Interview with Hee-Kyung Cho "Choy" of South Korea and Board Member of World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section about the push for deaf rights in South Korea.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Military Eligibity, Disability, and Social Programs
Before I begin this post, I apologize sincerely for opening up such a can of worms. I am not sure about what kind of role SSDI plays in the life of people with disabilities outside the deaf community but I will write based on my knowledge of the issue within the deaf community.
What propelled me to think about this issue critically and through the lens of disability rights was my chat with a LC (Legislative Counsel) from outside my office this week. We were talking about my internship experience and how educational it is for me. I said that I had originally entered the office with only two areas of policy interest but now I had broadened to three more areas of policy interest. I mentioned Foreign Affairs as one of the new policy interests and we talked about the difference between Defense and Foreign Affairs. I said that I'm not interested in Defense or military issues because I truthfully don't know very much about the area. Since I'm deaf, I'm not eligible for military service and neither are many in the deaf community so the subject has become rather distant to me. After we finished talking, I walked into the elevator and started thinking about military eligibility and the disability community.
There are some knowledge that you gain from in the classrooms, the books, and the media. And then there are some knowledge that you gain from mere interaction, from social contact, and from cultural sensibilities. It is hard to trace back the original source when your information comes from this second set of knowledge because it's like “you've always known that.”
Growing up, I always knew that the deaf were not allowed to serve in the military and the same is probably true of other disabilities. The only mention of disability in conjunction with military is mostly of disabled veterans. Later on, when I went off to college and many of my friends also did – many people I knew flocked to the SSDI office. The broad-swinging justification for these kind of programs being available to the deaf was because of 2 things: A) Difficulty getting jobs as a deaf person and B) Ineligible for military enlistment.
I can definitely vouch for the A reason. I remember all too well when as a 16-year-old I tried to get a summer job and was continually denied applications at places espousing “HIRING NOW!” signs. Even today, many deaf people get jobs through tips in the community. As a deaf person it's hard to just “walk in and apply for a job.” And the military enlistment is true as well. When you enlist in the military, you get benefits. And we the deaf don't get a chance at that. So the Social Security programs are there to “fill in the gap” of in-equal opportunities.
However, the problem that these kind of programs creates for the deaf community is that it creates a sort of financial pacifier. Rather than suing the workplaces that deny employment and opening up the job market to be more deaf-friendly, deaf people know that there's the SSDI option.
Do we really want to be in this kind of situation? The answer is a flat NO. There are plenty of deaf people I know who have stated that they WANT to serve in the military and WOULD if they were not ineligible. There are no reasons why deaf people can't serve at home bases and contribute their assets in other areas of service else than combat. Regarding employment, I happen to know of a person who was late deafened in his 20s and he lost his job as a waiter along with his hearing. We do go out and look for jobs but more often than not, doors are closed.
Traditionally, deaf people have responded to such job discrimination by creating conclaves where they employ each other. Over 100 years ago, when deaf people were denied insurance – they all got together and established the first deaf insurance company in 1901. We have places of employment where it is more deaf friendly such as education, telecommunications, and certain businesses. Our culture is all about reaching out and helping each other out. But it's time to reach outward rather than inward and push for change.
I've always espoused social programs as important and necessary but at the same time, the job market needs to be opened up enough that social programs are the “safety net” not the “first resort.” The more people are on financial pacifiers, more tax money are being spent by the government rather than more tax money being paid towards the government.
More opportunities need to be created for accessibility in the job market and the military. Here is an interesting reading on deaf people serving in the Israeli military. Remember, the change most often begins at the top – at the government – and that's where we need to “pack” (taking a page out of FDR's book) ourselves in for professional careers.
What propelled me to think about this issue critically and through the lens of disability rights was my chat with a LC (Legislative Counsel) from outside my office this week. We were talking about my internship experience and how educational it is for me. I said that I had originally entered the office with only two areas of policy interest but now I had broadened to three more areas of policy interest. I mentioned Foreign Affairs as one of the new policy interests and we talked about the difference between Defense and Foreign Affairs. I said that I'm not interested in Defense or military issues because I truthfully don't know very much about the area. Since I'm deaf, I'm not eligible for military service and neither are many in the deaf community so the subject has become rather distant to me. After we finished talking, I walked into the elevator and started thinking about military eligibility and the disability community.
There are some knowledge that you gain from in the classrooms, the books, and the media. And then there are some knowledge that you gain from mere interaction, from social contact, and from cultural sensibilities. It is hard to trace back the original source when your information comes from this second set of knowledge because it's like “you've always known that.”
Growing up, I always knew that the deaf were not allowed to serve in the military and the same is probably true of other disabilities. The only mention of disability in conjunction with military is mostly of disabled veterans. Later on, when I went off to college and many of my friends also did – many people I knew flocked to the SSDI office. The broad-swinging justification for these kind of programs being available to the deaf was because of 2 things: A) Difficulty getting jobs as a deaf person and B) Ineligible for military enlistment.
I can definitely vouch for the A reason. I remember all too well when as a 16-year-old I tried to get a summer job and was continually denied applications at places espousing “HIRING NOW!” signs. Even today, many deaf people get jobs through tips in the community. As a deaf person it's hard to just “walk in and apply for a job.” And the military enlistment is true as well. When you enlist in the military, you get benefits. And we the deaf don't get a chance at that. So the Social Security programs are there to “fill in the gap” of in-equal opportunities.
However, the problem that these kind of programs creates for the deaf community is that it creates a sort of financial pacifier. Rather than suing the workplaces that deny employment and opening up the job market to be more deaf-friendly, deaf people know that there's the SSDI option.
Do we really want to be in this kind of situation? The answer is a flat NO. There are plenty of deaf people I know who have stated that they WANT to serve in the military and WOULD if they were not ineligible. There are no reasons why deaf people can't serve at home bases and contribute their assets in other areas of service else than combat. Regarding employment, I happen to know of a person who was late deafened in his 20s and he lost his job as a waiter along with his hearing. We do go out and look for jobs but more often than not, doors are closed.
Traditionally, deaf people have responded to such job discrimination by creating conclaves where they employ each other. Over 100 years ago, when deaf people were denied insurance – they all got together and established the first deaf insurance company in 1901. We have places of employment where it is more deaf friendly such as education, telecommunications, and certain businesses. Our culture is all about reaching out and helping each other out. But it's time to reach outward rather than inward and push for change.
I've always espoused social programs as important and necessary but at the same time, the job market needs to be opened up enough that social programs are the “safety net” not the “first resort.” The more people are on financial pacifiers, more tax money are being spent by the government rather than more tax money being paid towards the government.
More opportunities need to be created for accessibility in the job market and the military. Here is an interesting reading on deaf people serving in the Israeli military. Remember, the change most often begins at the top – at the government – and that's where we need to “pack” (taking a page out of FDR's book) ourselves in for professional careers.
BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Commentary on Sign Language and Accessibility
First of all, I would like to proclaim that I have not reneged on my promises of “transcript coming!” on some vlogs. Transcripts are UP and posted for some vlogs that I updated in hurry without translation. You may go back to them and check out the English words. I work hard to transcribe my vlogs but due to my being in school full time, being active in extracurricular, working a job, and volunteering in spare time... the sad truth is that sometimes time doesn’t permit me to do that for every single vlog. Those are the times when I ask for volunteers to help out. There are still videos left that need to be transcribed.
As I repeatedly emphasized, two-way accessibility is extremely important. If we want to get accessibility in the world, we must open ourselves up to the world as well.
We the deaf consider ourselves a linguistic minority with our sign language. More than anything, our life experience, culture, and barriers are all bound inexorably to language rather than our hearing status. A deaf child who does not have access to proper language acquisition ultimately will not have access to better education and life opportunities. True, I’ll say frankly that I was born profoundly D-E-A-F but I’ll also be the first to tell you that if not for sign language and bilingualism – I would be reduced to something that society would want to “fix.” With the light of sign language, the deaf and the disabled have a formidable weapon against the ideas of eugenics, of a “perfect human race” that isn’t necessary and best left behind with Hitler’s demise.
This blog originally began because I wanted to update my family and friends on what I was doing at Democratic National Convention. Even though I’m proud that many members of my extended family know sign language, some of them do not know sign language. Should they be left out of the loop and be reduced to the same level of frustration looking at my moving hands as deaf people looking at hearing people speak with their soundless lips? No. Because I know far too well the frustration of the lack of accessibility on the internet, I refused to let any one fall victim to this impediment on my own little niche in the internet. No one deserves to be left out.
Quid pro quo. The loose translation for the Latin expression is “you give me something, I give you something.” We give the world accessibility to our community, our language, and our unique perspective. In return, everybody understands more why accessibility is so important for everybody.
From the political perspective: Enough is enough. It’s time for the deaf community to stop being insular and think broadly in making an impact in the world through voting, volunteering, and connecting to our elected leaders. It’s time for the rest of the world to realize that the deaf community has powerful and untapped potential for major grassroots impact. To the politicians- Eleven million. Don’t be ignorant. Win our vote.
And I’d like to give a heartfelt BIG Thank-You to volunteers Victoria Calaman for transcribing the International vlogs and to Raychelle Harris’ interpreting class for transcribing the rest of the vlogs.
VLOGS with transcripts
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2008/08/important-deafcampaign2008-status-on.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2008/11/leah-katz-hernandez-in-back-room.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2008/11/turnout-at-election-watch-party.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2009/03/international-deaf-perspective-spain.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2009/02/international-deaf-perspective-denmark.html
As I repeatedly emphasized, two-way accessibility is extremely important. If we want to get accessibility in the world, we must open ourselves up to the world as well.
We the deaf consider ourselves a linguistic minority with our sign language. More than anything, our life experience, culture, and barriers are all bound inexorably to language rather than our hearing status. A deaf child who does not have access to proper language acquisition ultimately will not have access to better education and life opportunities. True, I’ll say frankly that I was born profoundly D-E-A-F but I’ll also be the first to tell you that if not for sign language and bilingualism – I would be reduced to something that society would want to “fix.” With the light of sign language, the deaf and the disabled have a formidable weapon against the ideas of eugenics, of a “perfect human race” that isn’t necessary and best left behind with Hitler’s demise.
This blog originally began because I wanted to update my family and friends on what I was doing at Democratic National Convention. Even though I’m proud that many members of my extended family know sign language, some of them do not know sign language. Should they be left out of the loop and be reduced to the same level of frustration looking at my moving hands as deaf people looking at hearing people speak with their soundless lips? No. Because I know far too well the frustration of the lack of accessibility on the internet, I refused to let any one fall victim to this impediment on my own little niche in the internet. No one deserves to be left out.
Quid pro quo. The loose translation for the Latin expression is “you give me something, I give you something.” We give the world accessibility to our community, our language, and our unique perspective. In return, everybody understands more why accessibility is so important for everybody.
From the political perspective: Enough is enough. It’s time for the deaf community to stop being insular and think broadly in making an impact in the world through voting, volunteering, and connecting to our elected leaders. It’s time for the rest of the world to realize that the deaf community has powerful and untapped potential for major grassroots impact. To the politicians- Eleven million. Don’t be ignorant. Win our vote.
And I’d like to give a heartfelt BIG Thank-You to volunteers Victoria Calaman for transcribing the International vlogs and to Raychelle Harris’ interpreting class for transcribing the rest of the vlogs.
VLOGS with transcripts
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2008/08/important-deafcampaign2008-status-on.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2008/11/leah-katz-hernandez-in-back-room.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2008/11/turnout-at-election-watch-party.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2009/03/international-deaf-perspective-spain.html
http://deafcampaign2008.blogspot.com/2009/02/international-deaf-perspective-denmark.html
Sunday, March 8, 2009
International Deaf Perspective: Austria
I have a conversation with Florian Gravogl of Austria. It is about the interesting subject of elected officials who are deaf. The Austrian parliament has recently passed a measure requiring a deaf parliament member!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
International Deaf Perspective: Spain
I have a conversation with World Federation for the Deaf Youth Section board member Roberto Sanchez about deaf organizations in Spain.
TRANSCRIPT:
Leah: (to audience) Hello. We are here in SOVA Wine and Espresso bar for this fundraising event to support Global Reach Out (GRO) so their delegates can go to other counties and help them out. Now, I introduce Roberto Suarez. I have questions for him.
Leah: (to Roberto) What is your position?
Roberto: I am a board member of World Federation of Deaf Youth Section (WFDYS). You already told my name. My name sign is (‘D’ move up and down by the nose). I am from Spain.
Leah: Spain, oh. Welcome to America. I am happy to have you here.
Roberto: Thank you.
Leah: Spain associations, what do they lobby the government for? What do they do?
Roberto: The most important event was in 2007 when the government recognized Spanish Sign Language as a language. This was a huge step in the history. In the past two years, the law has been polishing. For examples, there must be bilingual in education, captions must be 100% accessible.
Leah: Good.
Roberto: And interpreter services must be provided. The goal is to remove barriers.
Leah. Good. Good. I am happy about that. Spain is a big country. How many Deaf associations are there?
Roberto: We have three structures. The associations that represent Spain have 17 federation members. In each federation association regions, there are smaller associations. There are 130 associations. So, in total of all associations in Spain, there are around 150 associations.
Leah: Wow. That is many. Do deaf people get involved in politics or not?
Roberto: Well, the society has changed a lot. It is very different than in the past. Nowadays, deaf lives are more accessible and have more choices. So being involved in associations isn’t as important. The numbers of member are down because deaf lives have more accessibility. In the old days, when barriers weren’t broken, associations were the only places for information. Now deaf people can get news anywhere so their focus in associations are less.
Leah: Yes. Good. Okay, last question – you are from Spain and you see America voted for Obama. What do you think?
Roberto: My personal opinion, I think this is positive.
Leah: Positive?
Roberto: Yes, positive because this is liberal, democracy, sorry I don’t know the word in English. Just like Spain, it means that the opinions of people are important and valued, opposed to governments’ opinions. Plus, because Obama is black, it means that his heart is big. He can understand and relate with people and help serving them for the better.
Leah: Good. Interesting perspective. Thank you.
Leah: (to audience) It is interesting to see different international deaf perspectives on politics.
Leah: (to Roberto) Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Roberto: Likewise. Thank you.
Leah: (to audience) Thank you.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Political Involvement of Deaf Chinese: The People's Republic of China
Hello everyone!
Please allow myself to welcome you again. My name is Toronja and last month, I posted my blog entries of my experiences at both of the Presidential Inauguration and University Presidential Inauguration Conference (UPIC) in Washington, DC. Today, I am making the international "deaf perspective" on politics a main focus in this blog segment, it becomes critical that we cover about the political involvement of Deaf Chinese of the People's Republic of China.
As a former scholar in the International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP) Delegation on Diplomacy & International Relations in China in spring 2007, I visited cities in China such as Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. During my 15 days of duration there, I learned about the International Politics and China's global impact and role in International in several workshops and lectures sponsored by the Chinese colleges and universities and government programs. Thus, they were all beneficial, informative and interesting for me.
One afternoon, I had the opportunity to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. At this workshop, I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi questions about the Deaf participation in the political process in the country. He explained to me that since the Deaf Chinese were unable to gain quality education and to secure qualified jobs, they were, therefore, unable to participate in the political process of convincing the government officials to change and enact the laws. Most importantly, the Deaf Chinese did not have the right necessary amount of political information they needed in order to be part of the political process. Many of these Deaf Chinese individuals were not aware about the importance of becoming more assertive in forming and making political decisions in forums, schools, and governments as well.
In such a situation similar to this, they were most likely to become inactive in political process in other places such as the United Nations. Therefore, the Deaf Chinese were indeed suffering from inequality and inability to gain access to political information. I remember at one point, the internet did not have political information accessible for pc users. This example showed how the government controlled the amount of political information that citizens could receive.
We need to come together to exchange information about showing the Deaf Chinese the importance of becoming more politically involved in the political process in their countries as citizens. I look forward to sharing more of the perspective of Deaf Chinese in China in the next coming days and providing you valuable information about the importance of helping these Deaf Chinese to seek and gain political information in order for them to have a successful political turnout which come from their political involvement. Finally, I leave enough space for everyone to opine here. Your voices of thoughts and opinons count!
Stay healthy and come back again!
Toronja-
Please allow myself to welcome you again. My name is Toronja and last month, I posted my blog entries of my experiences at both of the Presidential Inauguration and University Presidential Inauguration Conference (UPIC) in Washington, DC. Today, I am making the international "deaf perspective" on politics a main focus in this blog segment, it becomes critical that we cover about the political involvement of Deaf Chinese of the People's Republic of China.
As a former scholar in the International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP) Delegation on Diplomacy & International Relations in China in spring 2007, I visited cities in China such as Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. During my 15 days of duration there, I learned about the International Politics and China's global impact and role in International in several workshops and lectures sponsored by the Chinese colleges and universities and government programs. Thus, they were all beneficial, informative and interesting for me.
One afternoon, I had the opportunity to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. At this workshop, I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi questions about the Deaf participation in the political process in the country. He explained to me that since the Deaf Chinese were unable to gain quality education and to secure qualified jobs, they were, therefore, unable to participate in the political process of convincing the government officials to change and enact the laws. Most importantly, the Deaf Chinese did not have the right necessary amount of political information they needed in order to be part of the political process. Many of these Deaf Chinese individuals were not aware about the importance of becoming more assertive in forming and making political decisions in forums, schools, and governments as well.
In such a situation similar to this, they were most likely to become inactive in political process in other places such as the United Nations. Therefore, the Deaf Chinese were indeed suffering from inequality and inability to gain access to political information. I remember at one point, the internet did not have political information accessible for pc users. This example showed how the government controlled the amount of political information that citizens could receive.
We need to come together to exchange information about showing the Deaf Chinese the importance of becoming more politically involved in the political process in their countries as citizens. I look forward to sharing more of the perspective of Deaf Chinese in China in the next coming days and providing you valuable information about the importance of helping these Deaf Chinese to seek and gain political information in order for them to have a successful political turnout which come from their political involvement. Finally, I leave enough space for everyone to opine here. Your voices of thoughts and opinons count!
Stay healthy and come back again!
Toronja-
Monday, February 23, 2009
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