An Unintentional Act of Oppression

Nearing the end of the month of July 2020, we visited our old house in North Bethesda, a suburbs of Rockville, Maryland.  We plan to put the house on the market next month – we’ve been renting it for nearly nine years, and it’s time to say good bye to it.  We then decided to have lunch.  So, we started to drive on Rockville Pike from our old property.  As soon as we drove there, we saw a local café.  It was Java Nation – yes, we had been to that same location, but it was under a different name and a different ownership.  The last time I was there, it was about ten years ago, and I wasn’t crazy about there.  But this time, Java Nation provided delicious sandwiches. 

So, what’s the point of mentioning Java Nation?  Well, that’s where I called face masks ‘an act of oppression.’  My daughters heard it, and strenuously objected to it.  They explained to me that Trump and his followers have called face masks ‘an act of oppression’ and that this claim has led to numerous grievous acts across the nation.  Specifically, this claim has led to a tirade of anti-mask protests, which have endangered many to the risk of COVID-19 and was overall, in the words of one of my daughters, “…an act of absolute selfishness and apathy.”  I absolutely disagree with Trump’s contention that ‘face masks are an act of oppression, due to their imposition of limits on personal freedom [with implied harm on our economy].’  I’m a scientist, and can understand and appreciate how dangerous and life-threatening pathogens can be, especially when they are novel, mysterious and adaptable to new changes in the environment that are imposed on themselves.  This time, the pathogen of interest is the novel coronavirus that appeared to originate from China late last year or early this year, and it can either be asymptotic or cause an upper respiratory illness called COVID-19.  It can be fatal with its final symptom being deadly pneumonia, and this sickness has been complicated by an increasing number of people displaying COVID-19 symptoms and requiring hospitalization, not just in the United States but also around the world.  The virus has been shown to be both contagious and airborne.  Also, COVID-19 can affect organs other than lungs, and can induce sepsis and other debilitating disorders.  Even the virus has been reportedly found in the ears of affected humans^1,2.  Hence, everyone has to be aware of COVID-19 and its devastating effects on everyone’s mental, physical, and emotional health.  In order to maintain such health, everyone has to respect each other, when it comes to social distancing and wearing face masks. 

I’m certain most, if not all, of you have already heard and/or read things similar to what I’ve written above, and I won’t be surprised if some of you readers may not agree with my general point of view on face masks.  The theme of this blog, however, deals with the so-called ‘act of oppression.’  Every person with a disability has his or her own view on acts of oppression, and these sets of views are neither exclusive nor inclusive – we with disabilities just have different experiences.  Here, I am referring to my voicing ‘an act of oppression’ at Java Nation.  What happened was that I wore my face mask, and made an order for a certain latte and a certain sandwich.  The cashier understood me, and said something behind his face mask.  I replied that I couldn’t read his lips, and confusion arose briefly, but my daughters came to my rescue, not that I needed it, but for everyone’s sake, life was made easier.  As we left the cashier’s area and awaited our foods and drinks, I was rather frustrated with that situation – it has often happened to me – and half-jokingly muttered ‘it’s an act of oppression.’  My daughters quickly jumped on me, saying that other people could misunderstand or misconstrue what I meant by it and strongly suggesting that I not mention it again. 

Well, let me tell you why I muttered ‘act of oppression.’  This does not mean that I am against face masks.  Not at all—as I wrote in the beginning, I’m all for face masks.  It’s just frustrating that not everyone recognizes the difficulty of communicating among people with hearing loss, especially those who prefer to speak rather than to sign in American Sign Language (ASL).  I have been vocalizing since when I was a toddler (I became fluent in ASL in my mid- or late twenties, even though I attended Lexington School for the Deaf from nursery to fourth grade).  In the past before the coronavirus, I preferred spoken language over ASL whenever I would go shopping or eat out – I would use ASL only when I’m with friends who communicate in ASL.  Now COVID-19 is causing changes in my approach to communicating with all people, especially those who speak vocally.  Face masks abound, complicating my ability to lip-read, and people, especially those with hearing loss, have been discussing about clear face masks³ and about technology that translates speech to text and vice versa.  Sure, there have been cases where workers know how to communicate in ASL, or even just basic signs, but they are few and far apart.  Mostly it’s all talk and many people with normal or nearly normal hearing will have never met a person with hearing loss, especially the one that tends to communicate in ASL.  Those who have yet to meet a person with hearing loss most likely do not care about clear face masks and/or speech-to-text technology.  They have their own problems to worry about – why should they have to care about people, especially those whom they don’t know at all?  Even people who meet a person with hearing loss for the first time would assume that that person would sign, but not speak, but they are often wrong. 

Another thing is healthcare.  Yes, healthcare workers are working really hard and are most likely overworked and underpaid.  We very much appreciate their efforts to take care of and even save lives of those afflicted with COVID-19 at their own risk, but it continues to bother me and others with hearing loss that most, if not all, of the healthcare workers are not wearing clear face masks so that we with hearing loss could communicate with them as well as could be in control of our lives in case that we are afflicted with such a devastating illness and have to be hospitalized³.  It’s likely that purchasing clear face masks may not be that simple.  For example, they may require more time to order (hospital administrations will have to find the right place to order such masks, have enough money to purchase those, and have the right people to disburse those masks to those who need them the most, etc.).  If that’s the case, hospitals may find the process of purchasing clear face masks a difficult, if not impossible, one, and may tend to ignore the needs of a few (i.e., people with hearing loss) and focus more on the needs of the general population (i.e., people with normal or near normal hearing). 

Finally, speech-to-text technology is another issue.  More and more people with hearing loss are relying on such technology, and it’s wonderful that there are several sources of such technology (Google LiveTranscribe, Ava, Otter.ai, Microsoft Translator, LiveCaption, and a few others).  However, none of these sources could make a perfect translation, especially when it comes to scientific and/or technical terms.  Some of the sources are free, and others are not.  Some can work on their own, and others may require two or more people using the same source of speech-to-text technology.  Even if the technology may be working great, one will have to consider the environment in which one is situated.  Would it be quiet or noisy?  Would it have many attendants or just a few of them?  Would there be an expert who could handle such technology for the whole audience, or would there be an inexperienced tech person?  Even, it can be difficult for spoken language from deaf/hard of hearing people to be translated into text, because their speeches aren’t always perfect or normal.  Since there are so many choices, it’s difficult for anyone to decide which one would work the best, because he or she may not have patience to try every source before deciding. 

Now that speech-to-text technology is mentioned, it will involve both the person speaking and the person that uses such technology.  With COVID-19 in mind, do you think the person speaking would be willing to speak loudly or close to someone else’s (e.g., the person with hearing loss) iPhone or smartphone?  Would he or she be brave enough to do so?  If a mike that is associated with the smartphone is provided, would the speaker be willing to hold the mike close to his or her face?  Even riskier, do you think the speaker would be willing to pull his or her face mask down so that the person with hearing loss could read the speaker’s lips?  Yes, I’ve met such a few brave people, but more often than not, speaking people would not pull their face masks down and we’ve often had to communicate in writing, which is often slow, tedious, and a bit awkward. 

So, you can see why I jokingly mentioned ‘an act of oppression’ to my daughters.  An important difference between myself and Trump is that I absolutely believe that face masks are lifesavers, along with social distancing.  I just have to find alternative ways to go around face masks and be able to communicate with all different people, speaking or signing.  I can only hope that technology will improve quickly and to a point when everything is working well, if not perfectly, that a person with hearing loss like me can remain in control of his or her life when it comes to a time when he or she faces a difficult situation, health-wise or otherwise. 

References

¹https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/87720

²https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2768621

³https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2683