We the PEOPLE...

This time I want to briefly highlight the positive traits in the vloggers, bloggers, and commenters, former and current... what I have gleaned in the last four years in the d/Deaf cyberspace...I will name people in no particular order and briefly state a few positive traits that I have noticed and how they contribute to the Deaf Cyberspace.   This post is not complete; I will keep updating as I reflect on who contributed/contribute as time goes on.  If you want to add anyone's name with positive traits, or any more positive traits to already named people on this posting,  please comment and I will copy and paste to this post :-)  And... I challenge you to think of a good trait or two of anyone with whom you don't agree ;-)  Hey, there are several who I don't always agree with and yet I can think of good traits in them.  Unity and respect of all kinds of people call for  a building  of a village, right? ;-)

I submitted this link to this particular blog posting to DeafRead, because if not for DeafRead, I'd never gotten to know many people... in DR, DVTV, and ASLrocks.

 

 

Deaf Pundit--politically savvy, a keen eye on what's right and wrong, patient, solid as a rock.

Joey Baer--charismatic, delivering great speeches, thoughtful, heartfeeling--he's one of the inner forces for DeafRead to be up and running, bringing it to us. 

Barry Sewell--steadfast, independent, does not mince words, watchful, creative--I will never forget one videocomment of you showing the newly born puppies a few years ago in DVTV... a beautiful moment :-)

Ella Mae Lentz--a passionate lover of Deaf Culture, teacher, poet, strong heart, analytical in gathering support for the causes.

Ridor---oh yes, Ridor9th--intellectual, resourceful, able to grasp the meanings of the questions of life,  able to explain in the layman's terms, sharing his love of comics... Ridor... you have a LOT to offer, believe me. 

Russell E.--a strong parent advocate, proud, willing to communicate, with a surf board behind him ;-)

Barb Digi--gold heart, caring, cautious, a good listener, a strong supporter of Deaf Education, full of experiences---she will be one of the wisest Deaf Elders in a few decades from now ;-)

Aidan Mack--passionate, desire for learning, her crusuade for social issues.

Candy--thorough, level-headed, kind, keen-minded, interested in hearing all the sides.

Tayler Mayer--keen, ready to tackle the cultural issues, respectful, cool-headed.

MishkaZena--kind, caring, excellent researcher, ability to make us feel we are human beings.

White Ghost--funny, wisecracking, tough, knowledgeable of TV shows.

Joseph Pietro Riolo--his well-known ending line : "Public domain notice: I put all of my expressions in this post in the public domain."  Ahhh... yup, his constant showing his taking accountability of his words, being an example of how one comments with respect and thoughtfulness, asking questions instead of attacking... a bona fide, geninine commenter.

MikeZZ, DeafOIC--enjoys sharing jokes, his love of music, understanding of psychological issues.

Rachel--interested in life, passionate in sharing her experiences with us, kind, a gentle soul.

Dianrez--steadfast, gentle, not missing anything, thoughtful, not ruffling feathers easily, making us think and say, ah... thank you for your wisdom.

Ann_C--cool-headed, thoughtful, practicing a degree of neutrality, willing to change her way of communicating (like with Patti... Ann_C somehow easily picks up/plays off Patti's way of communicating, which is a delight ;-) )

Carl S./Kalalau -- a booksmart intellect, explaining the knicks of ASL, a cool storyteller of Dragon, a wine-maker amateur...

Patti Durr--ardent lover of truth, caring, a gentle soul, always willing to climb out on a limb.

Mike McConnell--intellectual, lover of nature, proud, cool-headed, thoughtful, funny.

Kim Ward--curious, caring, sensitive, humble.

HonBrit09/Kelsey--curious, caring, polite, smart, willing to listen.

Shawn/ASLForLife/PopeMistress--sensitive beneath her "tough lady" exterior, kind, enjoying a good laugh.

Paotie--lover of word play, expert at making people to take double-look at themselves, funny, wise-cracking.

Cobi Sewell/Ohbuckaroo--Respectful, kind, creative lover of animation art, quirky sense of humor, able to inject the lightness into the controversial issues.

Amy Cohen Efron--kind, curious, open-hearted, encompassing, heartful, considerate.

finlake--independent, wise-cracking, willing to listen to you even though he might not agree with you, quick to offer his handshake, thoughtful, acceptive of all kinds of people.

Rachel Chaikof--a gentle, kind, wide-eyed soul, loving to share her experiences with us, and willing to listen our POVs, and yet she has a strong head on her shoulders... currently she's studying in England as a graduate student in anthropology.

Shel, the Deaf Canadian--a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact, history buff, who listens and validates your comments.

John Egbert-Passionate and compassate towards Deaf children and their rights to access language fluently through ASL and English bilingually.

Tami Hossler- Strong supporter of Deaf Education, of Deaf Culture, kind, quick to be there for us, unfazed by our POVs.

Brenster-quick with words, willing to listen and to give a chance, does not mince words, able to look at different sides.

MM of At The Rim--a Welsh guy keeping tabs on the Deaf Culture in America as well as  sharing what's happening in the Great Britain's Deaf Community... dry sense of humor (hallmark of Great Britain, I believe), kindly listening to our causes, sharing his insight with us...

ASLNikki--a passionate student of multicultures in the Deaf Culture, an intense linguist in ASL, quirky sense of humor, oozing quiet self-confidence to people.

Crystal Sewell--warm-hearted, wise, kind, strong yet quiet supporter of all of us, especially Barry, sharing her insights and her ability to treat us equally.

Seek Geo--funny, wisecracking, open-hearted, caring, loves to share his travel experiences... especially his love of the TV show, Hell's Kitchen.

J. Parrish Lewis of Words in My Hands, Words in My Pocket--an self-established author of The Goblin Road, having a way with presenting his experiences to us as detached objective narrator, nonplussed and at the same time inquisitive.

DeafJeff of The Terlinguan--a poet who uses a lot on analogies in a sort of deadpan way, sees differently in what's happening in the Deaf cyberspace,  a deep yet detached thinker.

Zurfer of ASLMedia--an entrepreneur, one of several misunderstood Deaf people, creative in how to bring ASL to both Hearing and Deaf communities, willing to put up with a lot of doubts and questions about his creditability, tackling controversial issues with his unique point of view, not easily giving up when things get rough.  

Ben Vess--a blogger and a vlogger in his own right, something of one of a kind, making it clear that it's OK to have our perspectives EVOLVE, a very much human being, full of MWAHs.

BigBenFactor--a commenter/vlogger/blogger; he is a strong prolife supporter, willing to make points, willing to sit down and to tackle the myths and the facts without making any enemies.  His way of blogging and vlogging reminds me of a jabbing boxer :-)

Jodi of Am American Mom in Tuscany--sexy, pensive, full of life, sharing experiences with us like an open book, passionate in making sure that the Deaf babies get proper diagnosis and that the parents get access to information...reading her blog is like reading Eat, Pray, and Love in a  way.

Tousi--a new (I assume) commenter... he brings his insight into the blogs and the Deaf issues, a nice balance.  I am growing to enjoy reading his comments...

(e--a new blogger who addresses the issues in the Deaf Education (she works as a Teacher of the Deaf) and her creative approach to the certain Deaf terms (check out her videos), she brings a sense of patience to the cyberspace, and her ability to share her real experiences with us without getting offended, her way of validating her own experiences and helping us to see the parallels in the real life.

Don G.--An interesting character... his ability to explain the Deaf issues/terms clearly and his consistency in standing by what he beleives, his politeness.

iammine--a brown long-haired lady with graceful hands and smiling eyes, she shared her love of music (Pearl Jam!), her supportive stance for ASL to be taught to everyone, especially to the Deaf babies and children; my daughter who was 6 years old then made a video poem of iammine's dream. 

Jay Krieger--a philospher, quietly challenging us to think outside the box, to have moments of "I see what you say..." and  reminding us to just remember not to get heated, that it's just opinions.  Tall, orange-haired biker whose career has been in Deaf education (technology-wise)...

deafk--gentle, introspective, polite lady who usually leaves a calming effect in the Deaf cyberspace :-)  Her perky smiles and her sighs have us wondering what goes on in her mind and her sharing of her experiences has us nodding in agreement. 

ABCJohn--a cheerful comedian with WHITE teeth, who loves sharing jokes and stories with us, delighting in cheering us up and in seeing us chuckling, roaring in laughter, giggling, or just simply smiling.  I will never forget his sharing the video of his skydiving, with his wife Jill and his son... awesome!

Jill Lestina--a deeply spiritual, joyful lady who shared the tidbits of wisdom with us (like the scorpion story), who always has wide beaming smiles for all of us, who makes us feel good within ourselves, feeling we are OK.

LaRonda Zupp--a deeply spiritual lady who has come to embrace and celebrate Deaf Culture in a beautiful way, with a flirty twinkle in her blue eyes and an almost mischivious smile.   She shared her story of how she became deaf and how she journeyed to change deaf to Deaf.  

Oscar Serna-- an interesting guy with his hair in ponytail who is sight-limited, was one time a minister who decided to go to Gallaudet U. (his decision was inspired by Barb Digi's vlogs/blogs, as I recall from his v/blog.)  He is very quick to jump in the heavy discussions, voicing his opinions with respect and gives out his respect.  He is a good example of how  "respect" should mean in the Deaf cyberspace...

Jean Boutcher--a worldly sophiscated Deaf artist whose parents were translators in Europe, she grew up learning multilanguages, being an inspiring example to us that learning more than TWO languages is a wonderful goal for us Americans :-)

Jon Savage--a Deaf entertainer in his own right with impish wide smiles, he brings his love of ASL and  his love of surfing to us.  I will never forget his YouTubevideo ASL Poetry: Bully ASL...

DeafChip/David Kerr--a Canadian man who shares what's happening in Canada's Deaf community with us, cheerful, gregarious, whose concern for the welfare of the Deaf community is encompassing, very eager to explain the Deaf issues, willing to listen with patience.

Ocean--a Deaf feminist in her own right, she shared her experience of firewalking with us, teaching the true meaning of the "whole" psychology, her being able to live to the fullest as a full person immersed in different beliefs (paganism)... I have met her in person, so I am somewhat biased ;-)  She is awesome in person as she is in her blog....

Teri Sentelle--a very first vlogger of the Deaf Cyberspace, I believe.  Spunky, energitic, kind, mother of TEN children whose hubby is a chef ;-)  She had us enthralled with her "I Love Teri" videos, copied after "I Love Lucy" tv show and she shared the Zen stories with us...

JaceyJa--a commenter.  She got me enchanted with her special bond with her birds.  She is sweet, kind, thoughtful.

Insanemisha--tough, vibrant, not mincing words (she uses "balls" in a certain way ;-P), she has us watching keenly her, feeling the pulse of the Deaf cyberspace.  Recently she shared her experience about menopause... frank, raw.

Comments

[Dianrez]

Appreciate your research and showcasing the positive attributes of the chief bloggers, and that you honored me by choosing me to be among them.

It's true that if we met in person, we'd like each other and enjoy each other's company for an evening. In cyberspace it's only ideas that meet, and ideas often clash. Hidden motives, too, often clash with others and create suspicion and fears that it might mislead parents and other allied people.

Thanks, Karen, for helping to bridge the many chasms in cyberspace. I hope this has started something, as with bloggers talking about bullying and harassment and generating a lot of agreement. We all need that.

[A Deaf Pundit]

Thanks for your sweet words, Karen. :)

[brenster-]

That is one attribute about you that I admire. You can find at least a few positive attributes about all persons. Your challenge to all of us, I must admit I couldn't do it. Some things that some persons did were really damaging that made it difficult for me to look beyond those to name their positive attributes. Sorry, but I do admire you for being a better person. Kudos to you :-)

[Tami]

Karen,
Please add John Egbert for his passion and compassion towards
Deaf children and their rights to access language fluently through
ASL and English bilingually.

Please add yourself for valuing and honoring the true
human soul through creating a positive blog.

[patti durr]

Karen -

wow how do i love thee - let me count the ways.

U r a good soul for looking for the good in folks and sharing what u appreciate in others.

I was looking for u listed in ur list and u r absent.

Not cool - girl ; ) smile

so here it is (me opinion)

Karen Mayes - A brave soul. Someone who has come forward and apologized for past slights and has set a course for tranquility. Someone who is examining the unexamined diligently and peacefully (MLK said positive peace is not the absence of tension but rather the presence of justice)

will ya add the above to ur listing - pretty please? u can revise as u see fit - i know me writing style is perplexity at times.

This is no easy feat at all. i admire ya

thanks for creating safe spaces for us to land.

Note: re ur Ann_C - "with Patti... Ann_C somehow easily picks on Patti's way of communicating,"

in her defense - i would amend the statement to be "picks UP on Patti's way of communicating..." i dont really get the feeling she is picking ON my way as much as playing off of it ; )

thanks again karen

Peace

patti

[Ann_C]

Karen,

Lol, picking ON Red-hots here, oh, lordy, she'd never let me live that one down. No, I think you mean I can PLAY off Patti's words and a lively banter ensues. All in fun. ;)

Patti's right, you haven't included the blogger that examines the unexamined and poses a thoughtful question.

Thanks for the positive thots flowing from your center.

Ann_C

[Karen Mayes]

Hey, keep comments coming.

Plus, I have revised the part about Ann_C and Patti's way of bantering... thanks for correcting me ;-)

[Toby Wyler]

No mention of Robert Mason? Oh my, I'm sure his feelings are hurt by your oversight! :)

[Karen Mayes]

Toby, you can tell me about him and I will add him on my posting. I don't follow everyone's blog... I try to follow a lot of people's blogs ;-)

[Tousi]

Karen, very nice installation! As for additions to this list, maybe you can opt for something along the lines of Zurfer's new book....oops *ducking*

[Karen Mayes]

Ahhh... Zurfer. I see there's a cloud of controversy over his book. He's something of a misunderstood person in the Deaf Cyberspace... hmmm a bit of mystery, all right. :-) @ Tousi.

[theholism]

Nice... the funny thing is I disagreed with some of it. (ha ha ha) Of course that's coming from a steadfast, independent, does not mince words, watchful, creative odd ball guy.

Will let Cobi and Crystal know that they also made it into the list. Crystal vlogged for the first time yesterday and yet she made it into this wonderful list. Impressive! That's more than I could say for myself. (ha ha ha)

I remember the newborn puppies. They all ended up at some of the working ranch in Challis Idaho.

Good one.

[Candy]

lol well, I think you might be able to add more words for each when you actually meet people in person.

Staying mum on my description, but thank you Karen. You are a sweet soul.

[Joseph Pietro Riolo]

Awww, I blushed when I saw my name in your long list. Thank you for your kind words.

I was wowed by your rare ability to find goodness in every individual in the list. I know I could not do that; it would be an impossible task for me. I am pretty sure that the children who are placed on Santa Claus' Naughty List would love to hire you as their advocate. :-)

I am not good at choosing right words to describe you but will end by saying that you are truly a wonderful person.

Looking forward to seeing new additions to your list.

Joseph Pietro Riolo
josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com

Public domain notice: I put all of my expressions in this post in the public domain.

[White Ghost]

Ha! Thanks for the compliment.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) sure did inspire me! Still do.

Don't you forget about the tough girl, Jodi from Italy?

What about your husband? He's Bizmo, honor of Gizmo.... he just chewed up the huge Canadian's cigar. :razz:

Gotta go and get busy for Woody Woodpecker's Show!

;-)

[Barb DiGi]

Wow! I really don't know how you could do that as it takes one to have such a gift, a talent, to type up with this kind of positive perspective of each of the b/vloggers in spite of what they are known to me and other individuals.

Oh, how I wish we all could see the same as you. Imagine if we did, what would it be like in this b/vlogosphere? I know that we all desire to have this kind of peace and I do believe this post of yours is a reminder to see the best of each individual no matter what. Please allow me to describe you Karen...

Karen Mayes is like a fairy who carries a beacon of hope
with the magical sparkling powder.
In the morning, when all is busy doing their thing,
sprinkling fairy dust in each b/vlogger/commentators' eyes,
she sits patiently and wait. . .
When their eyes open, the twinkle will appear –
soon they realize that Karen was here!

I just adapted it from http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?sitename=mysticwords&displaypoem=t&item=poetry&poemnumber=1044503

The animated pictures are cute!
They surely reminded me of you!

Gosh I better stop before I get a bit more corny!

Thank you for the fairy dust!

[Shel]

Heh... Karen, so I'm nonsense? heh...

Nice blog, by the way. It's obvious you took a lot of time to think on each vlogger and blogger. Yet, more time is taken in doing this post.

Barb, nice poetry!

Will respond with a longer comment. (I received an email letting me know I was mentioned here.)

Shel

[Brian L. Mayes]

Hey, Shel, I'm pretty sure she meant "no" nonsense...

Yea, she is wonderful in that way and I'm just grateful that she is a part of my life.

WG, Bizmo, awesome I love it! Better be careful cuz I might live up to it! Bawhahahaaa

[finlake]

This is so totally uberly cool!! Hmm, Karen Mayes, it appears you're quite an INTERESTING character I do look forward to meet one of those days. (That goes for you too, Patti) :)

[Karen Mayes]

Good morning...

Shel, thanks for pointing it out to me. For a moment I was struggling with finding a right word to explain that you gave out facts and I thought it was nonsense... now I feel embarrassed and it should be no-nonsense...

Surprise, my level of vocabulary and my English grammar is not great but I learn everyday, trying to be better in writing.

[Karen Mayes]

Heh, Barb... you are nice.. I am sure everyone can do it, seeing the positive traits in everyone. I have noticed again and again how things are different in the cyberspace... how things are somewhat intense enough to breed distrust, hatred, etc. that does not apply in real life. So I try to be myself in the cyberspace as I am in real life.

[Karen Mayes]

White Ghost, gotcha... Jodi!

[Karen Mayes]

Hey folks, if I did not name you, it's not on purpose. I can't think of who else more... could use your help here.

[deafk]

Hello!!? Remmy me? deafk... What about LaRonda? Jay Kreiger? ABCool? You describe those people in a positive light that we need to be reminded how they are in vlogsphere on positive side. :)

[Karen Mayes]

:D @ deafk... thanks for giving me names... I need that! I have to step out for a few chores and when I am back, I will add them to my blog!

[aslnikki]

Yes!

A long overdue blog that we, Deaf cybers, desperately need for peaceful unity.

Embrace and respect our differences.

Mend our wounds inflicted by our divisions within each other and hold hands in solidarity.

I am not you. You are not me. We come from different walks of life and each one of us experience discrimination one way or other by the majority.

But we both are alike, still.

I am for ASL for d/Deaf children regardless of child's Deaf, deaf, or HOH status, tool preference or non preference, ability levels, ethnicity or SES. My experience shaped my views. It goes the same for you. Do not feel sorry for my daughter. Her CI is a part of her identity. Being respectful and non judgemental is what I want from you. You get this from me.

Stay united and continue to discuss whatever issues we have without negativity or mockery against our own kind.

Tikkun olam and Shalom. Seriously!

~aslnikki

[Oscar Serna]

*cough* *point at myself* *cough*

Nice list ;).

[Karen Mayes]

Gotcha, Nikki... you said it all:-)

Yup, Oscar... you are on it.

[deafk]

Hi, Karen,

Thanks for your perspective on us and our positive sides... Of course, we all are motivated to provide the messages to our Deaf communities. :)

Good observation!

[Don G.]

Thanks for the kind words, Karen. I was beginning to feel like the uncoordinated, fat kid who always gets picked last in PE, who can see the other kids's faces saying "oh no, please, don't let me be on his team" and then there is a collective groan from his teammates when he ends up on their team by default.... *sniff, sniff!* ;-)

You and I have disagreed much and often, but I've never borne you any ill will for it, because you always stated what you thought with respect and courtesy, and you are willing to engage in a serious dialogue on the issues.

Might I suggest also adding DeafChip (David Kerr) to this mix?

[Karen Mayes]

Don G., done with David :-)

Wow, a lot of bloggers/vloggers/commenters on my list. I know there are more, so please come over and let me know. If I don't know enough, volunteer information also.

[Oscar Serna]

*wink*
Nice commentary on me. Accurate info all around except my last name is Serna *lol*.

Like I said above, really nice list. It takes a special heart to think out positive aspects of others even with strong opposites about here *lol*. Take care, Karen :).

[Karen Mayes]

Hey, Oscar... I corrected the spelling of your last name... I am sorry :-)

[LaRonda]

Karen, what a joyful post you have here! I feel honored to be listed. I appreciate the time and effort you put into thinking about us all. Vblogging and meeting new people has been such a wonderful experience. I have made some very close friends as a result. It is not only a form of creative self expression., but also a mirror in which we see ourselves, and a lense in which we can view society and promote change. We have learned many things on this journey. We have all come far.

~ LaRonda

[Jeffrey]

Howdy Back'atcha!

This is a nice post.
Gracias.

[PopeMistress]

Hi Karen! *blushing myself* hahaha Thanks!

[patti durr]

Karen
again what ya done here is good

i still got my objection though!

pretty please add karen mayes!

pretty please?

fair is fair

peace

patti

[Karen Mayes]

:-) @ Patti...

Actually, this blog has been a kind of therapy for me... learning to look for good stuff in people. And I hope that people who view this blog would take a hint from me.. no need to make enemies online.

I am really okay with myself... a few people who described me in the comments... I leave that in the comments ;-) However, it's interesting to see how quickly we forget that everyone has "good" side... that sadly tells us that negative is more "attractive" than positive :-/

Nevertheless, I will march on, with an eye on the prize... that we are GOOD PEOPLE WHO CARE!

:-)

[Kim]

Karen,
This was beautiful. It's so hard to find the good in people we dislike. I need a lesson in that.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you Karen for this list and for your kind words about me! I really appreciate it. I am discovering new bloggers/vloggers through this list, can't wait to check them out.

Thanks,

(e

[patti]

karen -

i accept ur humility and happy to see the comments tipping their hats in ur direction

ya have done real good here

eyes on the prize indeed and "we the people of the online Deaf community do ordain...."

thank u again

peace

p

[Mishka Zena]

What a heautiful post. Like you, I try to find the positives in others. This comes in a good time. Many thanks, Karen mwah

[Jill Lestina]

Thank you, Karen! :o)

[Air Jordan 13 On Sale]

This time I want to briefly highlight the positive traits in the vloggers, bloggers, and commenters, former and current... what I have gleaned in the last four years in the d/Deaf cyberspace...I will name people in no particular order and briefly state a few positive traits that I have noticed and how they contribute to the Deaf Cyberspace. This post is not complete; I will keep updating as I reflect on who contributed/contribute as time goes on. If you want to add anyone's name with positive traits, or any more positive traits to already named people on this posting, please comment and I will copy and paste to this post :-) And... I challenge you to think of a good trait or two of anyone with whom you don't agree ;-) Hey, there are several who I don't always agree with and yet I can think of good traits in them. Unity and respect of all kinds of people call for a building of a village, right? ;-)

[BigBenFactor]

Hello, how did I overlook this blog? Thanks for the shout out. LOL
Have a great summer. :)

~BBF