Deaf* in the Times of Political Uncertainty

Written by Jennifer Dahlgren

The term Deaf* will be used as an inclusive term to include Deaf, deaf, Hard of Hearing, latened deaf, hearing impaired, DeafBlind, and DeafDisabled folx.

So, we all know that our nation and our world are in flux right now. New information is pushed out constantly. New rules, new laws, court cases, breaking news, national disasters, press releases and briefings, you name it.  As a Hearing Person, you have access to the information through incidental hearing and learning (learning by listening to the world around you). You can also access the radio, print news, TV, social media, and the like.  For a Deaf* person, our access is troublingly limited.  Even more so if you are a signing Deaf* person.  For the Deaf* community that uses a Signed Language (there is more than one), we get information from 2 primary sources.  1, interpreted situations (that is, if we are lucky enough to have an interpreter) and 2, from other signing people (Deaf* folx, interpreters, educators, friends, and family that sign).  Our pool of information is drastically limited.  The lack of interpreters and accurate captions makes learning about what is going on in the world very difficult.  Since, for most of us, our first and native language is American Sign Language, written English material is harder for us to access.  Written English completely pushes out our multilingual and multi-cultural Deaf* folx that come from homes and backgrounds that use a language other than American Sign Language and English.

 

There has been an uptick in anxiety and fear with all the political upheaval lately. Deaf* people fear for their benefits, their accommodations, their livelihood, and the discrimination and oppression that is increasing at a break-neck speed.

The world is not set up for Deaf* people.  There is audism (discrimination and oppression based on hearing and speaking ability), ableism (discrimination and oppression based on disability), and linguicism (discrimination and oppression based on sign language). 

The White House has eliminated Sign Language interpreters for their press briefings.  We have now lost all access to what is coming out of the White House.  Influencers are making viral comments about interpreters who are present in briefings.  Equating them to flailing monkeys.  That is our language and culture they are degrading.  With growing issues with government funding and programming. We worry about what access will be lost in the name of doing away with DEI initiatives.  Throughout a lifetime of experiencing all this discrimination and oppression, we begin to internalize the hatred, dismissal, and “othering” of our Deaf* community.  This internalized audism, ableism, and linguicism cause negative mental health outcomes (Tomaszewski, et al., 2025).  So, the state of the world is harming us!

 

The fear, anxiety, and uneasiness that come with not knowing or not understanding is all-consuming.  So many changes are happening in our government so quickly, and these changes can drastically impact our Deaf* communities.  Will Medicaid/Medicare cover hearing aids?  Will the early intervention programs that send Deaf* adults into the homes of young Deaf* children be cut? What will happen to our universities that specialize in serving Deaf* students (Gallaudet University, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, California State University-Northridge, and others)?  We just don’t know what is happening, and the little information we are getting is through automatic captions or videos with no sound.  We are so scared and just at a loss for how to move forward.  How can we organize if we aren’t able to engage in the information that is coming out about issues that impact us? 

 

So, what can you do as an ally to the Deaf* community? 

1. All that time you spend scrolling on social media and taking in information, take a pause and message the creators.  Ask them to include accurate captions in their videos. 

2. If you see a news briefing or emergency announcement on the news, reach out to the government entity and ask them to include interpreters. 

3. Support Deaf* news programs like the Daily Moth (https://www.dailymoth.com), where we can get news in our native language.  And DPAN (https://dpan.tv), which provides us access to presidential debates and addresses. 

4. Contact the White House (tel:1-202-456-6213) and ask them to reinstate the interpreters for the press room at the White House. 

5. Going to a protest in your local community?  Work with organizers to find interpreters to support your cause so more Deaf* people can be involved. 

6. Working with elected officials at all levels of government to include interpreters in their open meetings and town halls. 

7. DRIEP offers excellent training in Deaf Cultural Competency, have the organizations you are involved in signed up?

 

We depend on our Hearing allies to speak out and up.  We are starved for information  to gain our autonomy and power back.

 

I say all of this as a very privileged Deaf* person.  I am white, educated, multilingual, employed, documented, and a fierce self-advocate.  Much of our Deaf* community are BIPOC, Queer, undocumented, unemployed, and the like.  How can we empower the entirety of the Deaf* community?

We are here, we have a voice, listen to the marginalized voices around you.

 

 

Tomaszewski, P., Krzysztofiak, P., Kowalska, J., & Hauser, P. C. (2025). Internalized oppression and deaf people’s mental health. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 5268–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89789-1