A recent article caught my eye - and raised my ire – the January 10, 2025 article entitled “Sign language is woke now': Outrage over right wing's new culture war” which appeared in an issue of RAWSTORY (link here https://www.rawstory.com/right-wing-2670795129/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user%2FRawStory). The story discusses some of the right-wing culture attacks on things considered woke – and somehow American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are seen as “…just over the top.” and “a distraction”. Christopher Rufo is quoted in the article saying, “I'm sorry, but we have to stop with the ridiculous sign language interpreters, who turn serious press conferences into a farce,” Rufo told his followers on X. “There are closed captions on all broadcast channels and streaming services. No wild human gesticulators necessary.”
Between this article coming on the heels of my Substack post from 10/15/24 entitled “The Deaf Can Hear!” and my 10/23/24 post showing FEC figures on Harris and Trump campaign expenses for sign language interpreters - $34,550.02 Harris and $0 Trump, I was suddenly transported back into the world of Eugenics.
Eugenics – defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “the study of how to arrange reproduction within a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable. Wikipedia defines it as “a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fertility of people and groups they considered inferior or promoting that of those considered superior.”
The modern field of eugenics study was developed largely by Sir Francis Galton in 1883 as a method of improving the human race. Eugenics was increasingly discredited as unscientific and racially biased during the 20th century, especially after the adoption of its doctrines by the Nazis in order to justify their treatment of Jews, disabled people, and other minority groups.
A few years ago my wife and I were researching the history of American Deaf Education which was started in Hartford, CT in 1817 by Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. Part of the history tracks the evolution of “Oral” deaf schools, and “ASL” schools. It was surprising during that research to discover that Alexander Graham Bell – yes the inventor of the telephone – although Bell’s mother and wife were both deaf, “Throughout his life, Bell sought to assimilate the deaf and hard of hearing with the hearing world. He encouraged speech therapy and lipreading over sign language. He outlined this in an 1898 paper[67] detailing his belief that, with resources and effort, the deaf could be taught to read lips and speak (known as oralism),[68] enabling their integration with wider society.(Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell.
My brothers and I grew up in a household with two deaf parents – both had differing experiences growing up – my mother went to an “Oral” school - being forbidden to use sign language since it looked strange and abnormal - and my father going to a “Deaf “ school emphasizing total communications – use all tools available – writing, reading, using whatever voice you have, and using American Sign Language. Our mother did not learn ASL until she met my Dad, but after that her life in the deaf community took off.
As I take all of this in, including my own family experiences with the deaf, the bottom line to me regarding Eugenics and what people try to do with it - “Don’t Be Who You Are – Be Who I Want You To Be.” NO NO NO - NOT HAPPENING!!
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