Yes Cullen said those words - awaiting a reply from him

Hi all

An update - some folks have said that Cullen was misquoted in the media saying:

“This bill is going to allow children to keep their hearing, to become members of society, to go to school and keep a job.”

AFA understands that it is easy to be misquoted or taken out of context. The statement was made on April 23 and carried by the Associated press in radio, TV and print outlets.

Cullen's office never made any public attempt to retract the statement or clarify the context in which it was stated. AFA sent Rep. Cullen a letter Thursday at 12:05 am asking for an apology for this statement and inviting him to learn more about audism.

We received no reply. We called his office today to:
1. confirm that Rep. Cullen made this statement - the answer was YES he said those words.

2. ask for a reply to AFA's letter. The staff member said they did not receive any email from AFA. AFA checked that our email address for them was correct and yes it was. We also confirmed that our email was sent out of our gmail account successful with no bounce back or notification that it failed to deliver.

3. AFA has re-sent our letter to Cullen's office and also invited, Cullen to reply with an apology for the statement and clarification that we could post on our public website.

4. AFA also took the opportunity to make sure Rep. Cullen's office was familiar with the word Audism and the response was yes they were. AFA still took the opportunity to explain that while Rep. Cullen may have been quoted out of context - he did make that offensive statement, which indicates the believe that to hear and speak is superior to being Deaf and that is audism.

We look forward to a reply from Rep. Cullen

Contact Cullen for an apology for audist statement AFA sample email

AFA is committed to combating audism and misrepresentation of Deaf people in the media. AFA has sent a letter to Rep. Cullen (see previous posting in this site) and AFA encourages Deaf and Hearing folks to send an email, fax, or give a call to Wisc. Rep. Cullen - feel free to use the text below as you see fit.

Representative David Cullen website and contact information below:

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/W3ASP/contact/legislatorpages.aspx?house=Assembly&district=13

Room 216 North
State Capitol
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708

Telephone
(608) 267-9836 Or
(888) 534-0013

District Telephone
(414) 774-4115

Fax
(608) 282-3613

Email
Rep.Cullen@legis.wisconsin.gov


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SAMPLE LETTER:
AFA has already sent representative Cullen an letter explaining the term audism so he is familiar with the concept. If you prefer to use a different word in the sample letter below - discrimination, oppression, prejudice - etc. Please feel free to put in the word you feel best fits.

If you want to keep the word audism but want to add a short definition (the notion that to hear and speak is superior to being Deaf) please do.

Thanks for contacting Cullen.
______________

Greetings Rep. Cullen:

You have been quoted by the associated press in several media outlets on April 23, 2009 saying:

“This bill is going to allow children to keep their hearing, to become members of society, to go to school and keep a job.”

I find your remarks about Deaf people who do not have hearing aids or cochlear implants to be offensive and a form of audism.

We look forward to an apology from you and evidence that you fully understand the pros and cons of cochlear implantation and its impact on infants and children.

A voting and tax paying member of society,

AFA to Rep Cullen - Deaf Folks ARE Members of Society

Below is a letter that AFA wrote to Wisc. Rep. Cullen.

We have sent it to:
Rep. Cullen
media outlets which carried Cullen’s quote
National Association of the Deaf
Deaf Bilingual Coalition
Deaf Youth USA

In our next posting we will have a sample letter that you can send to Rep. Cullen and next is a petition to Governor Doyle asking him not to sign the bill into law that would mandate insurance co. to cover cochlear implants.

Senate Bill 27: http://legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB27hst.html
Assembly Bill 16: http://legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB16hst.html

On a side note - thank you all who have been showing your faith, support, and hope by taking a stand for justice and against audism.

Let Freedom Roll

-------------------

May 15, 2009

Representative Cullen:

You have been quoted in the media as saying that the bill to have insurance companies cover very expensive cochlear implants “is going to allow children to keep their hearing, to become members of society, to go to school and keep a job.” Associated Press, April 23, 2009 – see link below

We would like you to know that your statement is a blatant example of audism. Audism is attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf people of all walks of life.

We would like you to know that your statement exemplifies great ignorance and is very insulting. We would like you to know that –
1. Cochlear implants do not allow children to KEEP their hearing. The children are Deaf.

2. Deaf people are members of society and pay taxes, vote, work, live, and raise families fine with or without hearing aids and cochlear implants.

3. Deaf people have been going to school in the U.S. since 1817 and are able to keep a job.

We realize that you may have never met a Deaf person who uses ASL and loves Deaf culture. We realize that you may view being Deaf as an affliction and something that needs to be fixed.

We wish that you would do your homework when advocating for legislation that directly impacts a people, culture, and language of which you know nothing about.

Cochlear implants do not restore full hearing, they are incredibly expensive especially with the current push for two because one is inadequate. Even with two the results are iffy and the risks are several. Furthermore, implants require years of intensive costly auditory verbal therapy, which bans lipreading and American Sign Language. Many individuals who have cochlear implants still utilize access services of oral or cued speech interpreters AND/or computer aided real time transcription.

While many view cochlear implants an expensive “start up” cost to prevent other auxillary aid expenses (such as interpreters and CARTS) later in life, this has not proven to be the case.

We invite you to issue a formal apology for your accidental audism and we welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss audism and this bill more indepth.

Let Freedom Roll,

Audism Free America

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/04/23/cochlear_implants/

Response to Wisc. Bill and Cullen's statement

Congrats and thanks to Tim Riker for writing this response and getting it published

www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/print/chi-0511vplettersbriefs2may11,0,1555936.story
chicagotribune.com
Success for deaf community
May 11, 2009
This is in response to “Wisconsin could be first to require cochlear implants” (News, April 23). Sometimes the worst things in history have been done with the best intentions.

Lawmakers tend to simplify an issue and say if more children have access to cochlear implants then they would be able to close down the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. The reality is, they are ignoring some critical aspects.

Babies, whether they are hearing or deaf, can acquire language skills through American Sign Language before they can speak. The benefits of early language development from sign language is more consistently successful than relying on an invasive surgery that could cause death or other serious side effects. Sure there are success stories, but what about those children who still cannot understand speech even after years of extensive speech training?

The formula for success of any deaf child must include positive deaf role models and a positive self-identity. This means that schools must have deaf teachers and administrators who can empathize and communicate effortlessly with them. It’s understandable that parents would want their children to remain close to them and to hear and speak like them, but it is dangerous to cling to the false hope that cochlear implants or intensive speech therapy will make their children “whole” again. That puts the child at a tremendous disadvantage and puts him or her through unnecessary risk.

As a Democrat and deaf person myself, Rep. David Cullen (D-Milwaukee) does the deaf community a great disservice when he says, “This bill is going to allow children to keep their hearing, to become members of society, to go to school and keep a job.”That is an insult to me and many in the deaf community because it tells society that unless deaf people can hear and speak, they are unequal, uneducated and unemployed. That is fallacious and his comments only encourage discrimination on the basis of a person’s ability to hear and speak.

I am living proof of a successful deaf person without cochlear implants; I have a degree from Georgetown University, work at an investment bank and am certainly an equal member of society.

—Timothy Riker, Chicago

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

Letter AFA has sent to Senator Cullen

Below is a letter that AFA wrote to Wisc. Rep. Cullen.

We have sent it to:
Rep. Cullen
media outlets which carried Cullen’s quote
National Association of the Deaf
Deaf Bilingual Coalition
Deaf Youth USA

In our next posting we will have a sample letter that you can send to Rep. Cullen and next is a petition to Governor Doyle asking him not to sign mandating of insurance co. covering of cochlear implants and hearing aids the bill into law.

Senate Bill 27: http://legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB27hst.html
Assembly Bill 16: http://legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB16hst.html

On a side note - thank you all who have been showing your faith, support, and hope by taking a stand for justice and against audism.

Let Freedom Roll

-------------------

May 15, 2009

Representative Cullen:

You have been quoted in the media as saying that the bill to have insurance companies cover very expensive cochlear implants “is going to allow children to keep their hearing, to become members of society, to go to school and keep a job.” Associated Press, April 23, 2009 – see link below

We would like you to know that your statement is a blatant example of audism. Audism is attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf people of all walks of life.

We would like you to know that your statement exemplifies great ignorance and is very insulting. We would like you to know that –
1. Cochlear implants do not allow children to KEEP their hearing. The children are Deaf.

2. Deaf people are members of society and pay taxes, vote, work, live, and raise families fine with or without hearing aids and cochlear implants.

3. Deaf people have been going to school in the U.S. since 1817 and are able to keep a job.

We realize that you may have never met a Deaf person who uses ASL and loves Deaf culture. We realize that you may view being Deaf as an affliction and something that needs to be fixed.

We wish that you would do your homework when advocating for legislation that directly impacts a people, culture, and language of which you know nothing about.

Cochlear implants do not restore full hearing, they are incredibly expensive especially with the current push for two because one is inadequate. Even with two the results are iffy and the risks are several. Furthermore, implants require years of intensive costly auditory verbal therapy, which bans lipreading and American Sign Language. Many individuals who have cochlear implants still utilize access services of oral or cued speech interpreters AND/or computer aided real time transcription.

While many view cochlear implants an expensive “start up” cost to prevent other auxillary aid expenses (such as interpreters and CARTS) later in life, this has not proven to be the case.

We invite you to issue a formal apology for your accidental audism and we welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss audism and this bill more indepth.

Let Freedom Roll,

Audism Free America

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/04/23/cochlear_implants/