Communication

 

"You speak very well for a deaf person."

Thanks. I worked very hard at it, I still do. If you really wanted to pay me a compliment, you could instead commend me on the fact that I'm the one carrying the burden of the conversation. I am capable of speaking and I have some residual hearing. I speak because I don't have a choice most of the time, as the majority of the population couldn't be bothered to learn sign language.

Yet another device has been trialled; this time a ring that can decode finger spelling into English through a smartphone app (I'm guessing). This is again technology stepping in. Let me rewind a little bit.

I learned sign in my early 20s, growing up I was mainstreamed in a public school. I did not have any deaf peers near me really, so I was pretty much always isolated most of the time. Fast-forward to today, I'm now in my 50s and no amount of finger spelling cards or YouTube videos produced by sorority sisters has moved the needle. We've had representation on TV for decades, most recently Switched At Birth, which I thought was a commendable YA series.

Perhaps this new ring idea might help, it might not because I see 2 points of failure: The ring itself malfunctioning, and the other person not having a compatible phone to download the app, or horrors, even willing to do so.

We could just learn sign language and avoid all of this nonsense, but the hearing people won't do it, so we're back where we started.

Reality TV

I never got into "reality" television. I was turned off by the way these shows would celebrate the rudest people they could find. Then people would have water cooler discussions about the show and laugh about how terribly they treated each other.

I think this is also when Americans lost whatever remaining empathy they had.

Bullies

Good morning Canucks. Good morning, resistance. While I do feel a surge of national pride, when I view our response to Trump's threats, I am also trying to temper it by not accepting every single jingoistic op ed piece at face value. Sure, pride is good but don't lose sight of the real issue here.

Trump is a bully. And like every single bully  I've ever faced, when you finally get them alone and stare them down...

...they back down.

Stand your ground, Canada.

Révolution

The fascist elements on display in the USA are emboldening others to act out because they saw it on TV; they feel secure doing those things in our locales without fear of reproach. I have already seen spray-painted swastika tags during my walks & hikes outdoors. During the Ottawa occupation they were brazen enough to flag the supremacist rag back then.

To my American friends, don't despair: the French also had some great ideas. Vive la Révolution.

Dear USA

North America - almost 300 years of a shared land, resources, and people. Mingling around and passing through the world's longest undefended border, with no worries of armed guards with rifles pointed at you. Science, the Arts, technology, all of it flourished via collaboration and partnerships. Canada and America were the trading envy of the world.

Then something happened - the Tea Party gained popularity and were elected as members of U.S. Congress. Disrupting procedure, throwing tantrums, and generally acting like belligerent children who weren't getting their way.

These malignant elements grew, and before long you had members acting like howler monkeys while in session. MAGA supplanted the Tea Partiers, until one fateful day the Red Caps and Meal Team Six tried besieging the Capitol building while members were inside, readying to confirm election votes.

4 years later the coup would be complete, with the GOP winning the election and systematically removing social safeguards and hard-earned rights. It is happening before our eyes, with the free press such as AP being uninvited to official functions, while unregulated social media sites are broadcasting the propaganda of the Oligarchs.

It sounds fantastical when written out like that, doesn't it? It isn't a fantasy, and there are no grown-ups coming to help you. This is the 2nd time a horrible leader was elected, despite the lousy job they did the first time, despite being tried and found a Felon, all in public view.

Americans, you must quit complaining and OWN this. It's ON YOU. The rest of the world cannot fix your mess for you. Fix your electoral system, create a social safety net, increase worker wages, mandate healthcare, support education and the arts. If the Democrats and Republicans aren’t speaking for you anymore – you need a new party.

Do this, or the world will treat you like "some shithole country". You want that? No? The ball's in your court, then.

The End

...And he never logged into Facebook again and lived happily ever after.

The End.