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,
“Darle n beso a la botella.”
“C’mon baby, won’t you give the bottle a kiss? Go on, I won’t tell.”
I was appalled. There are children in his sight and yet this drunkard has the audacity to offer me a stiff drink – and on a Metro train car of all places. What an imbecile.
I proceed to give him a piece of my mind. Le patina el coco. His coconut head has slipped. This man has got a screw loose!
“El campo fertil no descansado, tornase esteril,” he signs.
“The unrested fertile field turns sterile.” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, he says.
“But what work do you have?” signs my astute and suspicious 12-year old, deaf daughter.
“Well, sweetheart, I’m on these trains a lot trying to put food on the table for my own little girl who looks to be just about your age. And even though I don’t have a job, I’m in América and you can bet your lifesavers that the quality of my life is much improved here.”
While holding up one of his cards to me, he says, “Won’t you buy one? I made these myself.”
I look. It’s an iconic, alphabet card illustrated with drawings of letters in sign language except the ABC signs are in LSM and not ASL. This guy obviously has learned the tricks of the homeless trade. But he clearly hasn’t recognized that LSM is not the standard sign language in America.
Laughing at the irony and the prospect of hearing Metro riders trying to sign LSM to deaf Americans, I give the man a dollar.
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I’ve only ever been offered a deaf peddler’s card once. I was eating in Sbarro’s in Union Station waiting to take a train, and someone came up and held out the cards silently. I signed to him, “why are you offering this to me?” He signed back, “I’m a student at Gallaudet, I’m trying to make a little extra money for books.” I was rather surprised; I had not yet read the book Deaf Peddler at that time and to be honest I was rather surprised somebody would try to pull something like that in Washington DC, the Land of Deaf Empowerment.
Thanks for sharing your story, Juanita.
Wow, this is the first I’ve ever heard of a deaf student trying to peddle. Most of the time, it’s homeless/semi-homeless deaf people working at airports or train stations.
But an actual student? Gosh.
I was told often by the Union Staton security people about arresting several so-called deaf peddlers whose were Gally students. I knew three of the frequent deaf peddlers.
Welcome to the real world! One of the deaf guys teached another deaf “grassroot” guy how to beg like shaking the cup or bowl to get someone’s attention.
One deaf individual regularly begged in Dupont Circle area, especially the 17th Street. We talked pretty often. The guy was under the Deaf Reach’s care. I enjoyed his chats. He bought the malt beers and vegetables after done his beggings. That guy hold the sign _ “PLEASE HELP ME. I’M DEAF!”
The head of the DC’s GLBT police force caught the same deaf guy for selling the Vigara pills and gave him the warning not to do it again.
I kinda befriended this deaf guy which I knew him for few years beforehand. He is really an intelligent person, but messed up his own life with recreational drug and alcohol consumption. This guy said “How lucky I’m straight for not using any illegal drugs or drink alcohol on the street.
What is the “LSM”?
RLM
LSM is Mexican Sign Language. It is from the Spanish word for it which is “lenguaje de signos mexicano.” Hope that helps!
It’s funny how many Deaf people are surprised Deaf people suffer from poverty. I know many who would rather beg or sell cards than collect SSI. Misguided pride maybe? Of course unless someone knows English it will be impossible for them to work in America. There’s no real education programs available for Deaf immigrants and most of the new Deaf population in America is an immigrant population.
I think it’s cool he was selling LSM cards. Be nice to see more Deaf people learn other signed languages.
I think it’s just as bad to collect SSI as it is to peddle ASL cards. The only difference is one is more visible than the other.
The real empowerment is to get to work and advance the Deaf community. It’s also requires a community effort to help those people who need it. When’s the last time any convention for the Deaf ever addressed homelessness?