Ridor - the Most Disrespectful Deaf Blogger

After a long day of hard work, I was on the way home when Ridor messaged me on my sidekick. He was upset about what I had previously posted, about the deaf CI kid at Walmart being treated disrespectfully. This is what Ridor said:

"It is their right to do that -- people like you disgust me for trying to lecture deaf people on how to behave while you refrain from lecturing hearing ppl from manipulating our lives!

u stupid f***tard."

(Excuse me, but it is not a lecture. I'm just telling the truth. With the vast majority of today's deaf babies getting implants, we simply do not have the luxury of rejecting them even if we don't like that they are getting implanted. They will grow up and form the majority of the future deaf community.)

Is this the kind of blogger we want to donate money to folks? Ridor repeatedly asks for contributions to his PayPal. It is one thing to post nasty comments about people on your own blog. That's entertainment. It is another to instant message people and curse them out. That's disrespect. Does a disrespectful blogger deserve financial support from the deaf community? I think not.

Ridor is definitely arguably the most disrespectful deaf blogger in America. Oh, and it is not the first time either. I'm just tired of his being so disrespectful.

Social Ostracization of a CI Toddler at Walmart

Before going to bed, I was winding down the night by checking to see what was new on my favorite CI Kid blogs. I saw this, and just had to blog it even though it is my bedtime. Noah's mom was in Walmart with her implanted toddler (who loves to use sign language) and when they encountered some deaf people, the deaf adults were friendly until -- they saw the boy's CI. Then their attitude changed. Their attitude changed to one of outright rejection.

Folks, we just don't have the luxury of treating signing implanted kids this way. Not if we want the deaf community of the future to be a healthy deaf community. These kids ARE the future of the deaf community, like it or not. If we display bad attitudes towards the kids, do you think their parents are going to encourage their youngsters to interact with and be part of the deaf community as they grow?

Benefits of the Dual Approach

I really enjoyed and appreciated this article from the Sacramento Bee: He Lives in Two Worlds. The article is a follow-up to the implantation of a deaf toddler boy. Today he is 9 years old, and relies on both sign language and speech. His parents, who originally wanted him to be only oral, now understand the importance of sign language for their son. Key quote: "After years of wanting Joey to rely primarily on his implant for hearing and speech, Joey's parents now see benefits in the dual approach."