So loud I am deaf

Paraphrased:

Deaf people have the tendency to be louder due to the fact they can't hear their own sounds they create and regulate them.

I have to agree to disagree.

In truth, it's infinitely simple-minded to place the blame on deafness squarely. Plenty of neighbors commonly called the police on young hearing college students or hearing music groups for noise disturbance or noise pollution far more recurringly than someone thought. Even so, at times, the noise or music was brain-numbing blatantly loud that we couldn't hear our own sounds. Some hosts hadn't bother to regulate or supervise them either. I'm a hearing college student. I'm also a ΚΚΓ (Kappa Kappa Gamma) sister, thus the party is part of my life. I acknowledged the similar problems in hearing college parties, nightclubs and local concerts which led to wide complaints from the neighbors.

Conjointly, some country hicks at my university had some tales of discourteous hearing hunters whom were unable to demonstrate their civil manners by hunting some animals proximate to their houses in ungodly hours. The neighbors had called the sheriffs on them now and then.

Thereafter, it's not solely a Deaf-bias problem. We all have to take care of not pursuing the reductio ad absurdum argument. The bottom line is the noise problem adamantly rely on obnoxious people. Deafness incontrovertibly don't own a patent on obnoxiousness. Deafness or hearing has nothing to do with obnoxiousness. It never has. It never will.


On other subject, this afternoon with the professor was expressly spookish. I can't get my brain around the conference I had with the professor. I was all Condi Rice-like ready and challenged him diplomatically and psychologically. The aftermath of our last summer debate weighed heavily on my mind but I held it well.

As I was taught by my father, in every battle or war there's always an unforeseeable flaw or obstacle. Thus, to my astoundment, the professor conceded to me with his own arguments without my sayings in it. Beforehand, I was giddied about making some disagreement but he...just disputed his last Friday remark. Thereafter, he offered me an apology for his discordant remark. When he said that, I had to asked him in playful tone, "Who are you? What did you do to yourself?". I just had to because he wasn't what he was. He chuckled at the comment I made. Still perturbed, I asked him what made him dispute his own statement inasmuch as the way he lashed out at me last Friday. On a logical level, it didn't make sense. He abruptly replied, "Let's just say...that a black cat crossed my path. It made me muse over my juvenile assertion". What the? He is a Sociologly professor and I daresay he's good at it but a superstitious Sociologist? That's phenomenally unheard of. Doubtlessly, something happened, I pondered. Given my persistent character, I asked again, but he cut me off with a word "Shoo" in an barely noticeable annoyed tone. I took it that he was readily annoyed and was going to reconsider his decision of offering me an apology. Needless to say, I left his class with a farewell, "Yes sir. See you tomorrow and have a nice day."

Stunningly, I leaned my back against the wall outside of the classroom and pondered. There was some meaning to that remark, "a black cat crossed my path". At this very moment, I still couldn't decode the riddle in his comment.

A superstitious Sociologist? It's incredible. I'll extend our conference in a new post the next day. I got a feeling that I'm bound to find out. You could say that it's a woman's intuition.

My gmail account is still inaccessible. (Sigh.)

Jean's Drifting Day, ASC and a Deaf boy on PBS

Hi everyone! For your information, I couldn't access my gmail account. It kept kickng me out every time I logged in to check my email. I don't know what technical problem I have. I had to sit it out and wait for my roommate to come home this Tuesday from the field trip she is on right now to fix it. Sorry for the inconvenience. =(

There, altough, is a bright side. The professor of my Sociology class was outwardly in a good mood. No, that wasn't just a good mood, he was in an ecstasy-like mood for a mysterious reason. He challenged us to write a exceedingly short essay with only a few words portraying or synopsizing the most eccentric sociocultural behavior or custom humans performed in the history of humanity. There was a prize for the winner. Some classmates made both off-subject and on-subject humorous synopses: i.e. "Men sweat. Women glow."; "People breathe, anuses fart."

Surprisingly, I won with this synposes: "People were born naked and died clothed." (For me, that's always bizarre to think about)

The prize? Got an "A" grade on the next exam without studying and no need to show up in class to take the exam. Hooyah!


Anyway, two more things; Alternative Solutions Centre is on Blogcritics.org's radar. Here's the full statement-

Then into the classroom, where Alternative Solutions Centre, the blog of a deaf-owned and operated psychotherapy and consulting practice, where three women blog, is a post about girls only being allowed to study female scientists. "She is ... being told, very subtly, that just being a girl is enough to prevent her from getting something she wants." (And should you be able to read American Sign Language, there's a V-log post.)

And the outstanding article about ASL and a Deaf boy on the TV- Spreading the Word: A Deaf Boy Joins the Gang. It's cute!

The credit goes to my ASL classmate, Katie, whom told me about these news. It's almost time for class! Yikes!

Blog Triumphalism

Blog triumphalism was the word my Sociology professor employed to portray the Rathergate and Downing Street memo scandals. As a student of Sociology, as soon as Firefox unfolded the DeafRead list and Jared's post "sociological" title was the first word that caught my eye. Naturally. The truth is, that was a genuinely creepy moment of the day for me because yesterday, my class had a two and half hour expostulating (reasoning earnestly) discussion about "How Sociology Impact on Weblogs and How Weblogs Impact on Sociology" subject. And today, Jared apprised us his brief but thoughtful observation on it.

Pepe's weblog is a good example of blog triumphalism.

I would like to share my experiences with you about how my first weblog turned out. By my former Sociology professor's proposition, the Department of Education (at my university) granted me the weblog account. I was counseled to promote my weblog discussing Interpersonal relationships and an articulated European woman's sociological perspective on American culture for almost 14 months. To my dismay, it was firewalled and could be accessed by my university students solely but periodically commented by them. With my having much noticed, stimulated and cultivated by posters' both corresponded and differentiated contemplations, my views on men, especially American men, have been sustainedly evolved for better over time.

Several months into my first year of attending and residing at the American university; given my looks, free-spirit, good-natured attitude and naïveté, I was approached by many various American men who obviously, strategically, tried to coax me into their beds. After months of bitter experience with their juvenile games, I heretofore erroneously chastised (and generalized) American men wholly as [insert profanity] for mistreating and objectifying women, including me. For your information, I was a teen when I transferred to this university from a non-English European country so everything was unaccustomed and bizarre to me. Note: observing them and socializing with them, it revealed to me that some women are no better either by playing games with men's emotion, mentality and the worst of all, ego. But my lack of American culture was consistently cultivated and progessed by the posters and a few brilliant female university webloggers' contemplations regarding the aspects of relationships. The weblogs and socializing with my Kappa sisters helped me learned how to distinguished the jerks and gentlemen. There were a lot of Sociology-related discussions which debunked various America myths that set upon me, foreign women and contributed ideas to bridge the emotionally intelligent relationship between men and women. One of our female webloggers is planning to write a book about the relationship-wise weblogs.

Which drive the point I want to quote: Blogs democratize ideas. Guess who said that. It was Xeni Jardin, a resourceful female tech culture journalist and a weblogger of the award-winning weblog, Boing Boing. Her weblog was revealed to us by our Sociology professor.

Back to Sociology class, we compared notes. The weblogs exploded everywhere left to right, top to bottom. They have signaled the centralization and internationalization of science, philosophy, art, technology, culture, politics, et alia. It's unquestionably true. The borderline between various countries are actively vanishing and the concept of democracy is crawling wearily but lively on the ground crossing their countries. By capitalizing the internet and the benefits of weblogs, Chinese webloggers are revitalizing the dissent and democratic movement in China to break off from the capitalistic communist Chinese government's iron fist.

The professor put forward the BAS topic. BAS stands for Blog Aggregation System, the innovation technology as Stephen Turcotte (the credit goes to my classmate, Liam for the link and weblog) illustrated, "Blogs will be connected by a blog aggregation system that is a way to feature the most active blogs and also connect the audience to the most relevant conversations." Can you guess which weblog site utilized the BAS idea? DeafRead.

A few seconds after the professor raised the topic, BAS, I quickly raised my arm to notify him of the DeafRead site. While I'm computer illiterate, I tried my best to illustrated the DeafRead site to the class which led us to catapulting and renovating ideas (although, I didn't understand their technobabble, I enjoyed listening anyway). The discussion was all but fascinating until the strike-out question directly pitched at me by the professor: "Do hearing webloggers receive the commensurate treatment in the DeafRead site?" I couldn't lie to him so I answered truthfully by explaining the "Deaf Only" feature. He, then, smirked which I knew it was bad for me and proclaimed to the class, "That's a fine example of an undemocratic idea." That was a hard swipe at me. There was a gulflike rift between us ever since that day I challenged him on the Sociocultural French-related subject which resultingly embarrassed him in his classroom last summer. Thereafter, I learned that it is never a good idea to embarrass the professors, especially in the classrooms. If I talked back or challenged him, I'm liable to be in grade-wise trouble. Therefore, I had to swallow the irritation I felt when the professor swiped at me and let it float away.

Aside from the professor's strikeout ball, the Sociology effect on the weblogs we discussed that Jared briefly illustrated at his weblog was stimulating.

Oh. I overheard the veteran sport male weblogger talking to another guy right after the Sociology class was over. He said, "Use the blog, Luke". If anyone didn't get it, that was a Star Wars reference.

Party time. Buonanotte! [Good night!]

Dissenters of Gallaudet: An email from a reader

I got an email from someone regarding my Dissenters of Gallaudet post and it was the most amusing email that I’ve read. I, personally, wasn't sure if it was just a satire or plain stupidity. Aside from our email addresses and that person's name (and my last name), I left everything untouched.

From: xxxxxxxxx < xxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com>
To: Jean xxxxx <(check my profile)@gmail.com>
Date: Sep 22, 2006 3:26 PM
Subject: Dissenters of Gallaudet: Draw thy sword
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list | Delete this message | Show original | Message text garbled?

WOMEN SHOULDN'T HAVE THE VOTE OR VOICE

Nor should negroes and brown people. Women belong in the home, servicing their men. Your article just proves that the dissent movement in galluadet is a liberal communist conspiracy, promoting the homosexual and feminazi agenda. Woman, get back in the kitchen! You spread your legs when I tell you to. --- The South will rise again.

For further evidence, with my roommate's help, she took a screenie of the email I received. Click the photo for better view.



I'm wholly befuddled why that person appended "The South" remark to their email considering the location Gallaudet is in. Oy. Evidently, our differentiated perspectives make the world go round.

Anyway, I was surprised by Chris when asked if he could join me (he said he was bored and had nothing to do today) while I was getting ready to leave for the Media Department from our ASL session, to cast in the WAG, "TAG" parody commerical. But of course, I responded in ASL, "Yes!". I just came here to change my clothes (and published this post).

A presto! [see you soon!]

Dissenters of Gallaudet: Draw thy sword

"Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win." by Bernadette Devlin

It is certainly true that I never attended Gallaudet nor am I a versed person in Deaf culture. Given my lack of Galladuet or Deaf culture experience, you might be think that I shouldn't make a post about it. You rightly think so but I'd like to share my mother's adage with you: "You can't be neutral on a drifting boat in the river". Sitting on a drifting boat, I can figuratively spot the wave of suppression and intimidation slamming against the DPN dissenters. Was it so necessary for the Administration of Gallaudet to do that to pugnacity students whom stood shoulder-to-shoulder to voice their denouncement against them? The quintessential question is: Why bother to make your own mistakes when you can learn from them?

Anti-dissent group or the Administration of Gallaudet might be bellyaching about the dissent movement in Gallaudet. Heretofore they can criticize the dissenters. There is a story that I never, ever forgot- Magna Carta. The story was my first exposure to politics. It was shared with me by my neighbor, a British philosopher when I was fairly young. My memory is sketchy at best so I paraphrased from Wiki-

Magna Carta (Latin for "Great Charter", literally "Great Paper"), also called Magna Carta Libertatum ("Great Charter of Freedoms"), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. Magna Carta was the most significant early influence on the long historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today. Magna Carta was originally created because of disagreements between Pope Innocent III, King John and his English barons about the rights of the King. Magna Carta required the king to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that the will of the king could be bound by law.

In King John and Pope Innocent III's eyes, English barons are the dissenters. And yet, with the dissenters' rebellion, it revitalized the concept of constitutional law. Give yourself five minutes of silence and ponder about it; if the English barons gave into King John and Pope Innocent III's monarchical powers, what'd happen to the United States Constitution that we know of today?

Oh. Speaking of the Declaration of Independence. Acceded to Great Britain in 1760s and 1770s, Americans were the dissenters (and traitors).

"The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself." by Archibald Macleish

The best part about the dissenters, they force us to pause, to take a few breaths and slow down enough to think rationally. If you never or refuse to make a miscalculated choice or decision, how do you know what's right and what's wrong? You have have to make a mistake to learn what's the best for yourself. In the sociopolitical essence, the dissenters are our living and visual conscience. We need them to tell us why we are wrong. I'm not versed in history but I was told by a conservative history professor that the suppression of the dissenters is liable to be major influence on the collapse of societies or civilizations. Like it or not, wrong and right is on the same coin and it always will be.

Again, the same quintessential question here is: Why bother to make your own mistakes when you can learn from them?

"Conscience is the root of all true courage; if a man would be brave let him obey his conscience." by James Freeman Clarke

Dear Great Knights of Conscience (Dissenters of Gallaudet), be brave and stand firm.

European mutlicultural, sociocultural values and Deaf culture

Dear Jared, Tayler, Ridor, Moi and "Anonymous",

Check my response in my old post. The eleven people who sent me emails, I responded back! =) I'm terribly sorry about not being able to respond promptly. More about my week's absence in the lowermost comment below.

Anonymous pitched a strike-outable baseball into Europe's sociocultural values which knocked me out of the "America-plugged" climate. Read their comment:

You are somewhat at an advantage being a foreign exchange student. America's sociocultural values might be different than the values of your country, and your country's sociocultural values may be better regarding people who are disabled. I say this from firsthand experience and from the experiences of others who have visited the different European countries and told me this.

While I cannot say for other European countries or regions, Anonymous rightly spotted on the family-oriented affluent locale I grew up in. I was raised in a multicultural family. My papa is an Israeli Jew and my mama is an French Jew. They moved to a non-English european country (that's a secret for now) from Israel when my mama got pregnant with my big brother. My big brat and I grew up in an area where the culture and language differentiate from our already-multicultural cultures and languages. For some years, we, ultimately, learned how to cope and adapt with different languages and cultures. There were some Muslim, visually disabled and handicapped families living proximately next to us and they were way friendlier and more family-oriented than other families. I had considered them as my non-blood relatives. I knew everyone, literally, everyone resided in the locale. I was taught to be tolerant, to be empathetic and to be a receptive person. My papa had an adage, "Don't give someone a stale challah if you don't like to eat a stale challah". That was what I was accustomed to in the whole of my childhood. As a matter-of-fact, my American friends were recurrently dumbfounded by my good-natured cosmopolitan attitude and decorum every once in a while.

A few weeks ago, I was exposed to Deaf culture by this former classmate of mine, Chris, as well as by an interpreter I befriended. In the few first confrontations with Chris, I made some uncultivated mistakes but I've learned subsequently. What I experienced and stimulated culturally in the mutlicultural neighborhood was comparatively different from what I've just learned from Deaf people here and there regarding Deaf culture. Now, Anonymous is right in that I had an advantage over many people in sociocultural value areas. I hadn't had a chance to observe my conditioned stimulus response and behavior in dealing with Deaf people until Anonymous made a strikeout.

In no time, with Moi, Anonymous and others' exegesis of their seasoned (clearly) experiences, I began to comprehend the culture Deaf people grow in. Or as I sanguinely believe. Is my observation legitimate in that Deaf culture is a mutlicultural culture? Given various circumstances: ancestral, Deaf-centered/hearing-centered parental and diversified socially generation including religion and belief, D/deaf people have more identities to cultivate, to habituate and to incorporate? Or Deaf culture prevails all over other cultures?

If not for the comments by DeafRead bloggers, posters or those emails I received, I might have been at a loss with the feelings I had with the Hydrogen Bomb my best friend, Stefanie, bombarded at me. Thank you all with all my heart! Although, I have only one regretful thing about DeafRead: hearing people who are interested in Deaf culture or ASL are not aware of the DeafRead site.


As I said in the comment, I was pledged for casting in my friends' Media project. It's “WAG”, a student-level TAG Body Spray parody commerical. I figured I owed them a favor that I hadn't been able to repay so my free time was snatched by them. It took a bit more than a week of acting to finalize their first take but it isn't over. I'll cast again shortly to finish their other take. Aside from that, it was a lively week for me until last Friday, I got an injury in tennis practice. It was my right wrist. Under the sport therapist's examination, it was revealed that I had a cyst in my right carpals. That was when I found out that I'm human, in a manner of speaking. Figuratively, of course. It's operatable but I was given the limited choices: 1. if I had the operation, I might not be able to play in the games this year; 2. if the operation was postponed the condition might get worse and I would feasibly drop out in the middle of the season, most likely with another sprained wrist too if continued. I'm trying to break my university's record in tennis which is achievable considering the low amount of losses in my record, but if I opt out this year, my record will be expunged (the university record has an average fix on the amounts of games). To my own dismay, for almost 50 hours, I could not use my right hand to type or write (I'm right-handed). Life is such a shit sometimes.

Deafhood: "Wall of Shame"

Jared Evans had some thoughtful elucidation on Deafhood. I had been trying to undertake this contention about Deafhood but I recoiled, inasmuch as I'm hearing; thereupon I wasn't sure if I did have the privilege to divulge my thoughts on it.

[Annotation for people who sent me the emails and LTL's posters, check the lowermost comment below.]

Until Jared's post; in the face of the risk of condemnation, I decisively maintained my courage and threw my thought into the Deafhood debate. The truth is, this post isn't in reference to my thought but in reference to my experience on the precise element of representational argument. As to add it to the confabulation, it's my number one pet peeve; as it did to Jared but differently. What does get my goat is that person[s] was trying to condemn or disperse the substance without meticulously studying, reading or analyzing the "substance" textbook[s]. Not only is it unethical; it's fallacious, unprofessional and untrustworthy.

I'd like to emblematize my university's beyond-expected successful 5 years old "Wall of Shame" chastisement to offer you an illustration and reaffirmation of my reason above. On account of plagiarism and other predicaments, the professors had a full-day meeting, hashed out their solutions on how to solve them. At the end of the day, they agreed upon and formulated the draconian rules and consequences. The simple three elements:

1. plagiarism
2. duplication
3. inconversant animadversion

While inconversant animadversion is on the lowermost bottom, it's the highest and foremost dishonorable crime students could commit at my university. What does it mean? The simplified definition: Condemning, dispersing and criticizing the substance, e.g. Deafhood without studying, reading or analyzing the textbook[s] thoroughly and comprehensively. If a student commits this foremost dishonorable crime in debates or their homework, the professor will post their enlarged picture, full name, email address, box address and the crime s[he] commited on the "Wall of Shame" wall. The student will have to live through the taunts, insults, ridicule and jeering by the students and professors for two weeks before their personal information is taken down. If the student talks back, the prolongation of the punishment will be lengthened into four weeks or suspended for unethical behavior.

The punishment wasn't pretty (some students cried or threw a tantrum in front of the public) but it works effectively. It, although, is a draconian rule but it purposefully taught us to not to put ourselves into a position where we ensuingly compromise our credibility if challenged whether or not if we read and study the textbook[s]. It has a voluminous impact on my attitude of debating with others. At DeafRead, to not fingerpoint but I've noticed one or two persons whom indubitably, incontestably, didn't read the Deafhood textbook while condemning or dispersing it in their posts. The evidence was there; quoted the statements from the poster's comments in lieu of quoting directly from the textbook to disperse it or make their point. In my scholarly, sociological eyes, their argument appears rather uncharacteristically odd and unconventional. Once that person had done that, their credibility indicatively evaporate in my eyes. Similarly, as Jared pointed out, I have no problem with people who disparage the aspects and substances of Deafhood as long as they meticulously read and examined the textbook[s]. It's not a burdensome thing to do. In truth, it's a very elementary thing to do. Be smart, be versed in knowledge [textbooks] and, the most important, be a virtuous person.

As referring to Deafhood, given my Sociology background, I had mulled over about getting a Deafhood textbook for myself and study it. And also to give it to my ASL tutor, Chris too ... truthfully, yes, I'm trying to impress Chris or have him to court me.

Posters and people who sent me emails or posted the comments, I resolve to respond your emails and your comments promptly. I am sorry about the long absence, I'll unfold about it some time. Back to the assignments. Ugh.

Update - Typos corrected.

For whom the blog tolls

Forewarning - This is a controversial post. For your information, I'm still outrightly new to Deaf culture.

As I briefly illuminated in my post two weeks ago, Stefanie accosted me about DeafRead [annotation for Jared - with my roommate's help, I made a separate post]. Heretofore, in addition, as a best friend would do, I excitingly detailed out about DeafRead I was suggested to check out and post at by the interpreter (for Chris) in my old class and by my ASL professor, Joseph. Stefanie, as ever a student of psychology could be good at, listened and held a pail to collect some of the nuts and bolts I poured for her. Without my knowledge, as a cynical person, she had choosen to look over the Deaf weblogs. She uncommonly, literally read the whole of the weblogs including their comments where I hadn't, well, only a few. That was where this post came in.

Sooner after Joseph left for his class, I came to join my friends and sat next to Stefanie in the cafe. We, routinely, hugged and chitchatted a bit. There, she dropped a Hydrogen Bomb on me by sliding the papers she had printed out towards me. It was the remarks some Deaf webloggers and posters made towards hearing people in general. Stefanie circled the remarks with a red marker to make it easier to glance over. The more I looked over the remarks, the deeper my heart sank. The interpreter and Jospeh had cautioned me in the past that some Deaf people held a small to a elephantine grudge towards hearing people but that wasn't what I reckoned. The realization spat in my face; no matter what I could do, no matter how I could do and no matter where I could do, they'd readily concede me as an "outcast" or cast their wary eyeballs upon me. Aside from that, for instance, a comment: hearing people are welcomed to contribute their comments as long as it's only comments. In a broader sense, it is kind of defeating the purpose. However in retrospect, a hearing person with no Deaf relatives, no background or knowledge in Deaf culture and nil cultural experience of ASL like me evidently, undeniably, contribute nullity to DeafRead. Especailly weblog with the word "Deaf" in it. In parallel reality, a white person (well, I am but to make a point) has a farm and roof to sleep under telling the black people in the African Slave Trade era that I understand their pain and frustrations. In a sociocultural essence, that person, who made a comment is inerrant in her (or his) observation. The truth is, out of all people, I shouldn't be invited to DeafRead as a weblogger. Technically, at best, I'm a newborn baby that crawled into the Deaf community. Would you allow a baby to grab a chokeable toy and stick it in its mouth?

Chris, my former Deaf classmate and now ASL tutor, and I subsequently became friends shortly after he erroneously envisaged me as a hearing person to be wary of. He distinguished me from other hearing people given the passionate affection I have attained to the Deaf community in general. But was that enough for other Deaf people? The hesitation is forming thicker and smelly than a smog. For instance, today I met a Deaf woman. She was the third Deaf person I met who is in an interrelationship with my ASL classmate, Marco. While I was introduced to her by Marco, the Deaf woman eluded from Marco's gaze and gave me an unmistakably dirty look. I don't know her and she doesn't know me, yet her territory was antecedently threatened by me. Is that what I'll have to cope with all the time? My thought, later, was emended by Stefanie with the counsel that their (some women) territory had been invariably threatened by me.

Back to Stefanie and the printed remarks. After I had finished reading, I sat, inwardly drawn to silence. Stefanie succored me that she only wanted me to envision the other side of DeafRead that I giddily absentminded over. But the argumentative facts I threw at her were about Deaf people being oppressed, subdued, harassed and mistreated by some hearing people for years, perhaps, centuries. Their anger is comprehensible, reasonable. The territory has been dividing multitudinous over the years by various reasons including kleptocracy. Conjointly, what we received and accessed, Deaf people must have the same. It's not an issue of fairness, it's a issue of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

Stefanie exerted the argument by appending the information she found; Deaf is only the culture that doesn't have an empirical characterization of "identification" in itself. As a newborn baby to Deaf culture, I found it astonishing and unbelievable. It's another thing I have to ask Joseph about. For instance, Deafhood. There is a political spectrum in it between a group who veritably read the Deafhood textbook by Paddy Ladd and advocating it and another group who hadn't read it yet so readily condemning Deafhood without analyzing or studying the textbook (that strikes me as head scratching).

I had to take a week off to ponder about it. I had an ambivalent moment whether or not if I should quietly drop out of DeafRead and go back to my old routine. I, unremittingly, wanted to get implicated in the Deaf community and wanted to be a team with Deaf people. To be specific, in sociocultural areas.

But with the remarks they made left me unsure as if to stay in DeafRead as a weblogger. "Team" is plausibly non-negotiable whereas it's understandable from a standpoint's perspective. This post is, beyond doubt, controversial and may lead to smearing by others. Undeniably, there is no mistake that I adore Deaf culture. I fell in love with ASL. But the quintessential problem here is: will the Deaf webloggers and posters ever accept me as a person who wants to be a team with them? Even before or after this post?

I'm not interested in swiping the jobs away from you nor exploiting your culture. All I wanted to do was to work with you as a team or maybe, a friend who geninuely cared about your culture. The question Stefanie catapulted at me haunted me for a time, "Who are you doing this for, yourself or Deaf people?"

After the ASL sessions I had with Chris and Joseph, I choose both. I did it for myself because I admired the beautiful language of ASL. I did for others inasmuch as oppression and mistreatment, incontrovertibly, need to be stopped. Some white people and black people conjoined together during the Civil Rights era to fight for their civil liberties. Many of them put aside their differences and worked together. Why can't it be said the same for hearing and Deaf people? I'm ready but are you?

Moi asked a question, "What role do hearing allies have in our community?" Maybe the question that is needed to ask, "What role is acceptable for hearing allies to be in your community?"

Lastly, but not leastly; contemned, hated and discountenanced, I still want to learn how to sign ASL, to be part of the Deaf community and do what's right for myself and the people, Chris and Joseph, who welcomed me into their world. There is a bright side, despite the remarks I endured, I stay optimistic about my presence in the Deaf community. A quote - "there is no perfect knowledge which can be entitled ours, that is innate; none but what has been obtained from experience, or derived in some way from our senses; all knowledge, at all events, is examined by these, approved by them, and finally presents itself to us firmly grounded upon some pre-existing knowledge which we possessed; because without memory there is no experience, which is nothing else than reiterated memory; in like manner memory cannot exist without endurance of the things perceived, and the thing perceived cannot remain where it has never been." - De Generatione (On the Generation of Animals) [1651], William Harvey, English physican. He's right and I couldn't say that so well myself.

Maybe I'm too naive and idealistic to hold on the contingency of being part of the Deaf community.

Annotation to lurkers, I sent the webmasters of DeafRead a letter. Given the lack of Deaf-cultural experience, I don't feel right to be a part of DeafRead but it's in their hands to decide. In face of the remarks some people made towards hearing people in general, I'm still posting what's going on in my life or what I've learn about ASL and Deaf culture. Or make some comment at Deaf weblogs to input my perspectives. Flaming, smearing, comments and constructive criticism away.

With my Sociology professor's go-ahead (and Joseph's), I have a new assignment - tracking down the rumor of "Deaf girls never say no". I just wanted to find out who and how it started. It may take a while and I may not post for some time either.

To chime in Edward R. Murrow's illustrious statement - "Good night, and good luck."

What's new: The picture posts - jibble's KiteCam, Girl-Gone-Photogenic-esque and Photo of the Month. The profile updated - Interests, Favorite Movies, Favorite Music and Favorite Books. The Motorola RAZR V3x Photo updated. Yikes!

Update - I deleted a few irrelevant statements.

jibble's KiteCam

It's xtreme! Click the photos for the videos -







jibble's KiteCam Disaster site.

Girl-Gone-Photogenic-esque

Photograph by Kaz Vitkmar, classmate and a student of Photography.

black-and-whited -


diffused -


halftoned -


watercolored -


conté crayoned -


Kaz - thank you for taking ‡¼›‹#&\P>Ž¦—£äôÀXEœ ™"ðCœ beautiful photographic effects!

Update - Kaz posted the photos at deviantART.

Photo of the Month

A concise observation of Capitalism

Captain's log, Stardate 60150.6. As a staunchly pro-capitalism student of Sociology, we live in reasonably, high level of capitalism country (America). By darwinistic nature, capitalism is a live continuous, circuitous frame of exploitation.

Deaf girls never say no (continue 2.1)

Thank you, Otto, for the elucidated comment as usual and for framing the stereotypical speculation! Otto's comment: "evidential reasoning from first-hand experience" which was heartily acquiesced upon by Chris, my former Deaf classmate and now ASL tutor. Today was my first ASL tutoring session with Chris. We had rationalized our misunderstanding that we had a few weeks ago. We agreed to put that behind us and become friends. I, surprisingly, got beautiful tulips from him as an apology for his attutide towards me, which given the consideration, I declared it justified. I had exhibited inappropriate things to him some time ago. My naivete and my mistake.

Back on topic, I summoned up my courage and met Joseph at the cafe for lunch to pry into his thoughts on the "Deaf girls never say no" topic. In truth, I reckoned that Joseph would dismiss this stereotypical speculation but outstandingly, he didn't. Anecdotally, he hadn't answered the question point-blank. He wrote pausingly, "This is an discrete opinion". Baffled, I asked him for the exposition of his statement. He gave me a soft smile and shook his head. Then, wrote down that he felt awkward to consult it with a student, especially a young woman like me about his past with Deaf women. I was disheartened but I understood his genuine concerns. He, notwithstanding, left a small note, "Ask me again when you are no longer my student. And it may be not true for other women." Short and simple. Before I left for my class, we had a pleasant chitchat about sociocultural topics (my fav subject).

Within a few hours, I met Chris at the lab for our ASL session. We both had an enjoyable time laughing at my awkardness in ASL and kooky facials. I made a promise to myself not to ask him about the "Deaf girls never say no" until the session was over. I kept it until the end and asked. Chris tightened his lips, blinked a few times, stared at me and nodded all over at once. Ostensibly he had bitter experiences with Deaf women. I pondered. He wrapped up his past about several Deaf women he liked and crushed upon. They condescendingly rejected him while they titillatingly accepted hearing men's propositions. He had thought that it was himself who had the women problems but considered how Deaf women were brutalized by hearing men yet they still kept chasing after those guys. They declined Chris's proposition every time he asked them out for a date while hearing men left them for other hearing or Deaf women. I thought to myself, it was their loss, really. He's such a cute guy. To lift his spirit up, I flirtingly teased him that I'd graciously accept if he asked me out for a date in a very, very subtle way.

But of course, as many men hadn't, he hadn't noticed the hint. Men (sigh). The bonus, although, was that it lifted his spirits.

Sorry. Where was I? Oh. Yeah. Considering the homework we had done, we chitchatted for an hour or two by pen and paper and basic ASL. On different topics including "Deaf girls never say no". I told him about Otto whom commented on my old post. Chris seconded his deduction, "Evidential reasoning from first-hand experience" and "personal experience". I, nevertheless, bickered with him that men similiarly would never say "no" to a hot bod and beautiful women. He backed off a bit. Chris proclaimed that it would be unprincipled to verify this stereotypical speculation as empirical fact.

The chitchat I had with Chris (including Otto's comment) gave me an idea; I'm going to track down the rumor or speculation of "Deaf girls never say no" because here, at the university, it's a popular concept and it needed to be narrowed down and plucked out. It gave people an erroneously impression and message. According to Joseph, there're about 30 Deaf students. Four-fifth of them are women.

What's new: The new same avatar and LTL (Language, Truth and Logic) Highlights. Most gracious thank to my roommate for adding the black and white photographic effect. I have always liked black and white photos. Note - I'm computer illiterate to the extreme.