A Deaf perspective

[ReBecca]

Goodness, that person scares me!  I'm not broke, and I don't wanna be fixed!
Argh!!!!

-----Original Message-----
From: SignWriting List [mailto:SW-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA]On Behalf Of Dan
Parvaz
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2004 9:06 AM
To: SW-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA
Subject: Re: A Deaf perspective


> And finally, I found a website that was heavily biased toward English
> literacy for deaf.  It was also very negative towards interpreters.
> It  ºý  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.