no he wasnt!

[JoeyA]

When someone wears glasses you don't usually refer to them as blind, in fact you don't usually say anything. I haven't heard anyone talk about the guy with glasses, " how amazing that blind guy was when he ran out".

You're making me laugh today so I'm sending lots of REP your way.

JoeyA

 

[tigerseye]

ok he does speak.. i dont know about just fine.. that depends where you're from I suppose

Hey man leave Shane alone..America has finally got someone who can whip up on some of those powerful Phillipinos and you are clowning him...We American poolplayers don't appreciate that...>=(
GO SHANE VAN BOEING!! America's Best!!

 

[tigerseye]

Here's the deal:
I realized Shane was hearing impaired when he was 1 yr old. He wasn't responding to noises like he should have. The doctors did not believe me at first, but finally he got his hearing aids when he was 17 months old. His hearing loss was,(unaided) in his left ear he could hear at 80 dB and his right ear 85 dB. A normal conversation is at 40 dB. After he got his hearing aids he was like a sponge. He walked around for a month with his eye as wide as saucers, listening to everything. At 2 years old, Shane started in a hearing impaired program where they worked with him on speech. He was in a special program, but mainstreamed in the public school district, through his graduating of high school. When he was in elemantary school they(the school district) wanted to have Shane use an FM system in the class rooms. What I noticed at that time was that the other hearing impaired children were not speaking as well when they used the FM system because they had the teachers words going straight into their hearing aids and thus they were not utilizing their natural abilities to read lips and form words. The Fm system impaired their speech more. I did not let Shane us it. He had to work harder to hear and he learned how to read lips. He also got a little behind at that time. When Shane was tested in high school, he was at 60dB, left ear, and 75 dB in the right ear. Shanes hearing hadn't improved but his ability to us what he had improved. When Shane speaks and listens, he still misses some of those quieter parts of speech, you can hear that in his speech and see it in his writing. But, on the other side, Shane's ability to watch and pick up, anything is unbelievable. Like the way he became the state casting Champion at 14, he had never done it before, he watched and won and then went on to take second in the nationals. He is also able to tune out "things"while he's playing , Which we all wish we could do. Now Shane wears one hearing aid, he doesn't like the idea of being handicapped but is accepting of it. The fun part, be careful of what you say in a room with Shane, he can look across a room and read your lips.

WOW! The part about him reading lips is definitely a skill that all poolplayers need to have...especially in strange territory when everybody is trying to set you up...so now that u put it that way, i would say it isn't as much a handicapp as much now as a gift from the man upstairs...=)
btw is this his mom or dad??

 

[Jack Madden]

I think his pool game speaks just fine - no problem understanding

 

[SD mom]

WOW! The part about him reading lips is definitely a skill that all poolplayers need to have...especially in strange territory when everybody is trying to set you up...so now that u put it that way, i would say it isn't as much a handicapp as much now as a gift from the man upstairs...=)
btw is this his mom or dad??

This is his mother Timi Bloomberg

 

[av84fun]

If you are paid to express your opinion in a public forum you should take it upon yourself to be aware of societal expressions that are no longer acceptable. I am not killing Jay as he is an awesome commentator and a great guy but I do not think he gets a full pass just because you feel he may have been ignorant about using the term "deaf-mute".

-don

First, whether someone is being paid to make public statements is irrelevent.

Second, as I pointed out, Jay's comment was correct as stated and Shane's serious physiological challenge to speech was offset largely due to his mother's early recognition and persistent intervention.

IMHO, you are being excessivley sensitive to his use of that phrase. It has to be taken in context which was absolutely not intended to ridicule but rather to compliment Shane.

IMHO, the comment, in its context, would not be viewed as "offensive"...certainly not by the general public who heard the comment in its obviously favorable context.

IHMO, given the context, the hearing impaired community would not be "offended" either.

Shane's mom may disagree with the above, but I would be surprised if she does. My GUESS is that such a comment, presented in its proper context would have been largely ignored and if not, it would not have incited any significant negative emotion.

Frankly, the evolution in pop culture expressions that change so often are a little silly...especially since, as noted in my other post, the groups intended to be identified by such terms....Black vs. African American, for example, are THEMSELVES not in full agreement on how to refer to themselves!


The overriding issue is the CONTEXT in which such references are presented.

It is silly because the phrases conjur the EXACT SAME mental image. Say "pooh pooh' or the "S" word or "sexual intercourse" instead of the "f" word and you think of exactly the same things...so what difference does it make???????????


Regards,
Jim