Forward Thinking--the Yin to Yang of Deficit Thinking

Everyone's a Deficit Thinker. Period. Every since the term was coined and disseminated throughout the blogsphere--I have seen nothing short of a witchhunt against each other--as though we are eating our own selves to death. AGBell would be laughing if he could see all of our discussions and the finger-pointing and the begging for censorship. What the hell, guys? Sure, "deficit thinking" is a viable term, but it warrants further clarification and discussion. Its apparent that with the introduction of this new term, that it has hit a raw nerve amongst us all--that we are our own deficit thinking machines and now we're gettin' all pissy about it!! From Egbert to Paotie to Ella Mae to Kalalau to Mishkazena to DE and even myself. Maybe the simple matter is, that merely by engaging in the discussion of Deficit Thinking, that we are actually DOING it. Perhaps then we ought ban that term? It's really becoming a hot potato that nobody wants to touch anymore. And the sad thing is, I can actually see some folks truly thriving on the negativity as though it's an ego game where one wants to get the last word and the last laugh. Egos and personalities are becoming bruised and hurt. I do not see how Deficit Thinking can be a positive integer in our philosophical efforts. Its just bringing us more pain, although I'm pretty positive that it was not the intent at all of the Deaf Bilingual Coalition.

Lets try something different here--how about "Forward Thinking"? Think Forward, think of the future, think of what we can do from this point on? Deficit thinking automatically makes us think of the negatives and the past. Automatically!!. If we can simply make a transition to the other side, where the grass is greener, and think about how we can transform ourselves to thinking about the future, we can think forward. We can let loose our creativity and come up with many ways of how our Deaf Nation can create a better future for ourselves.

I challenge you to think of one thing we can be doing in the future that is wholly beneficial to our Deaf Nation 10 years from now. It can be technology, it can be an educational approach, it can be anything! What would you love to see happening 10 years from now in our Deaf Nation! Be creative!! Let your imagination tickle you and be sure to pay attention to what your heart tells you. Does it feel good? Does it feel exciting? What is that feeling??

And please do share!

BF

An introduction....

Greetings. The name's Bentley Fink and this is my new blogsite. Several of you may know me, several may not. Regardless, it is only fitting that I begin my own blog. And vlog. This is where I will be launching my platform with regards to the various hot topics that are circulating amongst the community of bloggers in the Deaf Nation today.

At the same time, it tickles me because I can see how this is a revolution in the making. Right now, right here. Yes, a revolution. This is called The Digital Revolution of the Deaf. Why? Lets take a look.

Simply put, the 2006 Gally Protest started it. There were about four main blogs that I can recall that were heavily reporting on the events at the protest, and infamously, during Black Friday, the 13th where over 100 students and supporters were arrested. These blogs CRASHED!

That was the tipping point. The tipping point is a particular point in which whatever is going on, gains enough momentum to ensure its' viability as an entity. The Protest was the tipping point. If it wasn't for the protest, would we have all these blogs?

It is just amazing to see that after having taken a peek at DeafRead.com and the various blogs out there, what and how many other blogs are out there engaging in wonderful philosophical discussions about our very own existence! And just last week DeafRead.com reported at least 100,000 hits (a month??). That is an amazing number. If I was paid $1 each time someone visited my site, I'd have $100,000 each month and more than enough cash to stink of green.

Anyways.. I have begun posting my views and comments on other peoples' blogs and I figured it's time that I create my own so that I can harp my point of views and perspectives from my own platform here, and create lively discussions. Visitors are most welcome to engage in constructive dialogue and follow a few ground rules which I believe ought be golden and unspoken but I'll go ahead and lay them out.

1. Always, and always maintain an atmosphere of respect to fellow commentors.

2. Flaming (an old term) will not be tolerated. I will moderate the comments and if any comments are negatively aimed at another comment or myself, I will delete them before they even see the light of day.

3. I expect the envelope to be pushed. In other words, I expect that we all will be challenged with our thinking. Another challenge is to continue to be civil.

4. I believe in honesty and accountability, introspection and analysis of thyself. I encourage self-analysis as it pertains to the issues.

5. I am using this blog space as a niche for myself where I can speak my views and perspectives without being overbearing on other peoples' blogs. Their blogs are their spaces for their points of views.

So all in all, I simply ask for common sense and respect.

Until then and happy bloggin'.. and vloggin'.. oy..

BF