By Joanne Greenberg I wrote the book In This Sign, parts of which were made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. The book had been out for some years and had won an award for its portrayal of Deaf people and their hearing children. Because my husband and I had become part of the […]
By Joanne Greenberg Dear Clemency Board, I have been interested in the Felix Garcia case, for the last few years, and I have seen all of the material from that case, including the 2 hours of video interview on DeafInPrison.com. I know that he has exhausted his legal opportunities, but because there is a strong […]
By Joanne Greenberg Mainstreaming blew in during the ’70s and ’80s on the same wind as the breaking up of state mental hospitals, and with the same emotions; end the stigma, expand what is “normal” to include everyone. Differences will disappear and a better society will result. The “gesturing” and facial expressions shouldn’t be a […]
By Joanne Greenberg [Editor’s note: This piece was originally written by Ms. Greenberg several years ago, so many of the time and date references may no longer be accurate. — BitcoDavid] The idea for the class came serendipitously. I was taking advanced first-aid and I mentioned to the Chief Instructor, that because there were a […]
By Joanne Greenberg I was sure that I would pass because I hear so much better than my husband, and while some people were difficult for me to hear unless I was facing them, most of them speak clearly enough for me to follow. I did the bit in the soundproof box and when the […]
By Joanne Greenberg I was standing near the onions trying to figure out which kind I wanted, when I spotted a neighbor who greeted me. During our chat, she mentioned that her husband had new hearing aids. “They cost a mint, but he never wears them. I’m exhausted by his saying. ‘What?’ all the time […]
By Joanne Greenberg About 40 years ago, a man called me up on the telephone. “I read your book, In This Sign, and I think you would be the one to work on a film I have in mind.” I was annoyed. “I’ve never written a script,” I said. He went on. “I have a […]
By Joanne Greenberg This is a memoir of fifteen months spent in Danbury Federal Prison work camp. In the range of prisons, this was the highest (best); the others were downhill from there. Piper had been a drug dealer, left the drug game, and ten years later was arrested in connection with a sweep arrest […]
By Joanne Greenberg Many people who have been through strongly negative experiences will declare afterwards, that their sufferings gave meaning and richness to their lives. I’ve never heard these emotions expressed by people who have been in prison. Incarceration is an experience its designers made for the purpose of changing lives. Each country’s prison system […]
By Joanne Greenberg A lifetime of working with the Deaf has given me a wealth of great memories and stories to share. Here are 2 quick ones that come to mind. I was in the nursing home, watching deafened elders scratching spidery words on paper. Many of the words were unreadable. A group was sitting, […]
By Joanne Greenberg Next time someone tells you to go fly a kite, show them this. Ray Bethell is in his 80s, and Deaf. A Canadian, Ray comes to the Washington State Kite Festival every year. He flies 3 kites. Two with his hands and one attached to his waist. The audience signals their applause […]
By Joanne Greenberg Part of the problem of Deaf low reading levels is due to insufficient education. Why should this be? The problem of low reading levels among the Deaf was supposed to have been solved 30 years ago, when mainstreaming was instituted to give Deaf kids an equal classroom experience, among their hearing neighbors […]
By Joanne Greenberg In Lakewood, Colorado as in many other places in the United States, people are protesting the placement of schools and other facilities for the Deaf. They worry about increased traffic, and the lowering of property values. They fear danger from the pupils in those schools, or the recipients of those services. ”We […]
By Joanne Greenberg Deaf men are overly represented in prison for the commission of sex crimes. They are therefore more often the targets of prison cruelty from guards and other prisoners. I think this is the result of a closed world of Deafness, itself. We know that sex offenders are more usually made than born, […]
The International Society for the Psychological Treatment of Schizophrenia (and other psychoses) U.S., is having their annual convention this year in Chicago. I am going to give a speech called, “The Lone Ranger is Busy and Tonto Has Split.” No matter what health plan is adopted for this country, it is going to feature large […]
The September 18th edition of the Washington Post – Health & Science section reports that even in the language of the deaf, race makes a difference. This story by Frances Stead Sellers of the Washington Post: Carolyn McCaskill remembers exactly when she discovered that she couldn’t understand white people. It was 1968, she was 15 […]
Often they do, but it depends on how long they have been deaf and what form of communication is natural to them. You can often see deaf people who are sleeping, talking to themselves in their sleep in full or half formed sign. Many report that the characters in their dreams use the same range […]
The grounds are beautiful at the facilities I visit at the State Prison, Department Of Correction. I walk past careful beds of flowers, not a weed in sight. There are no trees or shrubs, though, nothing to interfere with the line of sight. We, the visiting group, go through the main door and into a […]
Sometime ago, a Deaf friend asked me to interpret the 10:00 News. Captioning doesn’t always work with live TV feeds from on scene reporters, so I was glad to comply. “All of it,” she said. “Sure.” First, was a statement that the President said the country was on an even keel. Things were improving. This […]
Image courtesy of http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/2262984/Corrupt-prison-guards-fuel-drug-culture-in-prison.html Placing deaf inmates together has a positive effect, both for the individual in prison and for the officials and guards who are responsible for his care and treatment. There will be less, not more, of a management problem when deaf prisoners are grouped together, irrespective of the crimes for which they […]
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