Mountain Man

I had an interesting experience today. I was listening to the radio to one of the local afternoon talkshows when the host referenced a local story where a Deaf man in Ohio is suing to have closed captioning services provided by Ohio State University in their stadium for their football games (story here). The talkshow host apparently thought this was outrageous and said as much on the air, something to the effect of, "Why can't these people just be happy with what they have? They keep pushing and pushing and it's getting ridiculous!"

I was compelled to call in and try and set him straight, and he put my call on the air. I said, "The Americans With Disabilities Act says that all places of business are legally required to provide reasonable accommodations for the disabled." Side note here: I didn't bother trying to explain to him that Deaf people aren't actually disabled. I wanted to stay on point so I continued, "What is so unreasonable about wanting closed captioning provided in the stadium during football games?"

He responded, "Because you don't need to hear to enjoy a football game. They can see what's happening on the field, and if they want to know what calls the referee is making then they can learn the hand signals and then they'll know what's going on."

I said, "Well if that's the case then why even have an announcer at all? Obviously Ohio State feels that's a worthwhile service to provide for their hearing attendees so why not provide that same service for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing? Closed captioning technology is ubiquitous, it's cheap, they could easily install closed caption decoders in all of the screens, hire a captionist, and I don't see how that's unreasonable, outrageous, or in anyway over the top."

He pretty much cut me off at that point and disconnected the call so I didn't get a chance to hear his response -- that's the danger of debating a talkshow host, they can cut you off at any time and they always get the last word -- but I feel I made some strong points in my short time on the air, and since it's the most listened to afternoon talkshow in Columbus, there were a lot of other people who heard it, too. I know I didn't change the host's bigoted mind, but hopefully my words had a positive impact on somebody.

Deafness

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Loghead

I am sorry that you had to deal with such an idiot and I'm sorry that some people listen to him and probably gained ignorance about the deaf & hard of hearing from listening to him. I really don't think he should have chosen a topic that he didn't understand.

Nathan

Some people are truly ignorant, with the new technology we have today there are more things available to the the deaf and hard of hearing and what they can provide for us and what that can benefits us not to mention what The Americans With Disabilities Act can accommodate us. Ignorant is bliss. They just don't see it yet. People view us as a different race or culture and treat us as second rated individual. That's just low. We are in the 21th century.

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souggy

I have no idea why he decided to comment on this. Closed captioning and subtitles are usually optional on TV. And if it is in public, usually the video is in wide-screen, so hearing people don't complain about the "black block blocking the TV."

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Mountain Man

To be fair, his show is usually pretty even-handed. This is just the first time I've heard him say something that I strongly disagreed with to the point that I felt compelled to call in. But I'm hoping that by challenging his point of view on the air that perhaps people will recognize his ignorance and understand that there is a larger point of view than his own.

Bottesini

Don't run away again just because I am commenting Mountain Man.

I always turn off the captions when I am watching basketball on tv (the only sport I really like). They get in the way and I don't need the commentary to know what is going on. And I don't want to be distracted from the action.

So I think the radio announcer had a point about how unnecessary captions at a live game are.

Of course, my opinion may be in the minority here.

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Loghead

I turn caption off on particular programs, too, Botts. Usually things where I know that the caption just can't catch up to the words people are saying and it is more of a nuisance than something that helps me.

anthropos

Hello All.

This story makes me so frustrated.

It makes me mad that it's 2009 and some people still haven't learned to try to see other people's perspectives of the world. If that radio host had a deaf, Deaf, or Hard of Hearing friend or close relative I bet his ideas would change. He could even pick up a book and learn something about Deaf culture and why it's only fair to have CC at the stadium. I think people don't like to think about other people's experiences if they don't think it relates to their own lives. It's very selfish. Discrimination is discrimination. I just wish more people would open their minds and try to see how things are unfair.

I don't understand all of football. If I didn't have the announcer I'd be very lost, haha. I think the OSU stadium should have CC.

Mountain Man, I am from Columbus, too. Can I ask what radio program you were listening to?

So yeah, that's my opinion.

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shel90

No, he didnt have a point. He is not speaking for all deaf people so he cant make these kinds of claims.

Mountain Man has a good point..if there was no need for captioning, then there is no need for an announcer.

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Buffalo

Just wait until the radio host became deaf just like Rush Limbaugh but then again he might go for CI and refuse to change his mind about the CC just like Rush.

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Dodge Trucker

EXACTLY!! What if there was a car fire out in the OSU parking lot and the announcer announced what car it was...what license plate number it was..etc etc and the car belonged to a DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING person?? In life every thing should be AN APPLE FOR AN APPLE...not AN APPLE FOR NOTHING. It doesn't matter if the hearing folks can get it..or if the deaf folks can get it. Every body should be able to have the same access just as the next person next to me be as they may be deaf..blind..physically challenged..mentally challenged..hearing challenged..black..brown..yellow..red..blue..you get my drift. Why should one person be able to get/do something whereas the other person cant? That is a BIG BIG case of Double Standardism right there.

I have ZERO patience for people who try to pull double standards. They make me sick!

Back to topic...if there is an announcer...there should be AT LEAST some form of captioning or a scrolling marquee of sorts.

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BecLak

I think CCs are important in any case. They have been my lifesaver many times in my enjoyment of entertainment. Without CCs you are constantly having to ask the person next to you to give you a running commentary and I know that can be most annoying to people in the hearing world. It is important to educate the public about these things even if it is disputed or put down as not important, you still had your voice and that matters. Just to put the debate aside for a bit......imagine many times getting a DVD to watch and finding the CCs all wrong. As it is hilarious, it is most irritating also because I lipread as well.

Mountain Man

The John Corby Show on 610 WTVN. Here's his personality page if anybody cares:

http://wtvn.com/pages/pp_johncorby.html

Mountain Man

I didn't run away. I've just been very busy these past couple of months.

That's fine because it is your choice to not take advantage of that service in that instance. But how would you like it if you wanted closed captioning and someone told you that's ridiculous because in their opinion you don't need CC to enjoy whatever it is you're watching?

You may think it's unnecessary, but obviously the gentleman filing the suit does not, and doesn't he have a legal right to reasonable accommodation in this situation?

I expect that it is.

Bottesini

You seem pretty happy about that!

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