Controversial People

[ecp]

So, there is a fairly famous "youtuber" who claims to be "totally deaf" yet this person plays computer videogames while being paid without hearing aids and with headphones. This person seems to me to be using their self described "single sided severe hearing loss with mild loss on the other side" to make money and for some reason this really annoys me.
This person is just now learning ASL but is seen as a "leader in the Deaf community" by hearing people.
The thing that really got me annoyed was when this person posted a video about how they were going to "pretend to be mute" so that people would take their claims of deafness more seriously. This harms ALL D/deaf people no matter what languages or methods they use to communicate.
Also, my hearing friends tell me that this person has a VERY pronounced but inaccurate "deaf accent". They describe it as if the person is just keeping their tongue in the top of their mouth giving a nasal quality. For someone who has moderate hearing loss that is fairly new, this seems exaggerated.
I have progressive hearing loss that was profound for around 15 years but I don't have nearly the accent this person has.

Several people have accused this person of faking the extent of their hearing loss to make money and I'm starting to believe this.

Am I crazy in being offended that someone who has self described moderate hearing loss is making money by pretending to be profoundly Deaf? They ask for votes about whether to make a video about how hard it is to shop alone while "deaf" or order food while "deaf". Most Deaf people just DO the tasks and much harder things like have jobs, get college degrees, get advanced degrees, become scientists and writers and artists. But this person is making people with hearing loss seem incapable of simple tasks.
Yes, shopping can be frustrating but that is life. Pointing to menu items or writing orders works perfectly.
We are Deaf and we can do so much more than what this person thinks deaf people can do.

IF this person is hard of hearing, they should admit it and not claim to be totally Deaf. If they can use headphones to play videogames, they aren't totally deaf and really need to stop lying to the world to make money.

 

[ecp]

Nobody has anything to say about a person who is making money faking a deaf accent, making money talking to children and also making money playing video games?

 

[toffeekukki]

I have just seen this post, can you please direct me to whom this person is.

I do not think this is a good thing for anyone. I am new to been Hoh but I live with 2 complete hearing people so they could help us get this sorted.
I have 100% speech but I have a strong slurr and I also get muddled up quite easy.
I don't want to say the person is taking because I can hear with a headset on with out my aids. Depending on the tones. It is possible that they have hearing problems.
But they could be making it out worse than what it actually is.
If they respond to game sounds or can follow a conversation then they are Hoh as you say and YES it is very important that they are lying in order to get money.

 

[BecLak]

I think if there is plenty of awareness and exposure of the genuine Deaf community out there, people can distinquish the counterfeits from the genuine. It says it for itself really. Whether it be Deaf or anything else, there will always people exploiting. It doesn't condone those who exploit, but as long as we in the Deaf Community continue to put ourselves out there. It will separate the chaff from the wheat.

 

[Lysander]

I have just seen this post, can you please direct me to whom this person is.

I do not think this is a good thing for anyone. I am new to been Hoh but I live with 2 complete hearing people so they could help us get this sorted.
I have 100% speech but I have a strong slurr and I also get muddled up quite easy.
I don't want to say the person is taking because I can hear with a headset on with out my aids. Depending on the tones. It is possible that they have hearing problems.
But they could be making it out worse than what it actually is.
If they respond to game sounds or can follow a conversation then they are Hoh as you say and YES it is very important that they are lying in order to get money.

I agree. I need to see/hear it for myself before I can make a judgment. I've met some Deaf/HoH people who's deaf accent combined with their hearing accent has made things very confusing for me. I've met people who started out hearing and eventually lost their hearing who were southern who kept their southern accent along with their deaf accent. So without knowing who this person is I can't really make a call on it.

 

[zeefour]

Wow... i don't even know what to say. I'm half Native Hawai'ian and there's this awful super white red haired rich guy who grew up in California that has made his living claiming to be the expert on true kanaka maoli culture and politics, if kanakas disagree with him we're traitors to our people. He gave himself a fake Hawai'ian name and all these haole (white foreigners usually from the mainland) writers from places like the Huffington post interview him as the expert on true Hawai'ian living. Its so infuriating, disgusting and frustrating.

From everything you described this person is the same thing for the Deaf community. Is there anyway to do outreach with the most influential hearing sites (like blogs or news or whatever) that we could contact to educate with the truth about the Deaf community?

 

[Some guy]

Wow... i don't even know what to say. I'm half Native Hawai'ian and there's this awful super white red haired rich guy who grew up in California that has made his living claiming to be the expert on true kanaka maoli culture and politics, if kanakas disagree with him we're traitors to our people. He gave himself a fake Hawai'ian name and all these haole (white foreigners usually from the mainland) writers from places like the Huffington post interview him as the expert on true Hawai'ian living. Its so infuriating, disgusting and frustrating.

From everything you described this person is the same thing for the Deaf community. Is there anyway to do outreach with the most influential hearing sites (like blogs or news or whatever) that we could contact to educate with the truth about the Deaf community?

So, he has the time and money to be an expert. What can you do? That's the benefit of having money at your disposal.

What is it that you want to do?....Is he posting incorrect information?

Is the situation that he is competing with you in being a culture expert in this area?....If so, just ignore him and focus on your own work/postings
and do your public relations work also (Press releases, etc......that's how you get published).

And eventually, if you have better and more authentic knowledge, you will prevail.

Keep in mind, that if you just keep following his work, and make criticism of his work your focus, you will simply be giving him attention.

Ignore him and go about your own business.

 

[zeefour]

So, he has the time and money to be an expert. What can you do? That's the benefit of having money at your disposal.

What is it that you want to do?....Is he posting incorrect information?

Is the situation that he is competing with you in being a culture expert in this area?....If so, just ignore him and focus on your own work/postings
and do your public relations work also (Press releases, etc......that's how you get published).

And eventually, if you have better and more authentic knowledge, you will prevail.

Keep in mind, that if you just keep following his work, and make criticism of his work your focus, you will simply be giving him attention.

Ignore him and go about your own business.

I don't know who the OP is talking about still, obviously I'd have to see what he is doing and saying and what if any legitimate sway he may have before I would actually want to do something (if anything at all).

I was just kind of brainstorming possibilities for the OP if they personally don't feel like doing nothing is okay with them. In the case of the haole fake Hawai'ian, I did write a few e-mails to the editor and author at the Huffington Post. I also knew to research if he or his groups had any involvement with other pro Hawai'i/pro kanaka groups either myself, my friends, my ohana (family) and any other kanaka organizations I supported, and warn them to be careful with who they support and ally with. That's because the fake self serving destruction he was passing off as true kanaka culture and values and the way to support our people had very real negative consequences for o...ur community that's already in a precarious position with a lot fighting amongst one another instead of working together and fighting to protect our people past and present.

If the person the OP is talking about has any sway that does something similar and is able to pass off incorrect information that is destructive to all the activism the Deaf community has accomplished allowing Deaf/HoH to experience less discrimination, more opportunities and ensure Deaf/HoH receive the best education possible.... then yeah I'd contact any legitimate groups he's lied to just so they're at least cognizant about verifying any further contact. If he's just online posting youtube videos and getting comments from hearing posters that have a grasp of the English language so poor it makes the average Deaf reading level look like phD candidates... then I'd definitely just ignore him and continue doing my own thing and live my life as a HoH girl navigating almost any difficulty hearing loss could cause, with ease.

I hope that makes more sense.

 

[Valorrian]

Why waste your time on someone like that? If you don't like what they are promoting or advertising you don't have to subscribe to that channel. It's really not your job to tell all the hearing people your opinion. They can watch her video and decide for themselves. Just imagine how much more time you'll have to focus on something positive instead of worrying about her.