Deaf Educational System?....

rockin'robin

rockin'robin

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I was unloading my groceries from the Winn-Dixie into my car today, and this lady came up and was standing behind me. Without a word, she handed me a piece of paper (it wasn't a business card, but the same size)....saying:

Let's Be Friends Smile!
DEAF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

please pardon my intrusion, but I am DEAF-MUTE trying to earn a decent living. Would you help me by buying one of these cards.

PAY WHATEVER YOU WISH....

THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

THANK YOU OVER

The other side of the paper had the Alphabet for Deaf-Mute....

Well, I looked at her for a minute, then decided to sign and ask...."you're Deaf"?...she looked at me, then signed "Yes"...I asked her are you on SSI or SSDI?..She said yes, "but I'm broke"....then tried to change the subject to my doggie that was barking in the car at her....

I said, "well, do you have a license to peddle?"...she said..."oh...yeah, but I forget to put it in my purse"....then tried to take the card back, and I said No....I'll keep it!...She walked off with her car keys swinging in her back jeans pocket.

What is "Educational" about peddling these cards? and "earning a decent living"??

It's been a very long time since I've seen this around where I live.
 
Wow. It's been a long time since I've had an experience like that. I just feel wrong somehow. Like I am guilty by association (being deaf too).

On the flip side. Life isn't fair. I don't want to judge her without knowing her story.
 
I've been in Florida only twice in my whole life!!! From what I can gather, Florida has no property tax. That is why a lot of deaf people--especially older ones live out there.

Still, a newer generation of D/deaf people will not call themselves Deaf-Mute. Older generation of D/deaf people are more likely to call themselves Deaf-Mute. Still, that is not an excuse to ask for free money.
 
This lady seemed to be in her 40's, with a very tan face. She wasn't elderly and walked just fine. Maybe she was under-educated, I don't know as I've never seen her before around where I live. Her signing was not very fast, that's why I questioned as to if she was really deaf or not. But she walked, or practically ran off when I would not give the card/paper back....and NO...I didn't give her one red dime.

My guess was that she thought I was gonna report it, as she did not have a license to peddle.....and I believe by law, you have to have one.
 
I had that happen to me as a young teenager in California. I was at McDonalds with my neighbors family who used to babysit me. They were all deaf or hard of hearing. A woman came up and left a card exactly as you describe on all the tables and then started making rounds picking up cash people left on the tables in exchange for the cards. When she came back, my neighbor signed 'Are you deaf?' and she just kinda made some random hang gestures and a sad face. He tried to sign to her more but she snatched the card and left. When we left we saw her on in the parking lot talking on a payphone. I am 100% certain that she was hearing and using deafness as some sort of pity-tool for ignorant folk.
I haven't seen anyone doing this since and that was at least ten years ago.
 
Madseason said:
I had that happen to me as a young teenager in California. I was at McDonalds with my neighbors family who used to babysit me. They were all deaf or hard of hearing. A woman came up and left a card exactly as you describe on all the tables and then started making rounds picking up cash people left on the tables in exchange for the cards. When she came back, my neighbor signed 'Are you deaf?' and she just kinda made some random hang gestures and a sad face. He tried to sign to her more but she snatched the card and left. When we left we saw her on in the parking lot talking on a payphone. I am 100% certain that she was hearing and using deafness as some sort of pity-tool for ignorant folk.
I haven't seen anyone doing this since and that was at least ten years ago.
Click to expand...

Yeah, she could have been a hearie for all I know, as her signing was slow and somewhat sluggish...and I believe she ran off because I asked to see her License to Peddle....plus, the Police Substation is only a block down from the Winn-Dixie....if I see her again, .....well...hope she has her License to Peddle.
 
(Let's Be Friends Smile!DEAF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM please pardon my intrusion, but I am DEAF-MUTE trying to earn a decent living. Would you help me by buying one of these cards.PAY WHATEVER YOU WISH....THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.THANK YOU OVER.The other side of the paper had the Alphabet for Deaf-Mute....)

When I was a teenager in Philadelphia, I used to ride the train to go to places there used to be a man who would had out those cards. It was how I learned the alphabet. I used to hope he would come with more then just the alphabet cards. Sometimes I would slip him $5.00 thinking he could buy better cards. When I got into college and took a ASL I asked my teacher about those cards. She said, he may have been a drunk just ripping people off, because there are funds available to help out poor deaf. That was like 22 years ago. I didn't know it was still happening.
 
My only contacts with business sized alphabet cards were on the back of a real business card and a plastic one received as part of a ITAC (Illinois Communications Access Corporation — at state agency) mailing. Back along about 1990 I attended a denomination wide week long church event and an interpreter for an agency involved with that had the ASL alphabet on the back of her regular business card.
 
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