Please Love not Hate

Posted on Facebook: (August 18, 2017)

I'm tired. I'm tired of people taking the time to hate instead of love, judge instead of understand, defend instead of listen, shut you out because of pride...I'm tired of how some organizations won't support their local artists or local Deaf people but will support people from far away, im tired of how people get angry instead of admitting fault and apologizing, I'm tired of people choosing selective community, support should be universal given to everyone from your backyard to outer space. I'm tired of seeing audism on a daily basis, I'm tired of seeing racism on a daily basis-- I'm tired of how easy it is for me to be considered or respected as the head of an organization as a white person when it is really the African American Deaf Man who is the director or alternatively being talked down to as a blonde woman as if I have no experience or am not smart. I'm tired of people making decisions or assumptions without trying to see from a different perspective. I'm tired of people telling me/you what to do or their opinion instead of asking--how can I help/support? Most of all I'm tired for all minority groups victims of oppression who have to fight everyday. I'm here to support you tirelessly.

#pleaselovenothate #standunited #pleaselistennotjudge #zahnasimon

Strongly feeling the hearing privilege this week...

Strongly feeling the hearing privilege this week...hearing privilege is when you can request/book any appointment of any length of your choice and know you can attend with ease without having to worry about getting access, not having to search for access options/ASL interpreters and cross coordinate with their schedules and either pay out of your own pocket when you are already paying for the appointment itself or approach the organization to pay for interpreters which results in anxiety and lengthy conversations of education and negotiation for simple access.  Hearing privilege is when you can join any kind of meeting and feel fully engaged and included whether it be a video meeting on your phone and you don't have to swipe through the screens to search for the ASL interpreter (if you're lucky enough to have an ASL interpreter either through the organization of out of your own pocket) and wonder who is talking and then miss a lot of what's going on because you are swiping through the screens between interpreter, hearing people and Deaf people or whether it be an audio conference call where you don't need to feel left out because you can hear the different voices to identify who is talking and join the conversation with ease and there will be no mention of "awkward silences." Hearing privilege is also when there's no misunderstandings or mis-interpretations because the ASL interpreter didn't understand you, doesn't know the background of the meeting/organizations etc and/or met you for the first time OR when your phone battery is low and you have to hold your phone up thus signing with 1 hand and the interpreter (who met you for the first time) can't understand you. Hearing privilege is when you can join/watch ANY online group or LIVE streams that are offered by hearing people and do not have to ask if materials have captioning/subtitles to be able to understand the content. Hearing privilege is when people don't treat you differently when trying to communicate with you whether it be an attitude, an audist bias or resistance to writing things down on paper or refusing to read notes from your phone when you took the time to type everything down clearly and precisely so there shouldn't be any questions or miscommunications.  Hearing privilege is when you can go watch ANY movie ANYWHERE and the caption devices don't skip out lines or break down before or during the movie and thus you miss half the movie and have to leave anyway.

#zahnasimon #hearingprivilege

Walking on Eggshells in a "Hearing" World

The title is exactly how it sounds.  Generally Deaf people will share with other Deaf people what we experience and the struggles of discrimination and audism in our society.  In fact many can go unsaid because all over the world we Deaf all experience these same struggles.  We tend to not share with the hearing community or if we do it will be a light share for caution to prevent an outrage from the hearing person/organization or to prevent them from dropping us altogether in terms of business, especially media and interviews.  Now you say we should share and that you want to know--however the issue here is that there is too many reactions from the hearing community.  Often times it will be easier to just put up with feeling left out or outcasted because we do not want to feel like a burden on anyone and we especially don't want to hear this thrown in our face.  "But I paid for your interpreters-- they're expensive!" "Why didn't you remind us?" or "Please let us know in advance"... Do you know how many times Deaf people do not go to events, interviews or auditions because they either just found out about it and worry that it may be too late to request an interpreter?  This is a huge loss of opportunity in so many cases for Deaf people and a big disadvantage.  We become so used to this we prefer to stay in our own world-- The Deaf World.  It is an amazing world, a beautiful culture yet we all run into the same barriers at some point of the hearing world smacked in our faces.

I must stress------This is by no means a complaint...this is expressing facts of what really happens in our world and what we face everyday.  It truly feels like walking on eggshells, treading carefully kindly requesting that our needs and accessibility be met.  Sometimes it has to be done more strongly with a bang to be really heard and then eggshells crack and break and it can either go in two directions.  1)  The hearing individuals/organizations will actually accommodate us or 2) they will block and drop us.  What really gets me is how hearing people will be so QUICK to forget you are Deaf and assume you don't need accommodations just because it seems like the Deaf people is understanding everything.  Let me tell you something -- this is very frustrating for us.  YET we continue to patiently remind


Every hearing organization, every day we have to educate and explain patiently and carefully.  It gets exhausting to explain the same thing over and over again.  worry about th.  This causes natural anxiety.  Even at the airport, I was just telling my friend recently--  I always have to be on the lookout of what's happening and be prepared for anything.  An emergency could happen and no one to let me know because they are panicking, the flight could leave early or be late and I don't know because I can't hear the PA System, there could be problems with the plane and they give warning and caution but I still don't know because no one thinks to inform me.