The Castberggaard Syndrome. Tomas Kold Erlandsen

know there is, since we understand that all forms of oppression have unpleasant effects. And that leads us into my concept; the Castberggaard syndrome.

      I will show you an extract of an article from the Danish edition of the deaf magazine Døvebladet written by the psychologist Palle Vestberg who has worked with the deaf for many years. I consider this article audistic.

       Translation:During the last decades, new technology has been developed which can give deaf people apprehensions of sound. Some deaf children are now learning Danish with an accent from the area of Jylland! Some deaf children can not only send text messages but also speak with their families and friends- not only face to face but also on the mobile phone. It is amazing! Written Danish is difficult for...

      If I rephrase the article so it will be about black people instead of deaf people, it would be like this; ”During the last decades, a new hair dye has been developed which can make black people ’whiter’. Some black children are now learning how to behave as typical white people! Some black people can not only do the samba but also dance folk dance together with their white friends. It is amazing!”

      How would people react if a racist article were published in a Jewish magazine? Racist statements, many people would declare. But it probably never would be published in the magazine, since it would not benefit the Jewish community. It would rather affect their Jewish self-esteem if this at all had been published.

      Back to the article in the deaf magazine, which was published without any big reaction on audism. This could be a sign of how it is acceptable to speak down to deaf people. This is an example of how deaf people are forced to accept that people speak of deaf people with no respect. The Døvebladet has not the intention of discriminate, but wants to be open for all views. But the question is if there should be limits of what to publish before it gets harmful when it is allowed to oppress deaf people. When there are no limits for audism, the Castberggaard syndrome is created. The Castberggaard syndrome means that deaf people have been brainwashed into believing that they are of less worth than hearing people.

      That is the Castberggaard syndrome!