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Yall ain’t gonna like me for this. I wish the energy yall had for Libbey appropriating ASL is the same for the deaf BIPOC folks when we experience racism & other -isms (ie BLM) WITHIN our community. #ISaidWhatISaid
I have been observing how the issues are addressed & responded within the deaf-marginalized communities over the years. I find it interesting folks are willing to press about a certain issue while ignoring/being selective (?) to BIPOC-Deaf folks.
Before we say a black-deaf person brought her up publicly, there were many white-deaf folks who called her out FIRST for years. I hear them, but I also want US to be heard too. I honestly do not think anybody understand that Intersectionality comes in play A LOT.
Intersectionality operates differently for everyone. Folks w/ intersectional identities are dealing w/ multi-layered issues simultaneously. Deciding to be “selective” (?) is a privilege for white-deaf folks while we do not get in most cases.
When ableism & audism come up, yall jump on the bandwagon QUICKER than yall do for us when we address -isms. I get it is important to u. It is to us too, but u can’t expect us to feel the same. We don’t prioritize the issues b/c it is not optional. We tackle AT THE SAME TIME.
We get tired quicker. We process things differently. We feel guilty. We shut ourselves down temporarily. We feel some kind of way. I can’t vouch for others but I know we want to be heard right away. We accepted the reality it is not happening but we shouldn’t tolerate that.
We saw how NAD advocated for interpreters in the White House & pushed for open captions in the movie theaters QUICKER. It is cool-not a plm. When BLM came up, it took them SEVERAL MONTHS to say something. Why? It shows the privilege of prioritizing an issue.
LOOK.. We have a black-deaf man serving a LIFE sentence in a Georgia prison for a crime he did not commit. @ASLHipster & his team is working to bring that to NATIONAL attention. He is not the first black man to experience this & unfortunately won’t be the last.
I NEVER forget how deaf-white folks responded when a deaf Latinx man was detained by ICE several yrs ago for a rape crime & did not have interpreters. Yall were trippin abt his crime instead of being upset not having interpreters when HALF OF YALL committed the same damn crime.
Yall screamed for accessibility but didnt see the injustice for the deaf-latinx man to begin w/. The only difference for white-deaf folks: u got away. We know the narratives but I ain’t delving this rn. Why is @behearddc not getting enough support & attention (unless I’m wrong)?
I’m done preaching (like my pastor always say). My point: Folks with intersectional identities do not get to be selective with the issues like deaf-white folks. If we are gonna do this together, yall gotta stop prioritizing issues. Thanks for reading my e-Tee Talks show. 
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