Is America becoming more deaf-friendly?

[kokonut]

I was hoping you would side-track the "VRS 26" of which 6 are deaf. My question was: Don't you think the VRS industry should be top-heavy with qualified deaf folks? Seems natural to me....

The key word is "qualified." As long as there are qualified people able to offer a service to consumers then I have no real aversion one way or another. Supposing we had a bunch of qualified CODAs running a VRS company?

 

[Berry]

for my brother? yes. Had no problem working for UBS when his team had to liquidated this poor bastard's assets due to multiple missed payments and within the next day - he committed suicide by jumping in front of tube (London word for train).

"Not my problem. Not my fault."

*mind you - the missed payments were in millions*

This story points up two problems with our dysfunctional corporate society:

One is: "I follow the rules. Compassion, empathy, consequences, are 'Not my problem. Not my fault'. "

The other is: "My things, my things. My things are my life. My only life. If I don't have them I'm better off dead."

Same excuse as any other job.

Yeah... part of the reason for that is... it's for ease of convenience. It's faster to talk than it is to type.

The corporate, upwardly mobile slogan "Time is money. And if there were anything more important than money someone would print it."

One of the first things I learned when I became involved with the corporate world: You don't have time for close personal friendships. You develop contacts. People who can benefit you or potentially benefit you. Don't waste time gossiping and bullshitting. Get what you need and move on.

This is one of the things I have always loved about Deaf World. It is not what you can do for me that counts; it is "Do I like you?" that counts.

What does it really take to make it in this country?

Interesting question in a country that calls itself the bastion of freedom. Only two things are praised as proving success: Money and control over others. Basically greed and power. The things that got us into this economic mess and the things that will keep us there.

Things like Quality of Life, Personal Happiness, Love of Family and Friends, are considered leftovers for the weak and the losers to console themselves with.

You would almost think it would not be that way in a country that lists "Life Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," as the inalienable rights of man.

I was hoping you would side-track the "VRS 26" of which 6 are deaf. My question was: Don't you think the VRS industry should be top-heavy with qualified deaf folks? Seems natural to me....

Don't know about top-heavy, but the young man who installed my daughter's Purple VRS was Deaf, a lot of fun, and said he loved everything about his job.

The key word is "qualified." As long as there are qualified people able to offer a service to consumers then I have no real aversion one way or another. Supposing we had a bunch of qualified CODAs running a VRS company?

The problem with your key word is that it is a bullshit word used more often to keep capable people out of a profession so the pay scale of those who are grandfathered in can keep up the price of their services by keeping alternatives inaccessible. It is also used to make politicians look good: They can pretend to address issues by "raising the bar" the only problem is the new set of "qualifications" does not address the problem.

I'm sure there are teachers here who will concur with me.

What would improve things is less emphasis on "qualifications" and more emphasis on "capability".

 

[kokonut]

The problem with your key word is that it is a bullshit word used more often to keep capable people out of a profession so the pay scale of those who are grandfathered in can keep up the price of their services by keeping alternatives inaccessible. It is also used to make politicians look good: They can pretend to address issues by "raising the bar" the only problem is the new set of "qualifications" does not address the problem.

I'm sure there are teachers here who will concur with me.

What would improve things is less emphasis on "qualifications" and more emphasis on "capability".

Qualification can certainly include the capability in the ability to do a particular job based on your experience and skills. Qualification includes the knowledge, skills and ability. You might see it as bullshit yet qualifications do include certain requirements. I'm not interested about political correctness or some affirmative action nonsense.

Seems like I hit a bit of raw nerve there.

 

[shel90]

This story points up two problems with our dysfunctional corporate society:

One is: "I follow the rules. Compassion, empathy, consequences, are 'Not my problem. Not my fault'. "

The other is: "My things, my things. My things are my life. My only life. If I don't have them I'm better off dead."




The corporate, upwardly mobile slogan "Time is money. And if there were anything more important than money someone would print it."

One of the first things I learned when I became involved with the corporate world: You don't have time for close personal friendships. You develop contacts. People who can benefit you or potentially benefit you. Don't waste time gossiping and bullshitting. Get what you need and move on.

This is one of the things I have always loved about Deaf World. It is not what you can do for me that counts; it is "Do I like you?" that counts.




Interesting question in a country that calls itself the bastion of freedom. Only two things are praised as proving success: Money and control over others. Basically greed and power. The things that got us into this economic mess and the things that will keep us there.

Things like Quality of Life, Personal Happiness, Love of Family and Friends, are considered leftovers for the weak and the losers to console themselves with.

You would almost think it would not be that way in a country that lists "Life Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," as the inalienable rights of man.



Don't know about top-heavy, but the young man who installed my daughter's Purple VRS was Deaf, a lot of fun, and said he loved everything about his job.



The problem with your key word is that it is a bullshit word used more often to keep capable people out of a profession so the pay scale of those who are grandfathered in can keep up the price of their services by keeping alternatives inaccessible. It is also used to make politicians look good: They can pretend to address issues by "raising the bar" the only problem is the new set of "qualifications" does not address the problem.

I'm sure there are teachers here who will concur with me.

What would improve things is less emphasis on "qualifications" and more emphasis on "capability".

I totally agree with you. The whole NCLB is a perfect example.

 

[Berry]

Seems like I hit a bit of raw nerve there.

Yeah, you did. A lot of things.

Friend of mine who lost one job due to the recession, but knows how to do another job one he used to do and was happy at: He did not go to the new job because of "job satisfaction" but because it paid more -- Only he is "over qualified" for that job so they won't hire him to do it again.

A few years ago another friend of mine was turned down for a secretarial job because she could not take shorthand at the required speed. The fact that no one has taken dictation in that job since they invented dictaphones (A way outdated technology) is beside the point.

I once had a job where I passed a written test on chainsaw safety which included questions that had nothing to do with safety and I was therefore qualified to handle a chainsaw -- Even though I had never touched one in my life: While the farm boy who had been using one since he was ten was not allowed to because he hadn't memorized the names of all the parts.

Another friend of mine was refused a job everyone agreed he was perfectly suited for because his reading and writing skills outside of the job area were not adequate. This is largely because he is so engrossed he never reads anything outside of a motor manual. So who in their right mind cares if he can read Voltaire if he can fix the forklift better than anyone else?

I won't even mention the socially destructive requirement that doctors have to have 4 years of college before they will be admitted to medical school. Mexico, and other countries with excellent doctors don't see the need for the added time and expense -- But hey, it keeps people out of the profession and doctors salaries through the roof so it works, doesn't it?

And I am really upset by the fact they keep raising the requirements teacher's have to meet to maintain their credentials and yet the requirements do not deal with the issue the teacher's are facing. For example dealing with classroom disruptions effectively is not addressed by insisting the teachers up their skills in calculus.

Yeah. I'd say you hit a nerve.

 

[Berry]

Ignorance and Idiotcy

This is a forum of people who write. Writing Again is a moderator there. That is the screen name of Jason Dowls one of my two favorite pen names.

I put up a poll. I think it says a lot. Most people are ignorant, but then you have to have at least one smartass.

Writer's Block

 

[Beowulf]

Let's face it. Deaf people are second-class folk in the good ole USA.

 

[shel90]

Let's face it. Deaf people are second-class folk in the good ole USA.

Sometimes I feel like I am treated like a third-class folk.

 

[Beowulf]

Sometimes I feel like I am treated like a third-class folk.

Can't go lower than that, eh?

 

[drose95]

Aren't we going off the point? The topic is "Is America becoming more deaf-friendly?"

Research was done in 2008 and a report issued in August 2009 listing 25 cities that are examples of what makes a city "Deaf-Friendly". The report is available at Deaf411Online website at Deaf Friendly Cities