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2:10 p.m. - June 07, 2002
BHSA, LKHD, ADA, and other letters
I am happy now. If you were wondering why I didn't write during the past few days, it's because I was grumpy and too tired to do much of anything but watch TV.

Now the day is cold, grey, and rainy, and I'm happy now. I love this type of weather, and I'm wearing my Weisse Rose shirt. Perfect.

Anyway, I originally was planning (last night) to go to the Alte Pinothek today, but I woke up too lazy to do anything. So I guess I'll continue my Mad Museum Mania Month next week (having started with the Glyptothek yesterday). I did have to force myself to go grocery shopping today, though...I went out and it started raining. For some reason, even making mad dashes without an umbrella or anything covering my head gave me a sense of glee.

Between this entry and the last entry I wrote, I have also become a member of LKHD. In addition, I am now an active member (which means I have a "job" to do within the organization. After telling Florian that he was nuts because how could I help from USA, he suggested that I be their American relations person. This means that I would have a few odd jobs in the US: writing articles for their newsletter about "breaking stories" in the area of hearing loss in the US, mediating between LKHD and other organizations for the hearing impaired, and working as a translator, when needed. So I am happy about this, even though I also find this totally weird.

I've also been getting letters or mail the last few days, so I am awfully happy about this, even though one of them put me in a bad mood--it was an article I requested from BHSA about their study comparing universities/support for college students with hearing loss. See, I kept thinking about that BHSA meeting where I was insisting that support in the US was available at every college and university for those who are disabled, and Andreas Kammerbauer saying that it wasn't true, and me knowing that it is probably possible for exchange students to receive such help and support. I mean, I know people from Canada who were able to get some help and support, and I am sure there are others from other countries that are able to take full advantage of the laws.

It's making me mad all over again, especially since Kammerbauer was basing all of his statements on a study that they did in 1986-1989, well before the American With Disabilities Act came into effect in 1990. Augh. Obviously he will never listen to me, and I'm making myself mad again. What I hate, though, is that they had an American attending their meeting. They could have asked to see if the results were the same (no, they are not). They could have asked me for resources. They could have asked what I did to get services. But I get the impression that they don't care. Only their little bubble of Deaf activists care, but only about themselves and their little get-togethers and interpreters.

So I'm gonna blow this group out of the water by writing a good article about the differences between Germany and USA and I will send it to these people so they can see how wrong their beloved Andreas Kammerbauer is. Either that or I will help LKHD blow BHSA out of the water by writing amazing articles about the ADA and how to get services in the USA, even if you are German. I am sure I can do that, and leak the information out to other university-level students in Germany who are interested in BHSA and studying in the USA.

(I'm so mean for putting Kammerbauer's name here in my entry so many times. But there's a sick person inside of me who wants him to look up his name and read: Andreas Kammerbauer is an IDIOT. Or at least get other people to think about the fact that what they read and hear is not necessarily the truth.)

Thank goodness for the people of LKHD. They are always curious and are always willing to learn about how other people function. And they are always willing to share with others (for instance, they've got some visiting professor from China lined up for one of their conferences). I like how they take a good hard look at the differences between Germany and other countries, whatever they are. I think it's idealism or something, as they are a fairly new group and are not beat down by challenges or the snobbery like the one that absorbs BHSA.

I'm going to put my faith in LKHD. They've got a rough road ahead of them, just because they are so different and they do get flack for being only oral/auditory-verbal communicators: spoken language is the means of communication, not visual approaches like sign language.

But really, I'm a good person inside...(cookie points for anyone who gets the reference). I also feel better now that I've got a battle plan of sorts. I will do this. I will write awesome articles and information. And then share it all with LKHD, and none of the spoils will go to BHSA. Yes, that's good.

 

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