The People of the Eye: Deaf Ethnicity and Ancestry (5 page)

Managing information

We all seek information daily as it relates to our lives, our work, our health, and so on but many minority language users, including those who sign ASL, encounter a major barrier in that search: much of the information they seek is inaccessible or hard to access because delivered in a language not their own. This fact may underlie the high value in the Deaf-World placed on obtaining and sharing information.48 Of course, not everything is shared, but averaging over diverse situations, we may say that the cultural norm is to pass information along to other members. In some ways the "grapevine" serves like the media in a people that has had limited access to the English-based media. Direct, clear communication that exploits the capacities of a visual language for graphic detail is highly valued. Candor is required, even if not always honored. The themes calling for candor-the boundaries between public and private-differ in the Deaf-World from mainstream American culture. Marriage and divorce, personal wealth, bathroom practices, sickness and death, sexual behavior-none of these topics is taboo for Deaf people. In the same vein, Deaf people are normally expected to share what is happening in their private lives, though of course they can evade answering a question, for example, by changing the topic. Hinting and vague talk in an effort to be polite are often inappropriate and even offensive. Direct negative comments on the other person's appearance are generally allowed-they just show you care. Rudeness that breaks the rules includes: withholding information from those who, according to the culture, have a right to know; refusing to watch someone signing to you; holding someone's hands to stop him or her from signing; holding a spoken conversation when there are Deaf people present.

A value that appears to underlie all these traits of Deaf culture is allegiance to the group. Many Deaf writers use the metaphor of family to convey this: We are all in the same family, they say. Allegiance is expressed in the prizing of one's membership in the Deaf-World, in marrying a Deaf person, in gaining status by enhancing the group and acknowledging its contributions, in disparaging Deaf beggars and others who are seen as bringing discredit to the Deaf, in defining oneself in relation to the culture, in the priority given to evidence that arises from experience as a member of the culture, in the treasuring of the language of the Deaf, and in efforts by Deaf people to promote the dissemination of culturally salient information.49 Indeed, these expressions of allegiance can be seen as family values raised to a social level.

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

In addition to a cultural grammar, every culture has a set of social institutions. Over time, some ethnic institutions die out while others arise and flourish, and so it is with the Deaf-World. It was in the residential schools where Deaf children have for centuries acquired language, a cultural identity, and the values, mores and knowledge passed down from one generation of the Deaf to the next. Enrollments in the residential schools have been dwindling for several decades now owing to the influence of the mainstreaming movement in special education. However, there are some robust residential schools that are attracting growing numbers of pupils, especially from Deaf-World families.

The Deaf clubs are another bastion of Deaf culture. They have played important roles in the lives of the Deaf 50 Their numbers have been dwindling as other social practices take their place. Many large cities had Deaf clubs with hundreds of members that were the main site of acculturation for young people who had graduated from a school or program for Deaf children; a few Deaf clubs survive51 At the clubs, there were dances, raffles, banquets, costume parties, skits, beauty contests, lectures, gambling nights, and anniversaries along with the customary elections, celebrations, business meetings, distributions of awards recognizing service to the club and to the local Deaf-World. Deaf clubs often had athletic teams that competed under the mantle of the American Athletic Association of the Deaf. (That organization was replaced in 1997 by the USA Deaf Sports Federation and its twenty-four affiliates.)52 The Federation fosters and regulates competition among Deaf athletes and provides social occasions for members and their friends.

Nowadays, Deaf people gather in many venues in addition to athletic events, among them bars, interpreted religious services, senior citizens' clubs, ethnic associations of the Deaf and state, national and international conventions. Leisure and recreational associations have taken over some of the functions of the Deaf clubs, providing opportunities for Deaf people to socialize. Professional organizations bring together Deaf linguists, historians, sign-language teachers, psychologists, rehabilitation counselors, and Deaf teachers of Deaf children, among others.53 Why are Deaf clubs dwindling? PaddenD explains that these professional and advocacy associations made Deaf clubs obsolete as the clubs were created initially to provide Deaf trades workers with a place to socialize at the end of the day 54 The advent of captioned television programs and DVDs are also often cited as likely contributing causes.

More social institutions: there are Deaf-run social service agencies, Deaf theater companies, Deaf literary clubs (the literature is that of ASL or of English), and Deaf television programs-conducted by and primarily for Deaf people. (See language arts, below.) In a study of the French, Hispanic, and Jewish press in the United States, Fishman concluded that ethnic press is a powerful force for maintaining ethnic vitality55 For more than a century, the "silent press"-publications by and for Deaf people-has been an important force bonding Deaf people in the United States. Publications have kept scattered Deaf people informed about the lives of their peers, friends from school, and leaders. They inform Deaf people about social and political gatherings, about athletics and opportunities for employment. Since the Deaf have had limited access to the telephone, publications and gatherings have traditionally been the two main ways of staying in touch. Printing was a leading trade taught in the residential schools; numerous schools had their own newspapers that had stories about prominent Deaf people, education, sign language, and current events. Stories were also reprinted from other newspapers and magazines 56 The first such school newspaper began in 1849; there were fifty by 190057 Other newspapers were established by Deaf publishers who also brought out books, videotapes, and other materials-and continue to do so-exclusively concerning the Deaf-World. Nowadays these media are supplemented by interactive websites, blogs (individual web sites with regular entries) and vlogs (a blog with embedded video).

Most states have state associations of the Deaf with a political agenda and these associations are gathered under the umbrella of the National Association of the Deaf.58 In many ethnic minorities, there are charismatic leaders who are felt to embody the unique characteristics of the whole ethnic group and are the major actors on the social stage.59 This is true for Deaf leaders as well. A 1976 study conducted in Washington, D.C., found that the Deaf elite in that sample all had higher education; they had Deaf parents twice as often as the general Deaf population; and more than half had ASL as a first language.60 ASL was the language of communicative contact among the elite as it was between them and the rank-and-file, otherwise known as "grassroots" Deaf. Theresa Smith explains, "grassroots" means "really Deaf," untouched by hearing values and ideals, hence unsullied; but that can mean unsophisticated. A "grassroots leader," however, is a term of respect and affection. In recent decades, Deaf professionals with college or more advanced diplomas have come to play a larger role in agencies serving the Deaf. To be viewed positively as a "professional leader," someone who straddles the boundary between the Deaf-World and the mainstream, the Deaf professional must be committed to Deaf values and beliefs but at the same time able to move easily in the mainstream.61

All of these social institutions in the Deaf-World-clubs, leisure activities, sports, politics, religion-are associated with distinct organizations with overlapping membership. The aims of those organizations, in addition to their central themes, are to bring Deaf people together so they may see friends, catch up on each other's lives, meet dates and potential spouses, find out who is hiring Deaf people, and share information in general, all by communicating freely in ASL. When the club doors close, when the theater lights dim, when the game is over, Deaf people congregate for many hours in the halls, in the lobby, and finally in the street near a lamppost, prolonging the joy of togetherness.

In Part II we describe how a Deaf elite gave rise to the first organizations of the Deaf in the United States.

THE LANGUAGE ARTS

The language arts of an ethnic group entertain and reinforce ethnic identity and solidarity. Ethnic narratives, plays, and poetry explain who we are-to ourselves and to others. They recount our struggles, victories, and defeats; they tell what separates us from others; they express our values and relate how a member of our ethnic group ought to live. Ethnic groups have central myths that affirm their values and traditions. Frequently, they are embellished dramatic tales of distant origins that are widely accepted as true.62

American Sign Language has a rich literary tradition. The storyteller and the story have an important role to play in the bonding of the Deaf and the transmission of the Deaf-World's heritage and accumulated wisdom.63 Storytelling develops early in schools for Deaf children, where youngsters recount in ASL the idiosyncratic mannerisms of hearing teachers and, in the absence of TV captioning, the plots of cartoons, westerns, and war movies. Some children soon emerge as the ones with the most loyal and sizable audiences. Those children soon identify themselves as storytellers, a fact confirmed by their audiences. Their craft is perfected as they watch Deaf adults tell stories at home, in school, at the Deaf club, or at other cultural events. In later life, the selfidentified storyteller volunteers or is paid to tell a story at some event. This later storytelling is sometimes more formal-for example, bearing witness to the acts and character of important Deaf figures or significant events, or relating part of Deaf culture. A skilled storyteller has an excellent command of ASL and of nonverbal communication, makes suitable selections from a repertory of stories, and knows how to monitor audience response and adjust to it.

As in most ethnic groups, the Deaf-World has stories that are archetypal. One genre is the "success story." In brief: The Deaf protagonist grows up in a hearing environment and has never met any Deaf people. He meets a Deaf person who teaches him sign language and the ways of the Deaf-World. He becomes increasingly involved in that world and leaves his past behind. PaddenD points out that these Deaf success stories reinforce the belief that it is good and right to be Deaf, in much the same way as Americans support and propagate the "American Dream."64

ASL signers giving a lecture often start with a personal story embodying the main points to be made. For example, in The Book of Name Signs: Naming in American Sign Language, Sam SupallaD tells the story of his own name sign, how he got it, and how it relates to his family's name signs. Then he explains how the story reflects the usage of name signs in ASL.65 Theresa Smith calls "kernel" stories these personal narratives that serve to introduce an abstract topic.

Another common genre of ASL stories, called "One Deaf" stories, is comprised of cautionary tales, success stories, and tales about a fictional Deaf leader. These stories start with the words "One Deaf" and end with the word "Well," as in "Well, what do you make of that!" inviting the audience to consider not only the feelings of a Deaf person in that situation but also to see the deeper truth. Here is an example:

One Deaf was working in the mill, cutting cloth. The machine was big, dangerous, and the man had to be careful. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed some movement and he turned to look. One Hearing was walking through the factory. As the Deaf man watched, suddenly the cloth pulled his arm into the machine and it was cut off. Well?!

The hand-the means of communication-is cut off. The moral is clear: hearing people can be dangerous, do not let them distract you.66

Another popular genre is the legend of origins. One such story is the founding of Rome, where a wolf suckles Romulus and Remus, twins fathered by the god Mars. A Deaf legend of origins has been retold countless times in America and many other lands-how the abbe de l'Epee came to establish the first schools for the Deaf.

The abbe de l'Epee had been walking in a dark night. He wanted to stop and rest overnight, but he could not find a place to stay, until in the distance he saw a house with a light on inside. He approached and knocked at the door, but no one answered. The door was open, so he entered the house and found two young women seated by the fire sewing. He spoke to them, but they failed to answer. He walked closer and spoke to them again, but they still failed to respond. The abbe was perplexed, but seated himself beside them. They looked up at him and did not speak. At that point, their mother entered the room. Did the abbe not know that her daughters were deaf? He did not, but now he understood why they had not responded. As he contemplated the young women, the abbe realized his vocation.67

Although the legend is broadly consistent with the abbe's own published account, accuracy is not the point of the story.68 What is the point? PaddenD and culture and education scholar Tom HumphriesD state it well in Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. The legend symbolizes the transition from a world in which Deaf people live in isolation to one in which they participate in a cultural, social, and linguistic group. ASL literature includes history, stories, tall tales, legends, fables, anecdotes, poetry, plays, humor, naming rituals, sign play, and more. Deaf humor is often a response to oppression. Humor invites the audience to identify with the culture from which it arises ("This is our kind of humor"), and to revel in the solidarity of attending, expecting, laughing, and applauding. ASL is an unwritten language, so literature such as storytelling and humor carry much cultural information that, in cultures with written languages, would be passed down in print. At Deaf events there have been traditionally a variety of cultural activities, including performances, storytelling, skits, and comedies.69