Okay... One More Response to the Commenters on CBC.ca

Yep, I wrote another response on the CBC.ca article regarding the CRTC decision on accessibility for the deaf and blind Canadians. You can read the article here.

cle492001ca wrote:

"I heard his sense of smell was stronger because of the loss of his hearing. If there were fire, he would probably be the first to know about it. Very frugal."

You may be surprised to learn of the fact the smell of smoke is less than likely to wake you up.

Here is an article,

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3744/is_199812/ai_n8814288/

To quote,

"The scent of smoke aroused only 2 of the 10 subjects from their sleep, proving that people are less likely to smell things when they are sleeping."

2 out of 10? The odds are against you big time.

Besides, plastic object attached to a string? Please, let's not kid ourselves. That's only practical if it's in your viewing area, but it's not really practical to start with.

Mateo151 wrote:

"Although I can see a much more viable argument here, it seems to me that we all lived without all of these wonderful technologies as few as twenty years ago."

It's a different world today. Besides, deaf people struggled quite a lot back then. There were no closed captioning before the 1970s. There were no TTYs (phones for the deaf) in the first half of the 20th century. The technology available to the consumers today have made it easier for the deaf to live with more comfort and easiness. But there are still room for improvements to be made.

"Welcome to economics 101, the demand dictates the supply. "

Only if that was true in Canada. Certainly not the case when it comes to the cellphone market in Canada. A lot of people demand for better pricing plans with more choices in Canada only to get no results.

People need a better understanding of the issues surrounding people with disabilities and their needs. The only reason why they won't change the phone's pricing plans for the deaf is greed. Enough said.

Economics 101, the oldest excuse in the book on why to deny accessibility to Canadians with disabilities.

Another Response to the Commenters on CBC.ca

I wrote another comment in response to even more ignorant comments that was left on the CBC.ca article that I mentioned last night. You can read the article here.

Below is the second comment I left on the website.

Deaf and blind Canadians are responsible for paying for pretty much everything on their own. Hearing aids, fire alarms, doorbells and such that are equipped for the deaf. Do you realize how much they all cost? Also keep in mind that a lot of people with disabilities hold full-time jobs, pay their own bills and everything without asking for any assistance.

Much, much more than the measly $9.99 fire alarms people can buy at their local Canadian Tire stores. Way beyond than one would possibly imagine.

It's around $150 plus taxes to get a decent fire alarm along with an extra $300 for a single receiver with strobes to signal that there is a fire occurring within the house. But all a hearing person have to do is to pay $10 for a fire alarm because they can hear it. A decent hearing aid can cost someone around $1,500. So that would come to around $3,000 for a pair. A lot of insurance carriers won't even pay beyond $500 altogether. The government only go up to $500 per hearing aid.

Whenever someone goes off on a rant about how they have to pay for all of our needs because it's not true. We pay the most for all of it. Even closed captioning on most Canadian channels are funded by corporate sponsors, not the government like some would like to believe. The government will do its part in assisting a deaf Canadian if help is asked for in some situations. For instance, a hearing aid. Especially these who are in a lower tax bracket.

I, a deaf Canadian, am a taxpayer. I don't rely on any form of welfare. I hold a full-time job. I own my own car. I have a mortgage on a house. I don't rely on anyone to pay for my needs.

It is completely ridiciolous of people to complain about something they don't have a clue about. Not to mention that it is offensive to be lumped into a single category.

I just had to say it. There were too much ignorance for me to remain silent. It is astonishing how much ignorance there are in today's world. Especially in a country like Canada.

A Response to the Commenters on CBC.ca

Here is a bit of blogging of mine. I just had to blog on this matter because it is important for the deaf Canadians and the Canadians with disabilities to become aware of the ignorance toward us from the public. It's not a laughing matter when people are set to oppress any motions to mandate better accessibility for the deaf and the other Canadians with disabilities.

Today, I was reading an article reflecting the decision that was made by the CRTC. It wasn't the story that caught my attention. It was the commenters' comments that did. The amount of ignorance I had to see made it impossible for me to remain silent. Enough is enough. You can read the article along with the comments on it here.

Now, below is what I wrote in response to the ignorant comments left by the others.

I have to say something here. The amount of ignorance here is just plainly unacceptable. People are flapping their lips without knowing what they are talking about.

There is a significant number of deaf customers subscribing to at least one of the carriers in Canada. The pricing plans available to the public are simply unfair, especially to the deaf and hard of hearing who will never need to make a phone call.

All they need is an accessiblity plan including unlimited text messaging and internet/data. That's all they would ever need.

The fact is, a large number of deaf Canadians are paying for the voice plan that they will never, never use. But what choice do they have when it comes to owning a mobile phone? Not much. They are forced to put up with it if they want to carry a mobile phone.

Why on Earth should a deaf person have to pay for a voice plan when all they want is an unlimited text messaging and e-mail/data plan?

It just doesn't make any sense. The only thing that makes sense is that it's a great opportunity for the companies to squeeze more money out of the deaf customers. They do it because they can. It's completely legal. So why not? It doesn't make it right though. It's immoral, simple and plain.

Canadians are kidding themselves into thinking they are being overcharged and forced to kick the bill for the deaf and hard of hearing. The truth is, it's the deaf and hard of hearing customers who are subsidizing everybody else's phone plans. They pay far, far more than the average hearing customer will ever have to.

That's the sad truth and to have the hearing people bash the deaf and blind Canadians for demanding more accessibliity is just even sadder. So much for the so-called claim of diversity and tolerance that so many proudly brand themselves with.

Any thoughts? I just felt the urge to say something, so I decided to speak up. I don't mean to be so defensive, but what choice do I have when people are being oppressive?

Not much.

Banjo's Tweets

Hey folks, it has been quite a while. I'm not planning on blogging nor vlogging again anytime soon. Sorry for the disappointment. I do miss it, but I just don't have the time for it anymore. Although I do hope to return to it someday.

However, I figured I'll do some sort of mini-blogging by using Twitter. So, I hope some of you will be interested in subscribing to my tweets. On this blog, it's titled "Banjo's Tweets". You can find it on the right side. You can subscribe to it through Twitter.

Hope to see some of you folks tweeting along with my tweets!

Banjo Says Goodbye...

My fellow readers, as all of you have noticed, I haven't blogged or vlogged in a good while. My last entry was back in September.

My life has changed quite a lot in the last few months for the better. I loved blogging and vlogging, however I am finding it more difficult to focus any time on my blog these days. I have shifted my focus onto other things in my life. I enjoyed expressing my thoughts and sharing stories with all of you here on the Internet.

All good things must come to an end someday.

Today, I am officially retiring from the blogosphere. This blog will be up for a while for everybody to read through the archives. Maybe I'll come back someday. Who knows? Maybe something will re-ignite my passion to blog again someday. Maybe not. Regardless, I enjoyed being a part of the online community of deaf and hard of hearing bloggers/vloggers.

Good-bye.

Equal Access: HDMI is Inaccessible

Hello everybody, I'm glad to be back here after a lengthy vacation. I finally decided on a subject to cover. I feel that it is quite a serious situation. Please watch the vlog to learn why it concerns the deaf community in a big way. The vlog is captioned.



After watching the vlog, I hope you are now more aware of how serious this situation is becoming. The HDMI is becoming the standard of watching HD contents on HDTV. If we don’t do something soon, it may be too late. The damage is already being done as we speak.

To file a complaint with the FCC (Federal Communications Comission), you can click here to enter the page on their website. I hope you will do your part and support the deaf community in fighting the FCC’s way of approving technology to be used by the public. If a new cable, equipment and more are inaccessible to the deaf and hard of hearing, they should not be approved for mainstream market.

The change needs to be made now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not in a month, not in a year, not in a decade.

NOW!

UPDATE: Thanks to Bill Creswell for the great suggestion. You can direct your complaints directly to the HDMI group too as well. Click here to contact them.

Deaf Village, How About A Compromise?

The new blog aggregator, Deaf Village is the featured topic in this vlog. It is captioned in English for people who are not fluent in ASL (American Sign Language). In hope for a compromise, I decided to propose a solution to this situation. It has been on my mind for the last few days. Basically, it may be the only true way of promoting inclusivity of all people from all walks of life.

It is just a compromise that shows promise of building a bridge between the native ASL signers and English speakers. In the end, it is up to the Deaf Village team to talk it over and reach a decision.

For the better, I hope the outcome will be a positive result.