Transcript for my vlog.
For everyone who did not understand my vlog “Open Vlog to DBC Leaders” because you aren’t fluent in ASL, I truly apologize for not having this made much sooner. Just so you know, this is a rough translation of my ASL version. I tried to stay true to the nature of my vlog and portray this through my words in English.
Note to DeafVillage: however late as this may be, I hope you guys find it in your wee hearts to forgive me for not having this done sooner. I know I was in violation of your guidelines with my vlog…I hope this makes it up 
If there are mistakes or confusion to my translation of the vlog, feel free to ask questions or leave criticism in my comment board
Vlog, my vlog can be seen here, Transcript:
Hello everyone, my name’s Ben. I would like to, in light of current debates on DBC/AGB/Deafhood, make my observations. Instead of writing them out in blogs and have misunderstandings–I think I’m better off signing in a vlog.
The thing I don’t like about DBC is their approach–I was taken aback with that–their approach do not truly represent the deaf community as a whole because they are neither accepting or open to other viewpoints/opinions. Their approach is forceful–saying you must have ASL and this is in relation to Deafhood. In deafhood, ASL is required and there are no other option in that.
Cochlear Implants are accepted but ASL must accompany it. It’s a necessity, not an option. They don’t accept those who want CI and aim to become hearing. They give out the message that one cannot be hearing. I feel that action is very oppressive–making declarations that there’s only one way and ALL of us have to accept it, the entire deaf community.
Well, let me tell you this: it’s not true.
AGBell was taken aback and felt that DBC was the enemy. The reason behind this because it was you, DBC, who made this declaration in a press release that DBC was “David” to AGB’s “Goliath,” giving out the impression that DBC is out to destroy AGB. So, you roll up your sleeves and gather together in the name of Deaf community and ASL out for AGB’s blood.
While the rest of us, the deaf community, sits there watching the whole thing unfold and asking the question if that’s really how we are. It is not our (the community’s) objective to demolish AGB. We are not “David,” that role is reserved just for you (DBC).
Have you forgotten Amy’s vlog on first impressions?
Learn from that. AGB got that impression and are shaking in fear so in retaliation, they shut DBC off. Whenever one of the members of the deaf community decides to stand up and criticize DBC, the leaders, then, respond by insulting them and shuts them off from further discussions, thinking their arguments aren’t important; thus, ignoring the criticism.
The insulting is true, the list shows: “audists,” “colonization,” “you crabs (crab theory).” and the insults goes on. On top of it all, you went as far as to insult AGB with “Nazis.”
Okay, that’s enough. Insulting is not a sign of wanting an open dialogue or discussions. Shutting others off after telling them to “listen to me” is not a way to open relations and allow room for interactions and being open for sharing ideas. Where’s the diversity in all this?
The numbers are increasing–there’s more people involved: Aidan, Mishka, Dianrez, and many others are starting to feel disturbed and all of us are saying “That’s enough, calm yourselves.” Yes, I know you want your ideas, your thinking to succeed and I fully support that but when you guys decide on behalf of all of us and then tell us all what to do and demand that we must follow it.
Chill, rein in your horses.
This is America, it’s a free country. If anyone wants to learn or benefit from this, then it is their decision. Their decision alone. This is not communism, we ALL cannot be fluent/learning ASL. Now I’m asking you guys what are you going to do about that? Ignore me?
It’s time for us the deaf community like you, you, and you. You know who you are. Now, you’re probably feeling the heat, maybe this has gone too far and we should opt for diversity and acceptance (time to voice that out, apparently I missed that in my vlog). Like when GUFSSA happened, their objective was getting the ENTIRE community to unify.
DBC prefers that we ALL go for ASL, putting aside diversity. ASL is being put out as the only way. Where is the diversity in this? Where is the acceptance for people who want CI and AVT? And still have a healthy relationship between them and the deaf community, still working together as deaf people no matter what?
Where is that?
Where is your acceptance of criticism? At getting them, when have you tried to discuss with the dissenting opinion? Instead your method of accepting criticism is to insult the dissenter. I need to hear the words from you that you guys finally understood this much to be true: there is a group of us who do disagree. Where is the openness to sharing of ideas?
That’s my beef with DBC. The deafhood leaders out there doesn’t seem to understand that. We aren’t against deaf people nor are we against ASL. We just want diversity, we want unity. We want to increase our cultural richness by welcoming CI/AVT as part of our culture/heritage.
Where diverse views, ways of lives, colleges (gally and rit), and ideas all come together in an accepted community. DBC seem to oppress that idea and not want a diverse community like I’ve pictured.
End Transcript.
Hope that this helps some of you understand my vlog a bit better
-Ben Vess
July 13th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Thanks, Ben!
I appreciate the effort and time it took for you to do a transcript of your “Open Vlog to DBC Leaders”.
Your willingness to do the transcript indicates an openness to diversity, the very subject of your vlog.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Hi Ben,
Thank you for providing a transcript! I appreciate it greatly! Waiting was definitely worth it!
July 13th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Ann_C,
For you? Anything, my dear
The whole thing about diversity got me thinking, you know. I’ve been looking into NBDA and I was a bit surprised it was around since 1981. I’m a bona-fide deaf person, and to be honest, I have never once heard of NBDA until recently. This unnerves me a bit.
Maybe I, the white, deaf fag, who writes angry blogs (ha, ha) am not doing enough reading and networking outside my spectrum. Uhm.
That’s gotta change.
mwahs! Ann. I’m more than glad to have done this for you.
-Ben
July 13th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Rachel!
Ah, it’s my pleasure. Doing this actually helps in getting the word out a bit more, eh?
Like for Ann_C, Rachel, I’d do this anytime for you.
-Ben
July 13th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Ben, what made you this way? I wonder, because I am this way too. You and I are of Deaf parents and of residential school backgrounds. What is it that makes some of us Deaf of Deaf so open to diversity within the deaf community?
It was pretty rash of John Egbert to call you a kid and DonG. agreeing with him in DonG.’s Deafhood Discourses. What they seem not to realize is that they are “over the hill” and they both had horrible oral education upbringing. You represent the current Deaf generation. Kudos to you, Ben! You inspire me.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:13 am
After read the comments from DR Hocokan’s blog about true colors of DBC members (Ella,David,Barry, Tami and John), I’ve decided to not to support DBC anymore. Thier virtual conference indicated they have a very poor leadership and lack of respects to others. Shame on them. I am not proud of these members period. I think they ought to apologize in PUBLIC for what they’ve said about others out there. Shame on them. I m going to plan on telling deaf community about thier attitude towards others. I sincerely hope that DBC will be folded.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:55 am
My, my, my!
It was Barry (DR Hocokan) who was an ex-DBC core member and posted the AIM conversation in DBCFacts site. He had resigned shortly before the conference after becoming aware of the DBC leadership’s hidden agenda. He didn’t like what was discussed or their attitudes either.
Same with Anne Marie, Dianrez, MishkaZena, and probably Deaf Pundit, who were all ex-core members of DBC.
July 13th, 2008 at 3:08 am
BTW I put in a comment to DrDonG’s blog this evening:
“Patronizing youth dates you, Professor.”
He didn’t like it apparently, because he deleted it shortly after I posted it.
*chuckle* I’m older than he is chronologically speaking, but I’m ornery-er than him.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:28 am
My problem is the repeated assertion that ASL is required in Deafhood. It is not. It is required by the DBC. There is a big difference.
First, think about it: Deafhood was coined by a British BSL user. Why would he require ASL?
Secondly, it’s not borne out by the facts. In his book Ladd defines Deafhood not as what you do or use but what you are. Your deafhood, like your sexuality, is something you become aware of, grow with, and develop over time. You might reject it, accept it, accept it but hide it, accept it and embrace it… the parallels are obvious.
A SMALL group of Deaf people in the US seem to have taken on the concept of Deafhood and turned it into this weird Deaf self-congratulatory Tony Robbins style seminar. It has nothing to do with the concept as a scientific and academic tool.
A true bilingual coalition using Deafhood as its theme would have excellence in both languages as its goal, and I see no commitment to excellence in English in this group.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:28 am
My problem is the repeated assertion that ASL is required in Deafhood. It is not. It is required by the DBC. There is a big difference.
First, think about it: Deafhood was coined by a British BSL user. Why would he require ASL?
Secondly, it’s not borne out by the facts. In his book Ladd defines Deafhood not as what you do or use but what you are. Your deafhood is something you become aware of, grow with, and develop over time. You might reject it, accept it, accept it but hide it, accept it and embrace it… the parallels are obvious.
A SMALL group of Deaf people in the US seem to have taken on the concept of Deafhood and turned it into this weird Deaf self-congratulatory Tony Robbins style seminar. It has nothing to do with the concept as a scientific and academic tool.
A true bilingual coalition using Deafhood as its theme would have excellence in both languages as its goal, and I see no commitment to excellence in English in this group.
July 13th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Ann_C
Your comment is still there! I made mine.
mwahs,
Ben
July 13th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Hey Ben,
Change the subject if you let me….
Just saw Jaime’s blog, Berke Outspoken today. I do not think she understood how people they worked with in the AIM room. Just posted and told her that she *HAVE* to know those people she worked with.
Changing the screen names are not mean anything as well as the AIM room does not help anything. I already explained to her that she cannot enter the “deafhood.seework.com” room unless you are working for DBC.
I want to point it out is that we do not know the screen names’ passwords in the computer.
I’ll be out of the loop which is starting this afternoon for two-three days. I’ll try to do my best surfing you and others, (especially, the DBC’s scandal sheet) during my timeframe.
Mwahs!
July 13th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Ann_C
he deleted mine. hah.
WG,
Berke can get over it. It is really easy to get an AIM name. so it’s not really a hassle to change these things. to be honest, in a chat like that about DBC, i would have been a bit more professional.
They shouldn’t think for one minute, they can say whatever they want. Remember the story of “The King’ Ass Ears.” Nobody in the nation knew the King had Ass ears except for the barber and the king himself.
the barber felt the secret was too great to keep and knew by the order of the king, he couldn’t tell the secret.
So one day, he decided to find a hidden corner deep somewhere in a field and he barely whispered, “The king has Ass ears.” and felt much better about it.
The next morning, the farmers and residents of the entire kingdom now could hear the lulling of the field barely whispering, “The King has ass ears…The king has ass ears…”
It was thus the whole kingdom knew and the story ends in a good note, but seriously–the morale?
if you’re famous like the king and assume you could keep a secret like that, perhaps the position isn’t right for you?
Also, isn’t that wrong? “You can’t enter deafhood.seework.com unless you’re working for DBC?!” shouldn’t it be dbc.seework.com?
uhmph.
I need to do a vlog in response to Tar’s…I’m afraid to because I don’t want to hurt his feelings, uhmph!
my vlogs makes me nervous lol.
-Ben
July 13th, 2008 at 8:30 am
I understand.
Do your best.
What I saw Tar’s recent vlog, he made off of the point in a huge way. He does not mention what you were talking about.
Jaime can get over it. The FBI can get the AIM pretty easily. Makes no difference.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Ben, I left a very short comment on DrD’s blog… that “true teachers learn from students who often are younger than them.”
I am appalled at Dr.Don’s attitude… he should acknowledge the commenters instead of talking down to them.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Ann_C and Karen,
Thank you for your support on DonG’s site. I’m done talking to him.
he chose not to get it. What can I do?
-Ben
July 13th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Leave Don alone… he made his choice.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Yep, I agree.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Best thing we can do these days is wave DBC good luck on their kamikaze mission using cherry blossoms.
July 13th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Ben,
“DBC prefers that we ALL go for ASL, putting aside diversity. ASL is being put out as the only way. Where is the diversity in this? Where is the acceptance for people who want CI and AVT? And still have a healthy relationship between them and the deaf community, still working together as deaf people no matter what?”
I agree that DBC needs more transparency about its affairs and needs to stick with bi-lingualism as envisioned in the first place, not letting Deafhood getting in the way of its important messages for parents of deaf babies and deaf young children. If you really wanted to have diversity as you have mentioned above, DBC isn’t the right organization for you. Bi-lingualism involves both ASL and English in our country.
Hearing babies have been encouraged to use ASL for better communications with their parents and for so many other benefits as well. Remember that the official position of AGB for many decades directs deaf babies not to use sign language for fear that they lose their ability to use speech and lipread. If if ASL is good for hearing babies, then deaf babies deserve to have full access to ASL!!
That’s what DBC is all about. It’s not about Deafhood. If you are still demanding diversity, that’s another issue that would only confound all parents with deaf children.
We need to separate two issues — (1) AGB and its position and (2) hearing parents who need to know about ASL. I noticed that the new president of AGB in an interview at the end of DBC conference welcomes ASL but would not make any decisions for parents. That’s correct! That’s an encouraging news. We don’t need to be bashing AGB and give wrong messages to the public.
I have faith in DBC leadership to learn a bit and be better for it. :-))
Dean