DeafDC.com Response to Recent Criticism of E-Communique
By DeafDC.com on Sat 7 Oct 2006 |
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On October 6th, an e-communique was sent to our readership reminding them of the October 7th DPHH event in Arlington.
Included was language that suggested that individuals may want to forgo protesting activities at Gallaudet and instead, attend DPHH.
With 16 pool tables, seven dartboards, two patios and plenty of space for bumpin’ around with your DPHH buddies, Carpool offers more fun activities than sleeping in a rain-soaked tent!
We take full responsibility and offer our sincerest apologies.
We, at DeafDC.com, fully support the FSSA Coalition’s constitutional right to free expression.
© Copyrighted material. This article cannot be copied, reproduced or redistributed without the express written consent of the author. As with every blog on this website, this blog does not reflect the opinion of DeafDC.com.
33 Comments
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While forgiving your mistake is in order, how can it be allowed to happen in the first place? I understand that DPHH is run by DeafDC and this may indicate a ulterior motive when attempting to distract the attention.
An apology was made after the fact they had the event. If not had the words gone around where people got upset, would DeafDC be posting this? Nevertheless, I appreciate DeafDC’s sincere apology.
Apology for what? Is DPHH some how obligated to support the protest? From what I’ve seen on deafDC each blogger has his/her own opinion on the issues at Gallaudet.
As Katherine said, your apology is appreciated. However, Gallaudet is in a severe crisis, regardless of your perspective of the events. And to ask people to abandon Gallaudet is unacceptable. We, as members of the Deaf community, and many of us alumni of Gallaudet, have a responsibility to do what we can to help resolve this crisis. A call to go elsewhere was not in the best judgment.
Again, thank you for your apology.
What is the Crisis? and what is the platform for the protest?
i thought the “rain soaked tent” joke was really funny. it acknowledged that many people in the deaf community are keeping tabs on what’s happening at gallaudet, and that those who are not actively involved in the on-campus protest activities may want to get together OFF campus to chat socially about the current events happening on campus.
there is more than one way to support people’s right to free expression — it can be done without moving in to tent city. the community is abuzz about the protest, whether we as individuals are actively involved in the protest from the heart of campus or not — indeed, whether they are in favor of the protest or not. it’s still a hot topic, and everyone has the right to say whatever they want abou it.
i thought the dphh communique joke was aimed mostly at people who want to get together socially, who are NOT currently living in tent city, but who nonetheless are likely to include gallaudet events as a major topic of conversation at dphh.
humor is an important tool in emotionally-charged times. it’s okay to be witty!
Excellent post Gally Grad. It saddens me to think that just because malfoy declares it in bad form, DeafDC apologizes. At least that’s what malfoy says on his blog-that they apologized BECAUSE he objected.
Gally Grad, you’re too easily humored. Regina, you’re too easily saddened.
DeafDC.com has a reputation among certain circles, hopefully undeserved, for being apathetic towards various issues of concern to the ASL-signing community. So you see how this attempt at humor can be interpreted as dissing the protestors.
I’m saddened? It’s a figure of speech. Just as I know his name isn’t really Malfoy. cheers.
A figure of speech? If you say so, Hermione.
Hmm, not sure I see myself as a Hermione…:-)
I really hope you will never make the same mistake again in the future because that comment truly got me angry.
very angry.
Be angry. I think it’s funny, and they shouldn’t have apologized for THEIR exercise of freedom of speech.
It is one thing to advertise the DPHH event, but it’s another thing to use a language to suggest others to forgo the protest in one’s advertisement. If they were neutral, surely, people have a right to choose which event to attend.
As for freedom of speech, just because one asserts their freedom of speech doesn’t mean the next person cannot exercise the same right to disagree. People have a right to express their anger or disappointment, like Maureen did, just as much as others who disagreed, like you who thought it was funny.
^__^, Deafdc.com is known as “apathetic”? That surprises me. I’m hoping that was an error in your choice of words. Deafdc has not shown itself to be “apathetic” - maybe you are attributing “apathetic” to the whole site because of a few posts by a couple of people but it’s not fair to tack that word to the whole site.
I actually think deafdc is realistic with a splash of funny. It’s ok to be funny. It’s ok to chuckle at serious things. You cannot expect everybody to be serious all of the time. If you really were “angry” about this, Maureen, then go yell at those protestors laughing and playing around. It makes ME angry to see people like you get all righteous and on your high horse when your own protestors are hypocritical enough to make this protest a joke.
I hope deafdc will make the same mistake again in the future because that comment truly got me happy.
Very happy.
Yes, this website is apathetic. One needs to look at what kind of individuals that mingled. ’nuff said.
R-
Thus spake Malfoy.
Ridor.. I mean, Pot, take a good hard look at your own website. At least this site writes about interesting stuff. I would rather this site was accused of apathy than being labeled as the deaf version of the National Enquirer that your site is.
Oh and ummm… mingled? Huh? *thumbs through Merriam-Webster* Definition of mingle: to bring or mix together or with something else usually without fundamental loss of identity.
Stop using your thesaurus. It isn’t working for you.
I have agree with you said because he thought he is a intellegence person.
My grammar isn’t great.
MH, my blog attracted a large readership because it is simple thing to read. Simple thing to follow. It is good enough for others to be part of.
Whereas, this blog aspired to be something that does not exist at all. All I see is bickering and putdowns on each other. It is amusing to read others’ comments.
At least I do not hide behind my own name. But you do, along with many others.
Cowardice is perhaps the only defense you ever will have against the ordinary people like me.
Chris H, I never claimed to be intelligent nor cared about it. As long as I get my message across, that is all it matters. Like it or not, my blog averaged more than 15,000 hits since the protests started. Says a lot, though.
R-
R-
I planned not to attend the DPHH event last Friday, but several friends of mine asked me to come down. I did not see the DPHH message at all which I never receive it at all. If I know earlier before the DPHH. I did get the feelings before coming down to the DPHH and had to meet my friends. I wish that I didn’t!
I would not show up at all. Not really many deaf individuals coming to the DPHH last Friday night. That would be about 50+ people.
I was kinda distressed that you, Rob Rice, didn’t warmly embrace me or said the usual “Hi” to me and other attendees. I questioned your intention that night
Rob Rice doesn’t say Hi too? Cronyism!!
This is ridiculous. Why should deafdc have to apologize? Its events are meant for deaf and hard of hearing professionals, in case someone forgot. NOT Gallaudet students, though they are welcome. I do not attend deafdc events personally, but I would hope they are not merely an excuse for college kids to party - that they actually attract the professionals. Not only that, but not every deaf person’s life revolves around Gallaudet and what happens there. I find I get more than enough information from this website - I really don’t find the need to blog-hop out of curiousity. I appreciate this website because I never know what I am going to find on a blog when I check in. There’s a good variety and that is the way it should be. Variety does not mean apathetic.
Don’t tell me other people are hung up on this
“(insert name) ..didn’t say hi” crap. (Groaning.)
Again, no apologies needed.
Newbie, you do not know the full picture of what really happened for past few months since the Gally protest with Rob Rice.
I usually have a warm respect for Rob Rice as a decent person, but could see thru his behavior and attitude from time to time. I speak positively of Rob Rice to another Gally male student of who and what he is all about, etc.
Why can’t Rob Rice just say the couresty of saying goodbyes or quick hi’s to anyone attended the DPHH last night. The very small crowd for the DPHH ever.
Many deaf individuals told me over past year how upset they were with Rob Rice for choosing the DPHH sites, especially in DC without adjacent parking spaces or right vibes.
Many deaf individuals and I already lost the interests in DPHH. I was much willing to give the DPHH a chance due to the recent Gally protest controvesty. I could not set on the Gallaudet campus because of phony accusations.
The host of any event ought to embrace attendees with small chitchats or say quick hi’s. Rob Rice is really a nice guy which I could not possibly hate him for who and what he is.
I did question Rob Rice’s agenda lately for few months with the Gally protest situations. I somewhat get the vibes about Rob every time I bump into him.
RLM, sorry I didn’t get to say hello as I usually do. I’ll be sure to look for you next time!
I thought it would be helpful to provide some clarification regarding the DPHH venue selection process.
The selection process is really not easy. It is even sometimes stressful! There are criteria including:
* The location must be near Metro in an effort to accommodate wheelchair users and those who are without automobile transportation. We also don’t want people to drink and drive.
* The building must be accessible for wheelchair users.
* The location must be large enough to accommodate 150+ people. September, our most popular month, saw over 300+ patrons and we were fortunate to have such a large outdoor space for everyone to congregrate. (And there really aren’t that many big bars in the DC area too!)
* We call up the venues to see if they have friendly management who agree to have extra pen and paper available at the bars. We also ask that management inform their bartenders upfront of our arrival so that they can be prepared.
* Whenever possible, we look for non-smoking bars or bars that have non-smoking areas. MD selections are easy because Montgomery County has a ban on smoking in bars. I believe DC will have this ban starting January 2007 - and I’m not sure about VA.
I hope this helps. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy last night’s event. I think some months are slow for reasons like the weather, etc. And some months are just busy for no reason at all.
I hope to see you next month!
Why are you apologizing, Rob? These events are NOT a private party hosted by you, are they? Maybe you had a bad day? Maybe you were preoccupied by other stuff? That’s okay. I was never under the impression that you were the official host of these events. While you do have a big connection to deafdc, it does not mean you have to go out and shake the hand of every soul who shows up at some social event.
RLM quit the “Rob didn’t say hi to me”, boo hoo hoo stuff. It’s childish.
DeafDC.com, Rob and/or Shane did the right thing by taking the high road and apologizing.
It was an attempt at humor but the timing was just bad. I found their previous e-Communique saying, “DPHH says Hi!” even funnier! It shows that they’re smart and witty. We need more of this.
We should remember to be thankful and not critical.
Without Rob’s leadership, DC would not have DPHH nor would we have a wonderfully progressive website like DeafDC.com. It can be argued that the quality of life for Deaf DC’ers is higher with DeafDC.
The balanced set of bloggers here are diverse, smart, beautiful writers, and from all walks of life. You are like a think tank.
And there’s Shane who I personally know. How DeafDC.com managed to hire him away from NAD is beyond me but it goes to show just how good DeafDC.com is. Keep up the godo work.
I only wish we could hear more from Alison, Chris, Bobby, Oscar and anyone else I’m missing. But we all know why they can’t say a damn thing about the protest. They work at Gallaudet and have their hands tied.
Good post lawyer.
the email didnt bug me one bit. Think about it, there ARE people here who don’t care about the protest. While i’m not out to offend anyone, needless to say, there are people in the area that never went to Gally for school, yet step on the campus only once or twice a year.
I have no interest in the protest, and yet knowing my dark sense of morbid humor, i laughed at the little witty joke. Those of you who are fuming over it, well, chill out. No need to be uptight over it all the time or yet blowing a vein in your head. :D
I accept your apology, Rob! I do understand completely how difficult for the DeafDC staffers scouting for the right DPHH gathering site via parking spaces and non-smoking environment.
You, Rob and other DPHH committee members always try the best as all of you could do for the deaf DC community. Let’s set up the DeafDC suggestion box for DPHH location via specific description of facility itself, street address, enclosed pics if possible and other related information. So all of you could rake the incoming suggestions and find the pulse of what the deaf attendees really want from the DPHH gathering sites. Thanks!
How true about people nowaday get politically and socially sensitive about little things, Regina! We have to put up our attenta (”dar” = radar) what we find the right thing to say or something would explode in our faces. Yeech!
Macabre humor seems out of style right now! We seems living in the world of pretenders so far! Rob and Shane do the very savvy thing(s) like assuring all of us with their sincerities and responsive approach. Thanks again!
To RLM and all DPHH fans:
If you have any suggestions for DPHH locations or other ideas related to DPHH, share them with me!
Email me at: info –at– deafdc.com.
RLM: you accused Bobby of slimy things, when it had nothing to do with anything. You provided a perfect example of the “hogwash”. cheers.
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