An open letter to Berin Szoka, aka the guy who thinks HR3101 is a bad idea

Dear Berin:

I have no clue if you remember me.  The last time we saw each other, we were in fifth grade, probably the dorkiest we'd ever be in our lives.  Here's the only pic of us I could find on short notice... you always seemed to wear striped shirts.  And I always seemed to wear... well, stuff.  Anything to detract from that awful perm.

I'll be honest.  I barely remember you.  But I do remember you were a smartass in geek's clothing.  And seeing as fifth grade was the last time I really got to know my classmates before some unspoken consensus to start treating the deaf students as untouchables took effect, I feel confident saying that.

I figure as far as faint memories, remembering that you were smart enough to sass the rest of us ain't half-bad, is it?

So it's been more than 20 years since I saw you last.  I never thought I'd see or hear of you again.  But I did.  And man, what a surprise it was.  See, I grew up to be a member of a thriving deaf community, one where I found support for the many ways the world didn't understand me (and some even the other deafies didn't). 

I guess you grew up to be some moderately sucessful lawyer, or some other position where you had enough authority bestown upon you by certain members of the hoi polloi to write an op-ed in a national paper arguing that people like me shouldn't complain and ask that the internet be made accessible, just like we've had to complain to make sure classrooms were accessible, movies, phones, airports... even the freaking doorbell and fire alarm.  You name the technological innovation, the deaf community has always had to fight to opt in.

In the grand scheme of things, your op-ed isn't really that important to me.  The bill is.

But here's the thing.  When I saw your name on that op-ed, I instantly flashed back to our schooldays.  I remember talking to you.  I remember my transliterator hovering over us, making sure communication was flowing smoothly (she's the redhead in the tan jacket at the left in the pic, btw.  And her presence had to be legislated too), not just that I understood you, but you understood me too.  I remember you staring at her, perplexed, and then slowly coming to realize that it was a good thing she was there.

And I could not believe that someone who spent time in one of the best mainstream programs for the deaf in the country could one day grow up to write one of the most thoughtless, reductive things about accommodations for people who have been disabled by their environment.

Frankly, Berin, the stuff you said was dumb. 

Let's see what you said that was so stupid, shall we?

First, you went into a fawning soliloquy about the wonders of technological advances.  "It made the digital revolution possible, and it's now extending the promise of that revolution to users with a wide variety of special needs," you wrote of the computer revolution.  As an example, you trotted out Voice Recognition Software.

Cue punch to the gut number one.

Did you even stop to think about what you were saying?  You spent at least part of your childhood trying to decipher my garbled utterances.  Yeah, I think voice recognition software is pretty damn cool.  And so do you -- "What's merely cool for many can be life-changing for the disabled," you said. 

This is where casting wide generalizations get you in trouble.  VRS is only good for a select few who are disabled by their environment in certain ways.  And for others, like me, it actually scares us when we think about a world where VRS is ubiquitous.  I'm gonna be in a real shithole, then, Berin.  And not at all independent like technology is supposed to make me.  What the hell am I supposed to do when a machine asks me for my voice ID, but doesn't offer any other method of input?  So, yeah.  Great for some people, not so great for others. 

This is the kind of Universal Design theory HR 3101 has in mind -- it asks that the internet be made accessible by making sure providers remember to, at the very least, provide adaptable interfaces.  So that certain media will be accessible to the blind, to the deaf, AND to the deaf-blind.

But your point?  That so many technological advances are being made everyday, it'll be to everyone's benefit eventually, and that disability group advocates are hampering the process by asking for access. 

"Despite such advances, many advocates for the disabled complain about the inaccessibility of some hardware interfaces, particularly for mobile devices, and want the government to force all device manufacturers to implement certain standard features. That's the wrong approach," you wrote.

Second sucker punch, Berin.

Those cool technological innovations of which you speak?  They were put there for a reason.  Because people need them, want them.  And when people need or want something, what is so wrong with asking for it?  And when it doesn't come, what?  You want us to wait for someone to think of it?

Right.  Like someone just invented the TV and then thought -- ooh, let's make sure what people say on TV is visible in the written word!  Yeah, right.  That was a long, hard-fought battle.  And we're still fighting.  Not nearly enough is captioned, still, today.

But let's see why you think it's the wrong approach: "'Equal access' to the latest gadgets may sound appealing, but policymakers should recognize that regulation will only stifle the innovations that could most help the disabled."

Ha.  You know what that sounds like? 

That sounds like the excuse Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt began writing when deaf members of Netflix started complaining that the instant-play feature that was part of their paid membership wasn't accessible to them.  "Captioning is in our development plans but is about a year away," he blogged.  He followed with reasons why it was too hard and restrictive to do it right now -- this, while at the very same moment he typed his blog, Hulu was broadcasting TV on demand, much of it with captioned content that pleased the masses. 

Or it sounds like the excuses lawyers for the Harkins theater chain in Arizona gave, arguing, "We have the right to choose what services we provide, and that is our choice... We let everyone come into our theaters and see our (non-captioned) movies, and that is what ADA requires us to do."  This, while theaters are dropping thousands upon thousands of dollars to support 3-D movie experiences.

You know what happened?  The judge laughed at them.

But I'm not laughing at you.  I'm really sad. 

Sad that you think we should let technological innovators have free rein to invent things that coddle and exclude, unstimulated by challenges like those that people like me represent. 

Innovation will be hindered by requests for access to said innovation?

Nonsense.  That defies the very definition of innovation.

Your complaint? "Accessibility mandates impose real costs, such as steeper prices, increased bulk and reduced functionality."

My answer?  Technology will find a way.  It always has.  We as a human race have always outdone ourselves in that arena, and we will continue to do so.

Berin, the NAD's response to your op-ed was far too easy on someone like you, who wants to tell someone like me, "it's too expensive and too much of a hassle for supergeniuses to accomodate you.  Just wait until whenever it gets cheaper. It'll happen... someday.  But for now, go sit quietly and stop it."  

If I recall correctly, in school, you were kind of a skinny little dweeb with a big voice.  I liked you anyway.

But, man, if I'd known you'd grow up to write this someday?  I'd have thrown that dodgeball at you so hard you'd have woken up a lot shorter than you already were. 

Hope you're well,
Allison (from Mrs. O'Brien's fifth grade class)

Comments

[Carrie]

His email address is bszoka@pff.org. I hope people who read this open letter and agree with it will send BS (oops... irony much?) an email telling him off and including the link to this open letter.

[Sarah D.]

BRAVO!! This is a brilliant open letter back to Berin. You couldn't have said it any better. In that picture, Berin is surrounded by three deaf students, and yet he still has NO clue what it's like for us. Berin, your world is way ahead with technology, and we're left behind. We shouldn't have to "wait."

[Ben Vess]

First, I must say this: I am truly sorry about whatever personal issues you have with the person you are attacking and I do sincerely hope that you find the time to resolve these issues between yourself and him.

This is a poorly written blog entry. Sadly, you lost me when you started with the insults (smartass, dweeb, stupid, and many more) and I felt that you, in your angry rant, lost your focus. You stated that the bill itself meant a lot to you and he didn't; however, you went off on a tangent about how horrible he is, as a person, for the Deaf community.

What happened to the bill that was so "important" to you??

Resorting to wishing violence on someone (your last line), is truly a low blow. I am saddened to even say this, but, it needs to be said: I am ashamed to call myself a member of the Deaf community after this article. I always thought my community was better than these petty insults and personal defamation of character.

Has it really come to this point where nobody can take the high horse and be an appropriate role model for a civilized disagreement??

Truly tragic article and it reflects on you and all of us as well.

Hopefully, you will strive to improve on representing yourself and our community a little bit better next time.

-Ben

PS Putting his personal email for all to harass him is almost, if not, criminal, you're walking on thin ice here. You are responsible for comments that you approve to be published.

[Adam Stone]

Hello Ben! Couldn't help but be delighted at what you just said:

"I am ashamed to call myself a member of the Deaf community after this article. I always thought my community was better than these petty insults and personal defamation of character."

Gee, where have you been on the internets the last decade? This is nothing compared to the mud that's been slung around (and I remember you being in the thick of it a year and half ago). By that standard, you should have been ashamed, oh, about two minutes after you entered the deaf chat room on AOL in 1997 or something.

Basing your pride or shame of your own community on one person's editorial does an injustice to yourself, your intelligence, and your community. And frankly, I mean it when I say you're a better writer than to use those canned clichés.

That said, Allison's editorial could have done without the ad hominem parts. Fun to read, though. It should be condensed into an editorial to be published in the Los Angeles Times. Allison, do it. One additional fact you could throw in is that a lot of those accessible features from Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe, that Berin mentions in his op-ed, all exist partly because they were mandated by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Had these companies not included these features in their software, they couldn't sell those products to the Federal government (a huge customer!).

[Sarah D.]

While I support the HR 3101 and as much as I heart you, I have to admit that I agree with Ben on some level. I definitely wouldn't wish any harsh violence upon Berin. I also wouldn't want people calling me a dweeb or my opinions dumb, as that would sting.

I just wish I didn't have to say that my old classmate, who actually saw how hard it is for us deafies to keep up, actually thinks HR 3101 is the "wrong approach." But to each their own. We all have a various range of opinions about everything in life.

It does suck being left behind, while the hearing world gets to enjoy all the technology without any barriers. I wouldn't want to wait 5 years for something that could be better than it would be currently. Look at computers. Computers are continuously upgraded and improved. We're not holding off computers until they're the best it can ever be. So let technology for the disabled be the same way.

[kinabnet]

I am not familiar with HR 3101 nor am I hearing impaired. But I do have a disabled child that may never benefit from technology such as voice recognition, certainly not in the way it's intended to be used in the future. It seems as though it takes the right powerful person's life being affected by a disability before real changes are made. Lets hope Mr. Berin takes this opportunity to gain a new perspective on where the "need for growth" truly lies.

I am my son's voice. I don't do well with sitting quietly in a corner until the right person cares. (If I did, I wouldn't be writing this.) You can 'pick' on me, but don't 'pick' on my children. I didn't find one thing offensive in Allison's letter. Having a daughter, I hope she finds her way out of the corner every chance she gets.

kinabnet

[Ben Vess]

Mr. Stone!

I admit I made a mistake and I have paid for it. I've done things to right the wrongs I've done.

You shouldn't justify this rant by pointing mines out.

Two wrongs does not make a right.

-Ben

[QueenAlpo]

Thanks for all the comments.

I'd like to take a moment to say I take responsibility for everything I say here. There is no malice meant, and I've cringed over the last couple days as I've seen others curse directly at and wish all kinds of doom on my old schoolyard buddy.

While I disagree violently with the ideas he expressed in his article, I wish him no ill will. I haven't seen the guy in 20 years, for heavens' sakes, and I certainly don't expect a short time we spent together in a classroom to have any real currency with him.

I hope that it is clear here in what is my attempt to relate on a personal level with someone who got up on a national soapbox what I am trying to do: appeal to his (and other opponents' of HR 3101) sense of humanity.

I also sincerely hope that this blog does not detract overmuch from what is really important here: getting HR 3101 passed.

Thanks again, guys.

[Adam Stone]

Mr. Vess!

Talking about your past actions wasn't really my point.

The quote, "I am ashamed to be a part of this community because of article X" has been used far too many times across the internet by people trying to inject a morsel of morality or seriousness into a discussion. Examples of said quote are plentiful at http://bit.ly/bELsuI.

It's basically a hollow and meaningless statement, for there are always far worse things out there. I just thought you could do better than to rehash that. :)

Allison, are you writing a response to be published in the LA Times yet?!

[Keri]

Ali, great post as always! I love it when you speak your mind. To everyone else: have you ever heard of SARCASM? This is Ali being Ali. She means no harm. All she is doing is making a point. This is her blog where she can vent in any way she wants. If this post were a formal letter, that would be a different story. And Berin, ARE YOU READING THIS?!

[Ben Vess]

Mr stone!

let's continue this outside this board..

:-D

-Ben

[Nancy]

When a person or a loved one does not need accomodations, they rarely understand the need for them, whether it be deaf/blind/neurological impairments... We all have to speak up for what we all need. I have certainly ranted enough for my child. Thank you, Allison.