the OMG IT COULD HAPPEN TO ME TOO!!11!1 incident.
I think it is pretty much obivious to everybody that this is an out of the ordinary incident and that the odds of it happening to us personally are very low. It’s not because we’re deaf that we’re not so much worried. We’re just humans.. with common sense.
It is a very human reaction to an incident such as this to go, “What a shame it happened to them”, and not dwell on the possilbities. In fact, the normal reaction is much more along the “Whew, it didn’t happen here. Thank God.”.
Hi, I couldn’t believe when I saw your blog this evening because I was thinking about you during my film production today. You know how much I truly respect and appreciate you. I see you as a great person with a full potential. I feel I need to say this after I read this blog, I felt I was being prejudged. I have had been spending all day and night thinking and talking about VA TECH. We even gave many silence moments for VA Tech in our classes and will continue this. I really feel grief even I wasn’t there._I already knew there would be millions news, newspapers, blogs, articles, and people would take care of VA Tech. We don’t take a good care of our Deaf community. Deaf children need our help. So many division in our community, and brainwashed by the system, they need us to be there for them, who will if we don’t…_I can see how strong you feel about VA Tech. It’s understandable that it is scary for everyone because soon or already there is no safe zone for anyone. It is also understandable that it is tragedy for everyone that 32 students died for nothing and even worse before their parents’ time._Erin, when we don’t talk about them, it doesn’t mean that we don’t think about them._Anyway, It’s good to read your blog. We will cross our path as usual and be good to see you again as usual.
Aidan
Hi Aidan… I’m sorry you felt judged. This blog wasn’t directed at anyone. I think that for me, the deaf blogsphere has become a community in itself. It’s a virtual community, yes, but a community in the end. When I went to my community to look for feelings, thoughts, and empathy for those dead and hurt at VA Tech, I didn’t see any on DeafRead or Gally-Net. I think a part of this is my PTSD coming out. I felt deeply affected by this as an employee of a university, a university that went through severe tramua only recently. In no way am I even comparing what happened at VA Tech to the events of last year but the feeling of dread I have now is the same feeling of dread I had after 9-11 and during the protests. This whole thing is so painful, and I wanted to talk to all of you about it, somehow. I know I sound judgmental but it’s not directed at anyone personally. I became frustrated when I saw all these vlogs on DeafRead about how evil and bad the SLCC is. I wrote this almost immediately after I looked at DeafRead, instead of following my rule about waiting a full day before posting anything if it piqued me. I don’t know, I just really think we all need to come together as a collective and review all of the violence we’ve gone through the past year. We should strive to be less violent with our words and acts towards others. I know some of us are mad about this and that but…this guy is the epitome of anger. This is scary anger, the kind of anger that kills people and causes fissures in society. I DID feel that anger at Gallaudet during the protests, and thats not okay. Not anymore.
Good to hear from you.
welll.. i don’t consider myself a real blogger but if there was a blog i maintain regularly (keyword: regularly :)), im not sure i’d have much to say yesterday. it was a tragedy. what was there to talk about? what’s the point of gushing sympathies towards the VT community when the likelihood of them reaching the intended audience seems extremely slim. i dont know. maybe when more info comes out, there’ll be more to talk about.
Ben, knowing me the way you do…”gushing sympathies?” :-)
What I was hoping for was to spark conversation about important and relevant issues such as violence, society, and what this means for us as a community.
This tragedy is so much larger than the actual events that happened at VA Tech. It was so easy for this guy to kill, and the ease of killing is what scares me. What scares me even more is how some of us seem to have become almost immune to it. Life has become a video game.
This guy exhibited anti-social tendencies. Which means he had no conscience. I bet you that when they investigate, they’ll find he had a troubled childhood, an absence of friends growing up, and expressions of violence.
People like him were born that way, and they’re driven to extremes to actually *feel* something.
I think right now we’re all just busy being too stunned to really react to this tragedy.
Just my humble opinion here.
Deaf Pundit is right on target here with her humble opinion there.
This young shooter was found mentally ill by a special judge down near Blacksburg. Why no one even bothered to assess him in high school is beyond me because a lot of people saw that he had no friends, was anti-social, and so forth. I wonder if he ever wrote violent stories while in high school and if so, why didn’t anyone come forward to deal with it back then?
Oh, so many questions and so few answers for which we all will never probably get.
Erin,
Actually, there are more people, myself included, who
were taken aback about the deadly shooting rampagne at Va Tech yesterday and are thinking about other schools and unviersities, but not enough volunteers to act.
Out of a deep sense of disturbance about VA Tech, volunteers of Brady’s Campaign and I have been in touch with one another via email within last 24 hours now. Incidentally, we are marching next week with a banner: “President Bush - Congress - US Supreme Court: Act Now to Ban Gun.” In 2004, I had sent out a note to different departments at Gallaudet and friends to join Brady’s Campaign to ban gun. So far, no response with the exception of a professor who wants to come, but he has an ankle sprain. I have been only one deaf participating in Brady’s Campaign since 1999. There were shooting rampagnes in California, Nevada, Texas. Recently (six years ago) thirteen teens were shot at Columbine and thirty-two students-faculty were shot at VT yesterday.
I’m so glad there are Deaf in the Brady Campaign. The news has just come out that the Roanoke Gun store that sold the Glock used in the massacre had previously sold 32 guns that then were used in committing violent crimes.
My father was a cop who later repaired and sold guns long ago. When I asked him what would he think if he sold a gun that killed someone, he retorted, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
I was stunned by this disclaimer of responsibility and have never forgot it. As a member of the National Rifle Association, he completely supported their line.
Go, Brady’s Campaign! Break down the irrational gun lobby!
Sorry, but I have to agree with your father…
It is indeed people who kill people. Guns are merely the tools which ended up in the wrong hands.
Yes, it is unfortunate that there are people out there who would buy guns and use them to commit violent crimes. But there are also people out there who use them in an ethical way - to protect, to serve…for sport and for putting food on the table.
My father was a hunter. He taught both me and my brother how to shoot a gun, and he also taught us the responsibility that goes along with such, and he would chew our butts out if he caught either of us playing around with them. He made it very clear that guns can be dangerous, and we were expected to handle them in a safe and proper manner.
He was also a member of the National Rifle Association, and his local gun club. The day before he died of a massive heart attack, he met with some of his friends to engage in some trap shooting, one of his favorite past-times. I’m glad he got that opportunity to engage in something he truly enjoyed before leaving this world so quickly and unexpectedly.
Dad would have abhorred the shootings that took place at Virginia Tech, the same way he abhorred the shootings that took place at Columbine. He could rant and rave about how “these damn a$$holes with their damn semiautomatics are ruining it all for us responsible gun owners.”
Yes, I agree that we need better gun laws. So did my father.
Let’s not clump all gun owners, gun dealers, and/or National Rifle Association members as being “irrational” gun lobbyists responsible for the onslaught of shootings around the nation.
Yeah, but at the same time, who ever used a Glock to shoot a deer?
I was raised in much the same manner as you regarding firearms. I never really developed an enjoyment of them, but I can use them. But this whole argument about how guns don’t kill people, people kill people… that has a major flaw. Pencils, for example, can be stabbed through somebody’s eyeball and into the brain, killing them. If that actually happened, THEN you could make the argument that pencils don’t kill people–pencils were made for writing. But guns… they were made to fire bullets. The firing of bullets can only have one result–their impacting upon a target. Guns kill people. At the very least they play a bigger part in killing people than pencils ever will.
My two cents.
An additional note: Handguns are manufactured specifically to kill. Kill people. Going further, automatics and weapons of warfare are manufactured specifically to kill more than one person. Arguments can be made that obscure these facts, such as “guns in the wrong hands” and deflect responsibility…but the fact remains. Handguns are manufactured specifically to kill people.
Very true. I wish I could remember the comedian’s name but somebody did a stand-up skit about the right to bear arms, and how the Founding Fathers, when they wrote that, were talking about MUSKETS. The comedian tried to show how hard it would be to rob a liquor store with a musket, packing down the gunpowder with a ramrod, etc…
If you want to hunt, but a 30.06. If you want to kill someone, buy a Glock or Uzi. If that recommendation holds no merit whatsoever, let’s just call it a day and start selling Cruise Missles at fireworks stores, because people who enjoy pretty lighting displays should have the Constitutional right to take out 25 city blocks…
You’re wrong on that one. Handguns are not just manufactured to kill people. They can be used for big game hunting. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.500_S%26W_Magnum
“The intended design for this cartridge is for big game hunting, wilderness protection, as well as for ultimate defense.”
Granted you could use that to kill someone, but why plunk at least a grand for the gun, not to mention the expensive 50 cal ammo, when a 9mm could be had for a few hundred dollars at most?
But this caliber (as well as lower sizes, such as 7.65mm, 9mm or 44 cal) is ideal for people out in the wilderness (say Alaska or Canada) who don’t want to lug around a rifle, but want to have protection against grizzlies, polar bears and moose.
Guns do not kill people, no matter what you may think. They’re inanimate objects, and require a catalyst: ta human (or monkey or dog) finger/paw to pull the trigger. Period. Arguments can be made about that guns kill people. So in the same thread, we can say that knifes kill people. So we should ban knifes as well.
That said, banning hand guns won’t work. Why? Because there are thousands of small arms that are not registered with the police, because they were obtained before the requirements of registering when buying small arms weapons. Or maybe it was inherited or given as a gift. And what about those war souvenirs that soldiers brought back, particularily WWII. In the end, those unregistered small arms owners may not turn in their weapons if a new law were to be passed…
One thing that struck me throughout this dialogue is how specific public figures (can’t remember who) deflected questions about gun ownership by saying that this is not the time or place for this kind of debate. I thought that was really interesting… If not now, when? Also, what about the debate on violence and the kind of society we are to produce mass killers? Have we become more angry and violent as a society?
Red Lake, Columbine, Austin…and now Blacksburg.
It’s not just us. The whole Middle East. Japan… didn’t some nut there release toxic gas on a subway or something? Daily terrorist bombings all around the world…
You know, Erin, when I think about this, and let me make this clear, my heart goes out to the families of the deceased, I still can’t help but wonder: if this had happened at Gallaudet, ESPECIALLY in the wake of the protest, how many hearing people would be looking at deaf people like we’re all a bunch of nuts? And what would writers such as Charlotte Allen have to say about us? And how many hearing people would be stringently advocating for the closure of Gallaudet? And how many deaf people would be joining ranks with them?
Yet is anyone seriously going to suggest closing Virginia Tech? Of course not. And if deaf blogs about VA Tech started showing up on DeafRead doing to hearing people what they do to us day in and day out… generalizing, stereotyping, leaping to stupid conclusions… for example, if this kind of stuff started showing up:
“Those crazy homicidal hearing lunatics–look at how they can’t get along (a man of South Korean descent killing white students), Virginia Tech must be a breeding ground for the next generation of terrorists… close it down! Close it down! I don’t want my tax money going to fund students who have nothing better to do than sit at their computers all day downloading music (the fact that the shooter liked to download music made its way into the papers) and killing their classmates…”
…The Hearing World would pay no attention to us whatsoever. We aren’t the same threat to them that they are to us. Many hearing people would simply judge us all nuts, AGAIN, for writing such trash. Then again many would also judge us negatively for remaining silent, just like many would judge us negatively for saying ANYTHING. And more than a few of our own people would be all too happy to help them. Nothing we could ever do would be right or good enough.
Now of course, that’s a very bitter line of thinking, and I don’t entertain it for more than a few seconds, because of course not all hearing people are like that, nor are all D/deaf people.
Still, though, those thoughts flash across my mind. And remember the South Korean DID say they hoped this thing wouldn’t lead to more racial hatred. It makes you wonder how much of the anti-American sentiment out there is being caused by simple blowback. Justified? No, but what type of hatred ever is?
Whoa. I never turned it around in my head that way, but you’re SO right. It would be interesting indeed to see how the reaction would be different.
(knock on wood. of course not I do NOT wish for that!@!)
Oh yeah, what if it had been at Howard University? Biringham Young University? Smith College?
hm…
At Smith? Hah. They’d be too busy processing their feelings and having candlelight vigils in the quad or writing articles for the Sophian.
Of course.
But how would others react? The MRA’s would come out in full force and say, “see this is what happens when women don’t have the influence of men in their lives”, and use it justify everything from denying the right to vote, anti-choice policies and marriage equality.
(MRA’s - Mens Rights Activists. Men have a right to advocate for their needs, but for the most part, MRA-ism is a smokescreen for misgynostics.)
Anyway.. that was my point. :)
Wildstarryskies (are you from Smith?)
Sorry about being off topic…Back to the posting..
Chris, you have an excellent point…
This whole debate on “us” versus “them” and “thank goodness it didn’t happen to us” is very human but also troubling. Using deafness as an example: If the deaf community expects hearing people to “listen to us” shouldn’t we “listen to them too”? Ok thats not the best example but… right now I have too many thoughts & emotions to be eloquent…
I want to post this here just because its worth repeating:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak up for me. “
Nope, I never went to Smith. Erin did.
I have a daughter who is 10 she is Deaf.. husband and I didn’t talk about it why she is still innocent in her own world. Do we need to continue bombard the children with such negativities??? Yes we are shocked upset appalled you name it.. We are appalled with the trial in South Dakota we are appalled that the VT didn’t do a lockdown right away we are appalled that it happened but we don’t need to tell our children everything until the time is right. right now it isn’t!!! for us go ahead and judge us but we decide when to talk about it…
“When I heard of Virginia Tech Massacre, I was bit amused.” Said Ridor today.
Erin,
With all due respect, I’d like to point out the following things:
1) While that shooting is most unfortunate, there have been many others, and many others will follow. It’s the sad fact of our society. While lowlifes continue to live, things like this will happen.
2) You’re yelling at us for not talking about it at Deafread. There are other sources, and of which one of them would be you. You’re deaf, aren’t you? And you’re talking about it right? What’s the problem?
3) Yelling at us about that seems like prejudice to me. Knowing you since from childhood, you were always more oral oriented than you were ASL oriented. Without doubt that’s where that prejudice comes from?
4) Yelling at us about not talking about the subject, is like yelling at a group of people for not talking about a certain event. It’s not your business. Secondly, it makes you look bad, and appear somewhat of an interloper.
5) We aren’t fiddling with our navels, we are growing as a community, and if you have a problem with that, you’re welcome to leave the Deaf community. Nobody is standing in your way.
Have a nice day,
Erick Ketcham
Erick,
I’d like to point out the following things:
1) Where does it come across that Erin is yelling at us? She states, “I’m curious…why? Why isn’t anyone discussing this horrible incident and the implications it has for the rest of us? Is the deaf community too busy gazing at its collective navel?” It’s a perfectly honest question, and in no way, shape, or form does she “yell” it at us.
2) What the hell does Erin’s upbringing have to do with her question about why more D/deaf people are not writing about this issue. People died, and you’re bitching and moaning about someone’s upbringing? I can guarantee that if this type of thing happened at Gallaudet, asinine morons like YOU and Ridor would be screaming for the head of every single hearing person, as well as any D/deaf person who did not conform to your brand of ASL militancy. It seems to me that YOU are the prejudiced one here, not Erin.
3) We may be growing as a community, but dipsh** like YOU and Ridor (he of the ‘amused’ comment) make us take two steps back for every single step forward that we take. You are most certainly welcome to leave the D/deaf community and go do the hokey pokey in some ramshackle farmhouse in Idaho with you and your brand of followers. Nobody is standing in your way.
Have a nice day.
Edit: I have no respect for Erick, so I took out the “With all due respect” part.
****: Worlds first and foremost Deaf Nazi…. I wonder if he stakes burning crosses in the yards cochlear implanted people homes. I also wonder if he has a basement full of audism porn, ehh probably next to the sheep.
Oh yeah… of all this talk about VT… and my heart goes out for the victims of the atrocious incident, It kind of reminds me of the Mesa incident that happened at Gallaudet. although, what happened at VT is a rampage, what happened at GU in the freshman dorms was a Murder on campus, neverthless. I’m surprised the v-blogs and other deaf blogs aren’t relating to them.
people like***, ***, and ***. go around screaming about injustice from the Hearing culture, yet do the same injustice they bitch about. (shakes head) cold and heartless representatives of the deaf community, Pity.
One last question:
[b]what happened the box that you can check to receive notifications of responses?[/b]
Erick writes: >>
Your argument is fuzzily illogical and completely irrelevant. What does Erin’s oral background have to do with her subject? Please be more civil and respectful.
Why aren’t we blogging about it? Good question. Well, personally, I don’t even want to think about the incident nor to deal with it. Escapism, maybe, but that’s how I feel and I bet I’m not alone. And some people here have said that probably people are in shock or felt they couldn’t say anything beyond “Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry.” I think there are many reasons why we aren’t blogging abut it. But I’m sure many of us are talking about it, thinking about it, and processing it.
Aidan and others,
Glad you wrote about your feelings about being judged for not covering this topic in your vlogs and blogs. Erin’s tone really hit me as whiny and accusatory and judgemental. I thought ‘well, why isn’t she blogging herself instead of deciding it is everyone else’s responsibility’. A lot of people could be in shock and don’t know what to say, they could be waiting for more news, they could be careful to not say hurtful things.
Tamara- what is wrong with using a provactive approach so that a good discussion ensues? It caught our attention, and now we’re actually sharing all our different perspectives. To me, that’s often the hallmark of a good blogger.
While I do understand the concept of such, and agree that when done in a proper, skillful manner can indeed catch one’s attention and encourage some interesting discussion, I tend to err on the side of being cautious with utilizing such an approach.
Like begets like. Confront someone in a provocative manner, and it could backfire and blow up in your face. People end up becoming angry and defensive, and the whole intent ends up going down the tubes.
No, I’m not pointing fingers at Erin or anyone here, but only trying to show another perspective here. Provocation and confrontation can lead to positive outcomes, and sometimes are in fact necessary to give us a jolt and force us to examine things that we might otherwise not see (or refuse to look at).
But such an approach should be utilized selectively, handled carefully, and monitored responsibly.
Reasonably put, Virginia (as always!). This reminds me of what Ben Moore wrote (as a guest blogger): http://www.deafdc.com/blog/gue...../#comments
Basically, his article asked “what else could the protestors have done” besides taking such radical approaches.
I don’t understand some of the hostility directed at Erin’s blog. She does raise some interesting and thoughtful points about the insularity in the deaf community’s v/blogs.
Writing for a targeted audience tends to reinforce insularity since v/bloggers only tend to write about issues affecting themselves and their community. That, in addition to the unfortunate tendency among many of the prominent v/bloggers to censor many postings that appear to be critical of them and their stances only reinforces the insularity. V/bloggers then find people who only agree with them and that reinforces the circularity of their thoughts and arguments without any outside input.
How refreshingly mediocre.
Donne said no man is an island, but the deaf community v/bloggers tend to prove the opposite of that. That’s why I tend to focus on the blogs regarding the outside world.
I do see your point, but my first reaction was, “Well, my life isn’t ALL about being deaf.” Meaning that I have different aspects of myself, with which I draw from different sources.
That’s what I love about the blogverse - you can go where you want when you choose.
Anyway, yes there is an echo chamber effect, and I’ve been guilty of that myself at times.
And I do have to disagree with you on one point. Hearing bloggers are JUST AS guilty of maintaining echo chambers. It’s not a “deaf thing” at all!
Oh, and a wee bit - ugh - point, is that the deaf world is not “inside” any more than the hearing world is “outside”. It really is just a whole bunch of overlapping matrices that people move back and forth within, from, and to. Although I do acknowledge that it’s primarily a hearing world, really. :)
We’re all out there. Smile.
I think you, Erick, and others are overreacting. She raised some thoughtful points which is what a vlog or blog is supposed to do.
Address the questions raised and don’t attack the messenger.
Erin,
It is not true. I believe Teri at Deaf Dish touched that issue and took a moment of silence for the students killed in the massarce. DeafRead is the problem. They do not approve any posts that are not related to deaf. I could not believe DeafRead posted Ridor’s cold hearted entry. It has nothing to do with the deaf except that he used the word, Gallaudet. Now, Amy jumped in to discuss the tradegy and made an excuse to include her vlog on Deafread saying that we need to be concerned with how we communicate during a lockdown. What a lame. Use common sense, Amy! We have pagers and eyes. We can sense what’s going on in our surroundings, and we use pagers all the time. Those killed at VT were hearing and did not have a chance to flee. Sending emails? That’s what they did. That’s one of many ways to help save more lives. Amy had to do it to make Deafread look good after realizing that they failed to post several entries on VT tradegy meanwhile they posted Ridor’s cauterized feeling. Amused? Come on, Deafread. That’s not the best of blogs. Teri and other vloggers or bloggers deserve to have their posts on Deafread. Erin, check DeafPulse (www.deafpulse.com) and you will see more coverage of many different areas, not necessarily related to deaf, but they are the “voices” of our people. Aye to DeafPulse, Nay to Deafread.
kewl site. Thanks.
(deafpulse)
I have put up a special post at Deaf Pagan Crossroads reflecting my own thoughts on this tragedy. Anyone who wishes to read it and leave a comment as desired is welcomed to do so.
http://deafpagan.com/2007/04/1.....inia-tech/
This issue really surfaces on two things which needs to be clearly addressed:
1. Our dear 2nd Amendment
2. Disgruntled people with warning signs on campus/schools- there are one too many out there.
This tragedy is indeed horrific and I feel for the people but I am also mindful that this will not be the last one that we will see. Unfortunately, guns in general only brews violence. People claim that we need to have guns to protect ourselves. I do not argue with that but at the same time, it is also a double-edged sword as we are letting crazy people get their hands on guns these days. What are the appropriate safeguards to prevent this? Clam down our constitutional rights? I doubt America will have a moment with this at all in the first place.
This tragedy has struck the chord on our constitutional rights, especially the 2nd amendment. I am particularly curious if Congress plans to take any legislative action on this (I doubt it, though).
For once, let’s put the deaf issues aside and look at this from a humanistic perspective. We will need to be viligant on how to deal with gun control and angry people. As we all know, such a situation like this can happen anywhere and any place.
Even middle school and elementary students are capable of doing this. Let’s imagine how bad it would be if one superbly pissed off fifth grader decides to seek revenge with his/her classmates and gets a gun (either from family, friends or somewhere (who knows)) and sets off the rampage by shooting everyone in the class? That is not far-fetched these days. Sad, I know.
Now, this situation is particulary interesting because this guy had a clean background check and his purchase of the .9 millimeter glock firearm was pretty unremarkable at the Virginia gun store. Then, the next thing we learn is that we have witnessed the nation’s deadlist shooting rampage.
How do you guys really counter this? This is one complicated issue to address and all people, hearing and deaf or whatever you call yourself, will need to be alert of this nowadays.
hmm I just had a thought, Erick Ketcham reminds me of Klee Irwin.
OK, I’ll bite since I’m curious by nature.
It might actually help if you explained who Klee Irwin is or was. And why does Erick Ketcham remind you of that person?
I believe that Klee Irwin is the CEO currently under investigation for his herbal supplements and natural healing products… seems he was recently fined by the courts or something?
Although just how he connects with this whole discussion or what the analogy is between him and Mr. Ketcham I fail to understand myself.
I tried to explain who Klee is, (Virginia is wrong btw) but it got moderated.
With all due respect, I find it somewhat ironic that here we are discussing the “dearth” of deaf blogs/vlogs focusing on this subject (although I have noticed a couple popping up on the DeafRead list in the past few hours)… and yet a DeafDC guest blogger has put up a post on this very subject that nobody seems to be commenting on.
I’m just curious, is there a possible reason for this?
It’s not deaf enough. :-P
:)
Had to laugh at that one.
Meaning, this web is too deaf, deaf…
deaf a la mode…
I suspect that Erin’s question at the very end of her blog on this subject is answered by the lack of responses to the other blog by Aaron Rose about the shooting. QED.
WTF is THIS????
“punkybrewster
(#82834) | 2007-04-18 09:47:23
Erick Ketcham: Worlds first and foremost Deaf Nazi…. I wonder if he stakes burning crosses in the yards cochlear implanted people homes. I also wonder if he has a basement full of audism porn, ehh probably next to the sheep.”
I’m sick of these f*cking cyberterrorists bashing the sh*t out of everyone who disagrees with their insane worldviews. That assh*le Ridor is facing a huge backlash in his blog for his “amused” comment and people are now contacting his advertisers. I’m doing the same against DeafDC until it starts banning people who pull this kind of sh*t over and over.
Get with it, DeafDC. If five emails are all that’s needed I have more than enough people who agree with me to take a shot at YOU.
Get this assh*le out of here.
While PunkyBrewster may be unrestrained and unwise in his comments, I just don’t see him as a cyberterrorist. A lot of it appears to be in response to Erick’s intemperate comments.
As far as I can see, he’s not stalking or trying to push Erick out of DeafDC which is my definition of a cyberterrorist.
But, eh, use of profanity and a threat to boycott DeafDC and force others to do the same veers remarkably close to the line crossing cyberterrorism in my book.
I don’t think PB’s a cyberterrorist. He’s abrasive and doesn’t seem to restrain himself very well.
If DeafDC is going to ban PB, then please ban Erick. Erick’s comments are inflammatory and obnoxious to more people than PB’s comments are. And good for the backlash against Ridor. It’s about time.
Deaf Pundit,
Bad news, DeafRead refuses to ban Ridor for his
inflammatory comments.
Scott….
And for what reasons won’t DeafRead ban Ridor? Freedom of speech or what?
am I a prick? Yes. am I abrasive? Yes. Am I bitter? hell yes. I’ve said this before, gonna say it again, I’m a strong advocate of reality, I do not hold back when someone comes on this blog with words of illustrative and far fetched grandiose irrationality.
“I believe timmy will survive from his decapitation! I KNOW i know! i KNOW! I HAVE HOPE!!” … “no dammit, Timmy is gonna fricken die and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.” so, if you can’t do anything about it.. kiss timmy on the forehead and thank him for the wonderful memories and keep on trucking. That’s reality……
Now, I’m also an advocate in learning from the mistakes of our past (remembering history.. etc,) RLM and Ketcham come on this blog spewing words of hate and resentment towards the hearing world, yet make no effort to compromise. The needs and necessity of the many should never be overthrown by the angry few. Yet, you can compromise. jeez, come on.. captioning in elevators to illustrate that there’s music playing. (I’m sure some of you have read ketchum’s rant on audism)
I don’t generally deal with Ridor, because in all intents and purposes he is only out to get attention for himself, not to brain crunch, not to make people understand anything, but say stuff like “LOL! look what happened to the people in VT! may they rot in hell!” all to just roll up the count on his blog. I will not waste my time on polishing the knob of a person’s shallow ego.
Take my reactions as you may, but I will not hate you for it. Ban me, scream at me, flame me, do what you will, if I feel I have wronged anyone in any way (I.E. my past use of the word ‘retard’) i will apologize for it. Otherwise, this is what you get.
You may be a prick, but you’re OUR prick. ;-)
This is from an article in the New York Times:
““I think that a person can be so humiliated, mortified and enraged, and lack the language or the skills to deal with that, and in rare cases what begins as a suicidal urge then becomes homicidal,” said Dr. Frank Ochberg, chairman emeritus of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, who worked with officials at Columbine High School.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/us/18mental.html
Note, especially, the idea about people not being able to articulate their feelings. Is this a problem in our society? Our educational system?
I disagree. If anything, our society encourages people to articulate their feelings and we are expected to treat them soberly and seriously even though the feelings may not be at all based on reality. We’ve become an Oprah and Dr. Phil-addicted society and live vicariously through other people’s sufferings, whether emotional or physical. That requires us to take other people’s feelings seriously. It’s gotten to the point where it won’t be long before we can listen to Bin Laden’s comments that he feels *hurt* that Bush’s been trying to kill him since late 2001.
Hmm. Very good point. I’ll think about this some more. Love the Bin Laden example.
Fashionista, you make the common assumption that Bush is, indeed, trying to actually kill Bin Laden. I don’t see Bush making the capture or killing of Bin Laden a high priority; instead, I see him pursuing an essentially personal vendetta in Iraq and now we’re all paying the price for that misadventure and subsequent mismanagement.
Now, it sounds as if Cho had some serious mental problems. For one thing, he was taking antidepressants and was writing horrific fiction and, according to the latest news, was stalking some people. So I don’t think that society or our educational system had a problem (other than dealing with an obviously mentally ill individual, which, is an entirely different problem altogether) with expressing or articulating feelings.
However, the question becomes whether our society’s arguably permissive (as mentioned by Fashionista — glorification of Dr. Phil and Oprah) attitude when it comes to expressing or articulating feelings played a role in Cho’s decision to express himself. In other words, he perceived that he had the right to express his feelings and was arguably expressing his rage when he decided to kill so many people.
The question is — whether we should be exploring options of restraining the expression or articulation of feelings or at least channeling it towards safer and healthier alternatives.
Ah, as for our society’s permissive attitude about feelings, there is a weakness, as Fashionista points out, that the feelings may not be totally tethered to reality. I’ve known quite a few folks who work themselves up at a lather over perceived slights and even when they find out that the action or inaction at question wasn’t intentional at all, they still take fiery umbrage.
On the same token, we’re required to take them at least semi-seriously. It’s gotten to the point that we listen seriously to the other person even though they may be lying straight to our faces.
I don’t know about that because I really think that through increased self-exposure we lose tolerance of differing viewpoints.
Everyone, observe the DeafDC.com terms and conditions. While I understand that this was a traumatic experience and we’re still searching for our thoughts amid the emotions, please refrain from emotional outbursts or attacks on others.
Erin, I think the most insightful comment in this blog was Susan’s (#82844). Perhaps we’ve all come to expect more from DeafRead than what they provide, so we cannot assume that DeafRead is a comprehensive portrayal of the deaf blogosphere. As Susan pointed out, we missed some opinions about Virginia Tech from deaf people that didn’t make the list because they didn’t include ASL, Gallaudet, or Deaf Culture.
I came across one interesting tidbit about the Virginia Tech tragedy. From CNN.com:
“Asked why he thought Cho became an English major, Falco [One of Cho’s professors] offered what he called a guess. ‘The kid couldn’t speak. I did everything I knew to draw him out. I tried to joke with him. I touched his shoulder while asking him a direct question. I put myself in quiet, one-on-one space with him — and I still could not get articulate speech out of him.’”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/.....index.html
(Bold is mine)
Shane–
Pray tell, but if Cho’s professor says “The kid couldn’t speak…”, then how come, in his own submitted self-videoed diatribe, he ranted and railed against the wealthy kids in english? He spoke, didn’t he? I sincerely doubt the professor’s assessment that he couldn’t speak.
I wonder how well he spoke as I couldn’t hear the sounds on his video. Anyone hearing here that can tell us how well he spoke on the video?
By the way, what happened at Va Tech was just horrible and I’m sick over it as I attended Va Tech myself as well. What the kid did was totally uncalled for and unnecessary regardless of the fact that he was “bullied” at Westfield High School (not too far from where I live).
The whole thing is just sad, sad, sad….
Question I have is: Could this all have been prevented? I know this is really open for a lot of discussion.
Aquafina,
I’m not sure if I have the answer to your questions. And judging from the response from the rest of the nation, I think everyone is searching for answers as well.
From the newspaper accounts I read, he spoke very oddly. They described it as a very deep voice and having something in his mouth when he talked. So he could speak, but not very clearly, I guess.
I’ve read plenty of blogs written by deaf individuals that commented on the VaTech tragedy. Apparently, DeafRead is a site designed to discuss deaf issues, etc.
Re: Shane (#82890) and Susan (#82844)
Shane is correct. The expectation of DeafRead by many people differ from the true purpose of DeafRead.
Unlike what people may come to expect, DeafRead is not “free-for-all” chat for the bloggers and vloggers. We try to pick only the posts that focus upon Deaf-related topics. We do this to filter out posts so that our visitors will be able to save time as they look though the many blog posts that come in every day. We want to be able to focus the attention of the world to the kind of things that impact Deaf people and their culture without being drowned out by the “noise” of other posts that have nothing to do with Deaf issues.
Still, anyone can still read all the other non-Deaf related posts (such as Teri’s non-Deaf-related VA Tech post) by subscribing to DeafRead Extra RSS feed and picking out what they want to read.
As for Susan’s note above: I find it extremely offensive that there are some who would jump to a such false conclusion. Amy Efron Cohen is a very ethical
person and her vlog is for her only and she alone has control over it. She created that vlog out of her deep concern for the Deaf-related issues that rose out from the VA Tech tragedy. She certainly did NOT do it to “save DeafRead” as Susan boldly claims.
DeafRead editors have approved thousands of blogs and vlogs and sent many thousands of visitors to many blogs and increased traffic for everyone involved. We do this because we know in our hearts how important it is for Deaf bloggers and vloggers to be easily seen by the rest of the world. We don’t want to see DeafRead collapse under its own weight so this is the reason we set the guildlines on how we select which blogs or vlogs that are shown on the front page of DeafRead.
Jared,
You say that you filter and approve thousands of blogs for content pertaining to issues that impact Deaf Culture. I’m curious by your decision to approve Ridor’s blog about Virginia Tech; it was not deaf-related and did not pose any questions or comments that would have provided insight into deaf culture. It was simply inflammatory, and by approving that, DeafRead seems to be saying “hey, it’s okay if the blogs aren’t well-written or are mean and hurtful, or even not about deafness per se.” It’s just a little ironic that you allowed that particular blog.
Cheers.
Jared:
Echoing “Comment for DeafRead”’s, I thought it was inappropriate for Deafread to post Ridor’s blog post about the VA Tech massacre.
You say that you want ‘to be able to focus the attention of the world to the kind of things that impact Deaf people and their culture without being drowned out by the “noise” of other posts that have nothing to do with Deaf issues.’
Well, what exactly were you trying to show the world? That we are a bunch of insensitive ********?
In addition to what the others are saying, I would like to point out that when Ridor did the entry on the tragedy — he also ***** to publish a picture of his ex-boyfriend in the same blog. “He’s still in the closet,” Ridor wrote. That had absolutely nothing to do with the deaf issues that are circulating across the deaf blogosphere. I’m confident that Ridor did not seek permission from this guy to have his picture posted. Now, DeafRead – could you please clarify why you would allow **** like Ridor that publish *** like that to have a spot on your Web site?
Questions about DeafRead’s mentioned in the post, I have something to say.
Bloggers must respect the readers. Is it ok for bloggers to use personal insults, ethnic slurs, and etc.? No. Can bloggers show improper consideration for other’s privacy? No. Is it perfect okay to post topics that may be considered objectionable? No.
The news at Virginia Tech is very disturbing. My heartfelt prayers go out to the victims, their families and friends. It should not be taken lightly by any bloggers or commenters. DeafRead and all others, please consider this: adopt a zero-tolerance policy for inflammatory.
Thanks,
A Very Concerned Reader
As it states on the site, DeafRead doesn’t endorse any blog post by the mere act of publishing.
As per our guildlines, this post fell into a grey area (since the last half of the post mentioned his experience at Gallaudet) so it’s up to our discretion to display it or skip it. Often the editors will come across posts that we disagree with but we don’t practice censorship based on the message.
Hearing people have long misunderstood Deaf people because they have never really seen what we are like. DeafRead tries to present a more honest picture of what our culture is like. We don’t necessary want to “white-wash” Deaf people for the world but show that there is a vast spectrum of all kinds of Deaf people, both good and ugly.
We have posted many more positive and thought-provoking posts than unsavory posts. We leave it up to the readers to decide for themselves which links they want to check out.
However, if you look at this from a different light, when a blogger shoots him/herself in the foot, his/her credibility can be seriously damaged. With increased visiblity, the blogger has more responsiblity for their posts. Because DeafRead does not endorse any post by pulishing it, we are not responsible. However, we do encourage to consider their audience and maintain good ethics.
In the comments of that particular deleted post, you would have seen how many Deaf people were taken aback by the post and expressed their support for the people of VA Tech. The hearing world would have seen this as well.
Well said, Jared.
I agree with Jared. DeafRead is an blog aggregator and isn’t responsible for what we say. The bloggers as well as commenters are responsible..
Thank you for the clarification! :)
And yes, you are especially right about the “hearing world” reading the comment section. I hadn’t thought of that…
I would like, if I may, to play the Devil’s Advocate here - a role that those who know me well are aware I’m famous for sometimes taking on - and bring up another perspective on this whole DeafRead vs. Ridor issue…
Suppose DeafRead DID NOT list the particular post in question… how many of us would have then found it, read it, and be discussing it?
Granted, I realize that this blogger is pretty popular, he’s on a number of Blogrolls, and with the way the Deaf Blogosphere works, it wouldn’t have been long before the news got around. Nevertheless, I suspect a lot of us do get our lists of postings from DeafRead…I know that 75% of the posts I read come simply from checking what’s up at DeafRead.
Yes, DeafRead has before it the challenging task of filtering hundreds of blogs and vlogs on a weekly basis. I don’t envy them the task. But there is a difference between filtering and censoring.
Now, granted…that difference can be a very fine line sometimes. How far does one go in making an determination as to whether a certain post should be accepted or not? How does one determine what readers should have access to and what they shouldn’t?
This is not just a question for DeafRead, it’s one that all mass media must ask and answer on a daily basis. Sometimes those answers come pretty quickly and easily; at other times they are not so simple. Sometimes the only thing you can do is approve the message and throw it out there…and wait to see what the public response will be. Generally, when people are pissed off with something that’s said, they are pretty quick to let you know.
That’s what I saw happen here. People did let it be known…they were quick to point out that they in fact were NOT amused. This brings me back to something that has been said in recent DeafDC blogs about gatekeeping and reader responsibility. I think what we have seen here is an example of such.
I too saw the original post in question, and like many others found it to be in poor taste. I too read the comments from others expressing similar sentiments, and am happy to see that they did have the desired effect of causing the author of said post to reconsider his actions, remove such, and replace with another post (although I must confess that I’m not so sure I find the replacing post to be that much of an improvement).
While I can certainly understand why people are questioning DeafRead’s actions on this matter, at the same time I find it a tad ironic we are doing so on a post that in itself contains statements that some might find offensive. Perhaps in allowing that “inflammatory” post to go up on their list, the DeafRead editors have succeeded (albeit unintentionally) in achieving the very same goal that this post right here was attempting to do – using provocation and confrontation as the means to jolt us into the harsh reality that, as Jared says, not all Deaf folks are “nice, sweet, loveable people” who are going to write things in the most white-washed of ways. We can say “f*** you” with the best of them, and we can also put the proverbial foot in our mouth as well (or our hands, as the case might be).
If nothing else, I would like to think that this whole incident has forced us to think a little bit more carefully about what we do say, when we say it, and where we say it. Those little “wh’s” can really trip you up if we’re not careful.
And next time, if you’re not sure exactly what the right word to use is…
get yourself a dictionary.
(P.S.) My apologies if this comes across as just repeating what Jared has already stated so well - I was busy typing my thoughts out in Word before copying and pasting here!
Virginia L. Bech,
You’re a pretty good devil’s advocate! I’m somewhat surprised you don’t agree with what you just argued.
Chuckle…actually, come to think of it, I ***do*** agree with what I have just argued.
I think I was just trying to show the other side of the coin for those who were questioning why DeafRead allowed that post to go up on its lists in the first place, helping them to perhaps see how doing so was actually in our favor.
Was that being a Devil’s Advocate? Hmmm… if you consider that I was taking the position for the sake of “instructional purposes” - which is what such a position is often all about - then I suppose you could say I accomplished my task.
By the way, for those who don’t know, the actual originator of the Devil’s Advocate is the Roman Catholic Church, which used such positions to argue in opposition to individuals being proposed for canonization. The position was done away with by Pope John Paul II in 1983, but since I’m not Catholic, I suppose that doesn’t apply to me…(wink!)
P.S. You missed the A in my last name, have I gone to no longer being an enjoyable geographical entity? (sniff, whimper…)
Argh. I guess this tells me I need to take a vacation at the beach.
In Virginia, right? *sly grin*
No. A beach in Oklahoma. That’s where all the action’s at!
You still dodged the issue somewhat Jared. DeafRead is showing blog entries that are deaf-related. What did Ridor’s blog about VA Tech have to do with deaf issues?
I read it, and I don’t recall anything in there that was faintly related to deaf issues.
I do believe - in the original post - that Ridor did make a (half-hearted) attempt to tie in the whole post to his experiences at Gallaudet and the issue of safety for Deaf individuals. Unfortunately, by the time one gets to such statements, most of us were already so turned off by his first sentence that we were hardly seeing anything else he had to say.
Like Jared says, this was a gray area. Sometimes the relevance to deaf issues isn’t so obvious. Yes, maybe this WAS a case where a post was allowed to slip through. But again, if we take the “Devil’s Advocate” position that I describe above, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.
I also wondered about DeafRead’s posting of the Ridor blog in question. I do agree with Virginia that filtering is not the same as censorship. There is a very fine line, but allow me to make several notes:
1) Nothing Ricky Taylor says IS censored. It’s all on his blogsite, and people don’t need to go to DeafRead first to know what his website address is. I’ve gone there directly in the past myself, albeit not very often.
2) However, when there is a potential case for libel or posting of slanderous information or use of names, pictures, etc., without authorization, it’s often better to not propagate that situation further.
3) Jared is correct that anyone who reads blogs that DeafRead chooses to link to can formulate their own opinions, not only about the blog itself, but the comments as well. However, keep in mind that the first two or three paragraphs are what hook the reader in. If they don’t like what they see after the first two or three paragraphs, they’re likely to stop reading it. I know when I see a newspaper article, two things make me interested in reading it: 1) the headline, and 2) the lead paragraph.
Like Shane, I have a journalism background. Three years in high school, one year in college. As a result, I try to be the best writer and editor I can be, and maintain my ethical standards. I generally don’t read (informational) blogs that don’t promote integrity, reflect the author’s research of the topic at hand, and/or are little more than forums for name-calling, baseless opinions, and could even be constituted as slanderous.
That does not mean that blogs like Ricky Taylor’s do not have a place in our world. America does practice and condone free speech — except in cases of libel and slander.
A while back (I think about two months ago), a couple bloggers discussed their experiences at a Washington Post blog conference. Couple that with the Gallaudet Bloggers weekend (I forget what it was actually called), and I think we’ve all learned a lot. The important thing to keep in mind is this:
Blogs are what you make them. You are the sole person who writes them and therefore, you have to be your own editor. In the case of DeafDC, bloggers do have to meet standards. While I would not say that DeafDC blogs are akin to the articles and columns you see in newspapers every day, I would say that many of these bloggers strive to be professional, ethical, and promote critical thinking in their audience.
Anyone who creates a personal blog has every right to say what s/he wants to say, but there IS precedent for personal sites being shut down as a result of posting libelous (untruth) or slanderous (defamation of character) information about other people. Because, unlike diaries or private journals, blogs DO appear in a public forum. And there is no other forum as public and as internationally accessible as the Internet.
And now I’m rambling, and I’m sure Shane is already mentally wondering when this comment is gonna end. So I’ll bid y’all adieu and head to bed. :)
This story hits too close to home for me to do any navel gazing. The part that fascinates me the most is interpersonal dynamic of the shooter’s Korean immigrant family. Perhaps the long hours the parents spent working at the dry cleaners resulted in less time to observe their son closely. Perhaps, not wanting to bring shame to the family name, the son only showed one side of his persona to his family.
Like Seung-hui Cho, I’m what’s often called the “1.5 generation”. That is, I was born in another country (in this case, Taiwan), but emigrated to this country when I was young and started second grade here.
Asian families are notorious for not wanting to disclose conditions (like hearing loss or mental illness) that would invite social stigma and bring shame to the family. The American way of revealing family issues to an outside counselor or seeking counseling for emotional problems is very alien to the first generation Asian immigrant.
Then add in the pressure the children face to the mix. Over and over again, I’d hear from Mom and Dad that they came to America so I’d have a better chance of going to a good college and eventually, a well paying job. Two years arriving here we found that I was profoundly deaf in the right ear and moderately deaf in the left ear. Nevertheless, I was expected make my parents’ journey to this country worthwhile (despite whatever emotional toll I would undergo as a
solitaire) and achieve the American dream for them. I would bring honor to the family by going to a good high school, a prestigious university and find a well-paying job.
By the time I started adolescence, I led a solitaire’s life. I struggled with identity issues…..trying to determine whether I was Chinese or American, Hearing or Deaf….
and well, my father didn’t think I needed to see a counselor about these thoughts. Being the practical guy he was, he felt seeing counselors were a waste of time.
So, I think about the killer’s family a lot. I worry American society in general will not look too kindly on the possibility of the family’s reluctance to seek outside intervention in a more aggressive way without understanding the cultural issues underneath this line of thinking.
Well, I’ve rambled on long enogh. Hopefully what I wrote makes sense! :-)
I’m surprised that you think people are silent. Everywhere I go, people talked about it. I talked about it with my classmates, my co-workers, my supervisors, and teachers. It is closer to the heart than many of us might think. I found out that the girl I work with at a computer lab knew a student who was killed - they were from the same town, and it was a small town. She was affected. Definitely. This incident made me think about the two murders we went through six years ago, when I was an undergraduate. That was a painful time, and I cannot imagine the magnitude of their pain now. I’d like to mention that a Gallaudet student, Andrew Greenman, took it upon his hands to design a banner and collect signatures from students. The banner says “Gallaudet is thinking of you.”