A Deaf perspective

[Dan Parvaz]

> And finally, I found a website that was heavily biased toward English 
> literacy for deaf.  It was also very negative towards interpreters.  
> It ª± called Deafwin and the address is http://www.deafwin.com.

Wow. Talk about opinionated hearing people who want to force their 
views on the Deaf. His website reads like a xeroxed conspiracy-theory 
rant sheet, full of nameless people, unmentionable agencies, and a 
coordinated effort to keep his miracle cure out of the hands of the 
deaf masses. If he were selling a medical product, I'd be quacking all 
the way home. I found myself rapidly not caring about the no-doubt 
decent ideas buried in the noise.

Point of comparison: Val is a hearing person with an idea. She has been 
unrelentingly upbeat for, oh, as long as I've known her... which was 
back in the day when the Sign Writer was distributed to Orange County 
libraries with articles in English and Danish signed languages. She has 
responded to stiff criticism of her work, not by writing long, 
unibomberesqe essays but by talking with Deaf people and asking for 
their input and support. She provided free software and free materials 
-- an insane business model? -- and has stayed afloat. With the advent 
of the internet, she put together an award-winning website, enlisted 
open-source programming help, and has found folks in the research 
community who think she has something to offer not found in other 
transcription systems.

The contrast is instructive, no?

-Dan.