Greg Goldman Slits His Own Throat!

Oh, now. This is too funny (more on this comment later)! LMAO

Greg Goldman recently did an interview for the news. The video can be viewed at the following link. http://www.wapt.com/video/17397357/?taf=jac On this particular report, he states "You have a lot of Deaf that are low functioning or don't have a high level of reading..." and goes on to say that most read at the 4th or 5th grade level.

Now, I don't know where he gets his statistics or if there even ARE statistics on this subject, but I can tell you this. Among the Deaf with whom I'm acquainted, most are bilingual... Meaning they use both English as the hearing do AND ASL (Yes, ASL is classified as a language as well it should be). In how many languages can YOU communicate effectively? They function perfectly well in society at large and can give many hearing people a run for their money in the intelligence department! We’re talking college degrees and highly placed employment.

Now, exactly why do I find his comments "funny". I guess you have to understand my sense of humor... It's bent. I use "funny" in the most sarcastic vein you can imagine!

This man is a CODA, a "child of a Deaf adult". What that means is that he was raised with the ideals of Deaf Culture as his meat and potatoes. Despite this state of being, he managed to, in one fell swoop, denigrate the Deaf and resurrect the ugly stereotype that the Deaf Community has been trying to eradicate for decades... the idea that Deaf are somehow less. Some champion of “his” people, eh? With friends like that, who needs enemies?

The Deaf are no different than anyone else. Some are vastly intelligent, some not so much. Some have accompanying conditions, disabilities, etc. and some are perfectly healthy… They simply don’t hear. They LIKE being Deaf, are proud of who and what they are. They do not consider themselves as disabled or less than anyone else. I would imagine that the proportion of lower functioning to fully functioning is about the same as in the general populace. But Mr. Goldman uses words like “a lot” and “most” when referring to those that don’t deal with English very well??? Sorry, but that’s an ignorant statement!

Now, for the second part of my reasoning… And I find this HYSTERICAL! This man is the SON of the woman that heads the QA, the certification testing Board for sign language interpreters in the state of MS. This woman purportedly “owns” the QA. Egads! I’ve also heard rumors that another family member runs the School for the Deaf in central MS (I will check my facts on all of this later, I’m just restating unsubstantiated hearsay). These people are biased (a fact garnered from my own experience) and obviously ignorant of the community they are working for. And they’re in charge??? Don’t you find that to be the biggest hoot??? I don’t know about you, but it shocks ME.

I’d really like to hear some feedback from all of you out there.

BTW, Mr. Goldman, if you weren't a CODA and weren't related to someone important (in other words if you were just someone else from the state like us), the Board would have been the first to tell you that your signs are sloppy. Just a little FYI.

Now, for my friends who don’t hear, the following is the written report from the same interview…

Disabled Updated About Gustav Via Sign Language
Interpreter Reflects On 20 Years Of Sign-Language Experience

POSTED: 10:49 pm CDT September 4, 2008

MADISON COUNTY, Miss. -- When disaster strikes, many people turn to television to get information -- but for some, it's not that easy.
Greg Goldman is the sign-language interpreter for the deaf at the governor's news conferences, of which there were many during the coverage of Hurricane Gustav.
Goldman grew up with a deaf father and has been using sign language all his life, and 20 years ago, he decided to make it a career.
"That population is very special and dear to me," Goldman said. "I want to make sure they get where they need to go."
Goldman said many deaf people don't understand the words in a newspaper or closed captioning, so when bad weather rolls in, it's up to him to get the message out.
"You have a lot of deaf people that are low functioning or don't have a high reading level," he said. "Most of them read at about a fourth- or fifth-grade level in English. You have to understand that English is a totally different language for them."
After getting a lesson in American Sign Language, 16 WAPT's Kathryn Kight said she realized it isn't easy.
"If I was to say, 'I like the red car,' you would say, 'I like the red car.' If I was to sign it, I would say, 'red car me like,'" Goldman said.
It may come as a surprise, but he said signing the words is not the most important part of his job.
"Facial expressions are actually 90 percent of the communication, the body and the facial expressions are," Goldman said. "That's why you see me doing all that. I don't just normally do that."
Goldman has to think quickly to sign what the speaker is saying. He admitted that it can be stressful at times. That's why Denee Smith is there to help.
"He was up there and was trying to think of the sign for Baptist and I'm going, 'Baptist,'" said Smith, who is the deaf services state coordinator at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, which employs Goldman.
In case you're wondering what his favorite sign is, Goldman said, "My favorite sign word is, 'I love you,' because it's easy and it's positive."
Goldman started interpreting for the governor and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency during Hurricane Ivan.