A Hearing Newcomer Sees Through Fernandes Supporter’s Actions

I met this exceptionally intelligent and articulate young lady few weeks ago in another blog. She is currently taking an ASL course and very motivated to learn about deaf culture. I’ve always enjoyed our correspondence.

Several days ago I came across her blog and as usual she got it pretty much pegged.  elizabeth

 

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Reductio ad Fernandesum

Per the posts at the other weblogs and my comments at the DeafDC.com, I have some thoughts on the speculation and discussion of “ism” and “Fernandes isn’t Deaf enough”.

The truth is, before I came here in America, the concept of racism was thoroughly foreign to me. To construe what I mean, there were racists and racism movement in Europe without any doubt, but racism wasn’t a hot button or a cowboy-like quick draw modus operandi in Europe as in it is here in America. It wasn’t my intention to offend everyone but I had observed that some politically-enthusiastic people from both sides used racism or maybe, “audism”, as a effective weapon to neutralize the opponents’ argument before they can turn to their real issues. I’m not arguing that racism or “audism” is a non-issue, it’s a real issue and all that, but sometimes, it was just a cowboy-like quick draw modus operandi for them to neutralize the opponents, to silence them. For me, sexism and anti-semitism (I’m a Jew) is more perceptually sensitive than others but I rarely exploited it as a hot button unless someone else tried to use “ism” to invalidate their opponents’ arguments. My argument doesn’t apply to Kristi Merriweather’s exceptional counter-argument but in general. I’ll admit that, like some Jews, I have a flaw: the transparent abhorrence of Nazis and pro-Nazism fellows.

Coincidentally, recently Stefanie, my best friend — unlike me, she reads all Deaf weblogs and comments — formed a new argument word, “Reductio ad Fernandesum” as to refer to some anti-Gallaudet protest group. The definition of that argument word is: “whoever attempts to initiate the real issues in the argument in reference to Fernandes’ paradoxical [or ineffectual as others may say] leadership unhesitatingly would be neutralized or silenced by some opponents by commenting, ‘You told us that she isn’t Deaf enough! You told us that she didn’t learn ASL until her twenties!’”. Lately, Reductio ad Fernandesum is a patterned argument or, I daresay, their favorite hot button.

Thank to some webloggers, I’ve read the old articles on the May and October protest. I understand that there were only a few non-leader bystanders who commented that Fernandes wasn’t Deaf enough or she didn’t learn ASL until her twenties. Out of nowhere, anti-Gallaudet protest people and media carried on like it was Jesus’s holy sermons everywhere. FSSA and various people repeated themselves like a broken record that it wasn’t the “Fernandes isn’t Deaf enough” issue but some anti-Gallaudet protest groups feverishly chanted on anyway to disperse their opponents’ argument.

Can’t people from the both sides just sit down, cross-legged, drink some hot coffee or tea and discuss without turning to the “ism” and “Reductio ad Fernandesum” argument for one day or one week?

As Chris, my Deaf friend and ASL tutor from my university, told me today in ASL and on PnP [pen and paper]- “Do you know what’s sadder about the anti-Gallaudet protest people? You’re a hearing woman and you get it why protesters are fighting for Gallaudet and its fate while some deaf people don’t. You’re hearing. Hearing without deaf background and yet you get it while other deaf people don’t. Please tell me that we’re in the Bizarro world.” It took him a while to clarify what “Bizarro world” meant and for me to understand what he meant. It was a superman comic reference.

While I enthusiastically care about Deaf culture and Gallaudet for various reasons, I’m aware and realized that I’m a hearing outsider. Thus it’s presumptively the best thing for me to leave this discussion whether or not Fernandes is a right or amoral leader for Gallaudet and leave it to d/Deaf to ponder it.

Unity for Gallaudet. Protesters, luv you all.

This post predictably might generate some vilifying comments so the moderation is on. Suitable criticism or acknowledgments will be validated. Other than that, don’t bother to leave vicious attacks.

I cannot wait for the lecture to start. It’s only a few hours to go (at 8:00pm PST). I’m doing some homework, once I’m done and still have some extra time, I will respond to emails.

Posted by Jean at 5:59 PM 6 comments