How long are we going to have to put up with idiot hearing people spouting off about the Gallaudet protest when it’s obvious that they don’t have a clue as to what the protest was all about?
The latest nincompoop is none other than Chuck Colson, best known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Colson was Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon and the author of Nixon’s famous “enemies list,” as well as the man who said, “I’d walk over my own grandmother to re-elect Richard Nixon.” He was sentenced to one to three years in prison for obstruction of justice and went on to become an evangelical Christian.
Recently he wrote a guest column for Christian Post titled, “Deaf to Reason.” It’s more of the same old “not deaf enough” crap that so many gullible hearing people have been quick to embrace. But what really got me was this sentence: “[Jane Fernandes] may or may not have been the best person for the job, but it doesn’t matter, because the objections to her appointment had nothing to do with her qualifications.”
What a monumentally stupid thing to say. The objections to her appointment had EVERYTHING to do with her qualifications!!
And “it doesn’t matter” if Fernandes was not the best person for the job?? Pardon me, but I think it matters very much!
If Colson can get his head out of his bible (and certain anatomical areas) long enough to look at something else, I would suggest that he go to the Gallaudet FSSA website http://www.gufssa.com/ and click on “Talking Points” and learn what the protest was REALLY about.
Bottom line, do we deaf people really need some discredited former jailbird butting in on something that is absolutely none of his business?
NO!!!!!!!!
16 Comments
November 15, 2006 at 2:19 pm
No kidding. It’s surprising to see how many reporters and writers don’t bother to do any research.
Seriously the public relations department under the new Interim president has a very tall order, trying to undo the damage it inflicted on the university the last few months.
November 15, 2006 at 3:03 pm
I would hit Colson’s head with my bible book!
November 15, 2006 at 3:13 pm
Amen, Mishkazena.
I’d also suggest Gally’s PR Department hires new faces to replace ALL of the present staff members. We can’t have the same people, who once said JKF was the most qualified person for the job, saying now that the “Unity for Gallaudet” protest is the best thing that has happened to Gallaudet since the DPN Protest in 1988. Otherwise the public is sure to lose faith in Gallaudet. We need new PR representatives to make a public statement of apology for the wrongdoing of the former PR representatives who were involved in manipulation of information and “spinning” of images and facts in order to perpetuate IJK’s administive regime and all his concomitant baggage.
November 15, 2006 at 3:52 pm
The comments and statements made by protesters have been documented and reported on. I understand what you are all trying to say during as well as now, that JKF wasn’t qualified for the position. However, you are all conveniently forgetting the statements quoted by the protesters
in relation to JKF’s deafness which had NOTHING to do with her qualifications which I might add aren’t deserving of No Respect!
November 15, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Oh, come on, Paul.
Which protesters said what?? This is ridiculous. You don’t even know who said what, but you’re just repeating some vague piece of false information that you heard.
Listen to me carefully: If I. King Jordan did not even become deaf until he was 21, yet he was hailed as a hero, then does it make much sense at all to accuse deaf people of not accepting someone because of their background?
Think about it.
November 15, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Brian,
If I wished I could fill up a three ring binder full of comments that related directly to her deafness. There is nothing vague or false in the comments written from the blogs back in the early stages of the protest in the Gallypost.com and are continuing today.One memorable one was quoted in the Post stating that she doesn’t know what it means to be deaf because she married a hearing person. Do your homework a little more thorough before casting it aside. Stop denying it as well.
Today people are attacking Jordan the same way they did JKF saying he isn’t part of their Deaf Culture. That is a heck of a way of hailing someone as a hero. Heroes don’t lose their status, unless they are involved with Gallaudet. Besides the protesters ended up with their first deaf president which was a start. They will not be happy until they get what they want.
November 15, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Paul,
Well, some of those protesters who made so-and-so comments were not being advised by sophisticated PR consultants, but Dr. Jordan and Dr. Fernandes were and they took advantage of such comments and succeeded in using the “Not Deaf Enough” notion as the motivation for the protest–even in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence. It was a very brilliant move, politically speaking. They had succeeded in splitting us and getting us (including you) attacking against each other. They did whatever they had to do to defend the status quo. They wanted the status quo to remain status quo. They wanted things to remain the way they were, so they could continue to enjoy the power. They were utterly corrupt administors.
November 15, 2006 at 7:13 pm
According to my husband, Chuck Colson made this statement ” “I’d walk over my own grandmother to re-elect Richard Nixon.” After all, he did serve three months in prison for Watergate-related offenses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Colson
So, as you can see, he doesn’t have much credibility to start with
November 15, 2006 at 7:19 pm
Paul, by your last comment you are showing that you don’t know what you are talking about. Jordan has fallen in disfavor and deservedly so.
It doesn’t matter what a few people on Gallypost or any else might have said. Their comments are irrelevant.
What’s important is asking why the entire deaf world, just about, rose up in opposition to the status quo at Gallaudet. That has nothing to do with little comments that a few people here and there might have posted on the internet.
You don’t seem to know what that status quo was and why it was wrong. You’re just being a superficial heckler.
November 15, 2006 at 9:43 pm
The entire deaf does not have the time nor the energy to be involved with this protest. because they do not agree with it. If you think that the few thousand people you have on your team constitutes The ENTIRE DEAF WORLD. You sadly mistaken. The majority of the deaf world sees this as a waste of time.
Brain are you part of the Deaf World?
November 15, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Paul,
I don’t know where you get your sources from. The fact is there is way more than few thousands for the protest. We’re talking about Thousands and thousands of deaf/hoh all over the USA and Europe that rallied along with them. The four thounsands that marched over homecoming weekend was but just a fraction of the real numbers. Sources: Personal conversation with many deaf/hoh that have no connection to Gallaudet, Tent Cities, Deaf Club and organization websites, Blogs, Thousands of thousands of emails, letters, phone calls to members of congress, BOTS, IKJ, NAD, FSSA, GUAA, and many many more. What are your sources????????????
Besides, are you not for healing and moving on or are you just bitter?
November 16, 2006 at 12:21 am
Paul,
Actually, those comments u mentioned people made in relations to jane’s deafness were inadvertly portrayed as her not being culturally deaf enough. However, what they really meant was that her attitude towards other deaf people sucked.. Thus ‘not deaf enough’. She just doesn’t respect or treat others as equals. Rather, she leads by intimidation and keeps referring to the auditory type of comments such as cochlear implants, hearing aids, hearing test center, oral students.. These are acceptable but not of paramount importance in education at gallaudet.
My boyfriend didn’t learn sign language til 17 yrs old. I have a deaf family and grew up as a culturally deaf person. I work ata mainstreamed school. It is not important what background the person has, but the attitude matters. Jane doesn’t have the right attitude and only served to alienate people throughout the years. So, its disappointing that the news reporters or ignorant ppl like u and chuck keep getting it wrong.
November 16, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Brian, I guess what you are saying is that these people who were protesting for different reasons than yourself don’t MATTER.
You forget about the millions of Deaf people in this world that may not share your views and label them as IRRELAVENT.
I got news for you we will move ahead and thrive in thre REAL world while the rest of you keep fighting for your “own” special identity.
November 16, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Jimmsil,
What do you mean by the “Real World?”
I’ve mentioned a few times elsewhere that member of the Deaf world are amazingly heterogeneous. Within the Deaf world, there are black, white, red, yellow, and many other ethnic groups. The many jobs and professions typical of the hearing world are well represented, as are different social circles and different walks of life. What unites them all into a tight-knit community is the strong Deaf identity rooted in a distinct language (i.e., ASL), culture, and life experience. For this same reason, Deaf people usually transcend their differences of ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation that would be more prominent in the hearing society. Hence Deaf people are more exposed to emotionally meaningful diversity than hearing people who often tend to be isolated within their own narrow reference group.
And what about Jewish people who have their own country? Would you say they are isolating themselves and not thrieving in the REAL world?
Who are we to say what is real, and what is unreal?
November 20, 2006 at 3:52 am
I’m amazed at how intellectually bankrupt some of these people are that are against the protest.
We are talking about an amazing phenomenon of tens of thousands of deaf people uniting for a common and noble purpose.
What do these yahoos think it was all about? What do they want? Nothing they say makes sense at all. It’s hard to know what to say to people that can’t say anything intelligent.
December 26, 2006 at 7:46 am
Tom,
That link you have to gufssa.org in this post (above) is not working properly.
Hope you had a great Christmas
Brian