![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
capri0mniAnd it needs just shy of 5,000 more signatures to survive to the next round. [ETA: It passed! Just checked the site, now, out of curiosity, and number needed: 0. Number received: 25,132. \o/ Happy Hand-waves! Congratulations to all who sign/ed.]
I signed this petition last month, by the way. But forgot to signal boost it at the time.
[ETA: Oops! forgot the link! Officially Recognize American Sign Language as a Language of Community and Instruction in Schools]
Frankly, even if official recognition would "only" be symbolic, I think it's a good idea (wouldn't have signed it, otherwise). American Sign Language has, as some of its roots, the natural emergence of Sign Language on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the signed languages used as Lingua Franca among the aboriginal Nations of North America, prior to European invasion. In that sense, it's more "American" than English, which is, after all, the language of King George the Third. :-P
This video has closed captions.
If you sign, sign it!
Last month, Obama won re-election, and soon after that, he proposed that people submit petitions
to the White House suggesting things that the government should work on for the next four years.
People submitted different things, including some frivolous ones, like
that some of the states should secede from the United States. Pshaw!
One person, Adrean Clark, submitted a petition to
Recognize ASL and Deaf people's right to use ASL as a language for learning and education.
I saw this petition and immediately thought "this is right! Do something proactive, not reactive!"
I thought for sure that this petition would meet the quota quickly by the deadline, which is December 12.
I thought there are plenty of Deaf people and Hearing allies to meet the quota -- 25,000 -- that's all we needed -- 25,000 signatures!
I was stunned to see that now, it's December 7, with less than one week left before the deadline,
and there are still six or five thousand signatures needed.
Yes, this petition is a long shot --
the U.S. has no officially recognized language -- not even English!
And this petition is asking to recognize ASL. Problematic.
But at the same time, if we can bring it up to the President, and he can start looking into the issues,
maybe he can come up with a different idea, or even accept this idea,
and help us Deaf people.
But.... people out there are not signing it!
This puzzles me.
If you are Deaf and you sign, sign it!
If you are hearing and you sign, sign it!
If you're learning ASL, sign it!
If you say you love ASL and Deaf culture, sign it!
If you work with Deaf people, sign it!
If your work involves using sign language, sign it!
If you have a Deaf child, or Deaf siblings, sign it!
Even if you don't sign, sign it for your Deaf children or siblings and future Deaf children so they don't have to suffer communication barriers because their families don't sign. Sign it!
If you have EVER made a video of yourself signing a song, sign it!
If you've ever made money off sign language such as by publishing a book of "smutty sign language", sign it!
If we Deaf can't get it together enough to get 25,000 people to agree to sign a simple petition,
and act proactively, we have no right to complain about the problems that we Deaf people face.
If you sign, sign it!
I signed this petition last month, by the way. But forgot to signal boost it at the time.
[ETA: Oops! forgot the link! Officially Recognize American Sign Language as a Language of Community and Instruction in Schools]
Frankly, even if official recognition would "only" be symbolic, I think it's a good idea (wouldn't have signed it, otherwise). American Sign Language has, as some of its roots, the natural emergence of Sign Language on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the signed languages used as Lingua Franca among the aboriginal Nations of North America, prior to European invasion. In that sense, it's more "American" than English, which is, after all, the language of King George the Third. :-P
This video has closed captions.
If you sign, sign it!
Last month, Obama won re-election, and soon after that, he proposed that people submit petitions
to the White House suggesting things that the government should work on for the next four years.
People submitted different things, including some frivolous ones, like
that some of the states should secede from the United States. Pshaw!
One person, Adrean Clark, submitted a petition to
Recognize ASL and Deaf people's right to use ASL as a language for learning and education.
I saw this petition and immediately thought "this is right! Do something proactive, not reactive!"
I thought for sure that this petition would meet the quota quickly by the deadline, which is December 12.
I thought there are plenty of Deaf people and Hearing allies to meet the quota -- 25,000 -- that's all we needed -- 25,000 signatures!
I was stunned to see that now, it's December 7, with less than one week left before the deadline,
and there are still six or five thousand signatures needed.
Yes, this petition is a long shot --
the U.S. has no officially recognized language -- not even English!
And this petition is asking to recognize ASL. Problematic.
But at the same time, if we can bring it up to the President, and he can start looking into the issues,
maybe he can come up with a different idea, or even accept this idea,
and help us Deaf people.
But.... people out there are not signing it!
This puzzles me.
If you are Deaf and you sign, sign it!
If you are hearing and you sign, sign it!
If you're learning ASL, sign it!
If you say you love ASL and Deaf culture, sign it!
If you work with Deaf people, sign it!
If your work involves using sign language, sign it!
If you have a Deaf child, or Deaf siblings, sign it!
Even if you don't sign, sign it for your Deaf children or siblings and future Deaf children so they don't have to suffer communication barriers because their families don't sign. Sign it!
If you have EVER made a video of yourself signing a song, sign it!
If you've ever made money off sign language such as by publishing a book of "smutty sign language", sign it!
If we Deaf can't get it together enough to get 25,000 people to agree to sign a simple petition,
and act proactively, we have no right to complain about the problems that we Deaf people face.
If you sign, sign it!
