Are you buying it?
What are your thoughts on Mr. Dion disclosing his ‘hearing disability’ on the campaign trail? Why now?
Did the thought just occur to him out of the blue? Apparently he first disclosed the condition to Jane Taber on Sunday, and then told the media in general on Monday. (Duff to to Roger Smith on Monday’s MDL ).Why?
Reader May has a great summary of her thoughts on the subject from the previous post:
May Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 10:32 pmRe: Dion’s claimed hearing problem:
I’m sorry; I find this extremely difficult to believe for the following reasons:
1. If this were true we would have found out long before now: Dion’s English has long been a discussion topic and it would be logical and politically expedient to have given this explanation a year ago. Saying it now makes it seem like he is trying to gain sympathy.
2. If he had a medical condition, he would know its name.
3. People with hearing problems almost have an accent; a “fuzziness” or lack of sharpness in their speech. I do not hear this with Mr. Dion.
4. Dion is not the only one who speaks English in this manner. Maxime Bernier; for example; speaks English poorly in a manner almost identical to Mr. Dion. I find them both almost impossible to understand. To the best of my knowledge Bernier has no hearing problem.
5. There has never been any complaint about Dion’s command of French. If he had a hearing problem he would have speech difficulties in any language.
Finally; hypothetically supposing this is true it doesn’t change the problem: To be Prime Minister you must be able to effectively communicate in both languages.
Exactly. And to flesh out point #1, it’s very strange to me that Jason Cherniak knew about this for ages, but not Michael Ignatieff!
…Asked why he only spoke up about the problem now, during an election campaign, Dion said he doesn’t know why and said he shouldn’t have.
Quoi?
Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff told CTV’s Canada AM on Monday that he wasn’t aware of the hearing problem but said Dion has made his objectives for the country more than clear to him…
I don’t doubt that Dion has a hearing problem, but I question the timing of the revelation.
And there is a remedy for the cocktail party problem. It is called a hearing aid. Modern ones are amazing. They are fitted with tiny microchips that can be adjusted according to the social setting. I strongly suggest that Mr. Dion look into it.
- Also please see A Step to the Right.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:57 am
And he said it was heredity. If he has a problem there is a name for it. With 20 plus years of working with audiologists, 5 trips to the Winnipeg School of the Deaf for workshops, assessment at School of Deaf in Edmonton, 5 yr study with the genetics clinic, plus hours spent researching on the net, there is not much about hearing problems I don’t know. If you can’t hear a sound in English you can’t hear that sound in any other language. My g/sons problem is heredity. There are thousands out there with real hearing problems and he has insulted everyone of them.
Until I see him take, on camera, an audiology test, and he shows us the resulting tape, I think he is what he called PMSH.
Playing the victim will not help him, or May.
If you have a disease or medical problem, there is a name for it. Heredity problems are usually a symptem of something else that does not show up for years. In our case it is a form of MD. Others it is something that shows up right away like DS. I imagine we will see a flood of audiologists explaining this on TV.
Let’s name dion’s problem, BS.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:59 am
“… I don’t doubt that Dion has a hearing problem …”
Well, you’re far kinder than I am, then.
I guess that excuse would work, though, to explain why the Liberals - many of them apparently suffering from hearing problems - didn’t hear the HoC bells calling them to vote … how many times?
This sudden ‘revelation’ is just silly.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Playing the victim will not help him, or May.
And just to clarify, that would be ‘Elizabeth’ May, not my reader May.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:04 am
What kills me is the play it is getting in the media by way of making excuses for him.
All the while laughing at the ads showing Stephen Harper as a Hockey dad.
I really hope this is the election when Canadians finally wake up to the hypocrisy that is our Canadian media.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I ain’t buying it, Dion’s hearing problem is centered on facts he can’t hear them or understand them.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:21 am
He may be hoping for sympathy, but this just adds to his already frail image. Sympathy is one thing, but pity is another. I, too, have been wondering why this “condition” doesn’t affect his ability with French. This whole thing seems so contrived.
I also don’t understand why they keep playing the Harper-is-a-bully angle. Don’t they realize that makes Dion look weak and childish? He’s a grown man who wants to be Prime Minster and he’s calling other adults bullies? Am I the only one who sees that as pitiful and pathetic?
September 9th, 2008 at 10:22 am
I’m buying it, because I have this problem, as does my brother.
There is a rythm and pitch to each language. Just take a look at the difference between - Chinese and German….very different rythms and pitches.
You don’t know how frustrating is can be to single out voices in a crowd when you have this problem.
My brothr wears hearing aids and it nearly drives him crazy - because of this problem, the din of noise is magnefied. In fact, I’ve seen my brother have to leave a room because it’s just a din of very loud noise and he can’t distinguish separte voices.
So, go ahead - criticize about something you know nothing about - do make fun of disabilities too?
September 9th, 2008 at 10:22 am
To reader May, sorry, I have to be more careful when mentioning names. Lizzie May is the “victim” I meant.
Jack Layton is imitating Obama and now Dion want to try and cash in on a disability cause it is getting Sarah lots of attention.
PMSH is to make an announcement shortly re tax on Diesel.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Lyn - I appreciate you have this problem - but please tell me how having problems differentiating sounds in a crowd makes it hard to learn a new language. I mean, surely he isn’t trying to learn it in a crowded room.
Quit trying to make excuses that make no sense. Can yougive me a reason why this would affect learning a new language with all the aids and help available to a man like Dion
September 9th, 2008 at 10:31 am
I think Dion’s looking to generate something similar to what happened when Campbell made light of Chretien’s facial problem.
I think he hopes that Canadians will be outraged at the “evil” Conservative Party for making fun of his “problem” and punish then by voting Liberal.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:33 am
People with hearing difficulties often have problems when there is alot of backround noise.
I don’t understand how that leads to him not being able to speak properly when he is giving a speech in a quiet room.
Sorry, I still say it doesn’t add up.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:37 am
“So, go ahead - criticize about something you know nothing about - do make fun of disabilities too?”
Looks like it may have worked on Lyn.
I have problem’s hearing voices, because of years of listening to the high pitch whine from computer fans.
I have the same problem hearing voices, especially in crowded rooms or noisy situation, no matter what language is being spoken, including my own.
I think Dion’s is exaggerating in an attempt to garner sympathy and to stop any future references to his lack of ability speaking English because it’s a real problem for him. If it was a real hearing problem, he would have said so immediately and that would have ended it then and there.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:07 am
You don’t know how frustrating is can be to single out voices in a crowd when you have this problem.
My brothr wears hearing aids and it nearly drives him crazy - because of this problem, the din of noise is magnefied. In fact, I’ve seen my brother have to leave a room because it’s just a din of very loud noise and he can’t distinguish separte voices.
Lyn, I do sympathize with your brother’s hearing problem. My mother has the same problem. She has a high tech hearing aid that can be tweaked to adjust according to certain situations. It does take patience, and it isn’t perfect, but does help.
Also, there are new hearing aids out that are very trendy for young people - they can either be very discrete or they can be almost like braces in that they come in different colours.
People with hearing problems shouldn’t give up.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I winced this morning when I read the following quote in Greg Weston’s column because for a moment I thought we were hearing Chretien again as the Liberal leader.
But it was a Dion, still the Liberal Leader, with an untelligible statment, who seems to have surpassed Chretien by far in making simple things unintelligible.
To wit
“I have a difficulty to isolate sounds,” he told reporters yesterday. “I don’t know the name of it, but it’s been tested that I hear everything when the sound is isolated, but when it is confused with other sounds, then it is completely confused.”
Dion advised Jack Layton recently that Layton is no Obama, well may I add there will never be a snow ball’s chance in hell that Dion will ever be compared or confused with Obama.
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/greg_weston/2008/09/09/6706996-sun.html
September 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I have a problem identifying a single voice in a crowded room - I think it’s called incipient old age.
But seriously, most people these days learn foreign languages with tapes and practice with headphones which shut out ALL other noise. To quote the infamous Inspector Frost, “I think this is a bit of a porkie.”
September 9th, 2008 at 11:39 am
If “some” people knew about this problem I am surprised they did not reveal its existence in the early days of Dion rise to leader of the Liberal party?
Dion took and has continued to take a tremendous amount of flak for being impossible to understand.
Why admit this now?
September 9th, 2008 at 11:45 am
“I have a problem identifying a single voice in a crowded room - I think it’s called incipient old age.”
LOL!
September 9th, 2008 at 11:56 am
hearing problem or not, his policies still stink that’s the real issue
September 9th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Dave’s nailed it and Lyn played the card nicely.
It’s an attempt to draw the Conservatives out when next they suggest that Dion’s master of English is, well, awful. It’s another one of the Liberal “gotchas”.
Mary T. suggests that playing the victim will not help.
It certainly will not help to those who are in the loop, but for those who don’t follow politics, and if the Conservatives pull any more Pooping Puffin tricks, it could help Dion more that we’d like it to.
I also believe that raising the hearing issue now is a way to get the media back on Dion’s side, just in case they were starting to stray to the DARK SIDE.
Canadians seem to love the underdog. Dion may displaying an Oscar winning performance.
Me? I have hearing loss too. However it’s selective, depending on the day.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Me? I have hearing loss too. However it’s selective, depending on the day.
I have a problem when I’m in a room full of Liberals all yammering at the same time. I find it awfully hard to listen.
So I can sympathize with Dion. He must run into that a lot.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Ten years in Cabinet. A member of the party that claims to be THE party of Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Access to some of the best language tutors available, in a one on one setting. Surely he could have done one hell of a lot better than what he’s come up with, regarding the first language, or most commonly used language, of most of the Canadian public.
I have three offspring, all in their thirties, all saddled with varying degree of hearing loss. Probably inherited from me, their deal old dad. Two have had a number of bouts of surgery, including skin grafts for eardrums. All are quite fluent in four different languages. Just like their dad.
If The Professor is comfortable with his explanation, so be it, thoug it seems somewhat lame. How many languages does Maman Dion speak?
tj
September 9th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Lyn, I have a disabled daughter and I would be the first one to trample on anyone, anyone, who laughs at someone for that reason. What I think most people are saying and why it’s hard to believe is the timing, and that he speaks perfect french. A disability does not pick which language it will be harder to handle. Nor, would it be ok for one but not the other in large crowds.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
[...] Stephane Dion revealed yesterday that a hearing problem is to blame for both his misplaced accents and also his habit of phrasing words in the order incorrect, claiming this makes him miss the “music” of the language. Interestingly enough, fellow senior Liberals didn’t know about it, Dion can’t name the condition, and he doesn’t suffer any other symptoms such as a fuzziness about ones speech, and this is now coming under examination. [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Thanks Joanne! I’m pleased as punch!
September 9th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
My pleasure, May. It was a very well thought-out comment, and well articulated.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
The question of whether or not Dion is telling the truth about his hearing problem should really be answered by whether or not he wears a hearing aid. If not then it means it probably isn’t much of an issue for him so he shouldn’t have mentioned it. If he does have a real hearing problem that didn’t just spontaneously occur this week and he has chosen not to get a hearing aid or hasn’t bothered to, then I question his general ability to take decisive actions to solve problems.
So Dion, “Show me the aid!!!”
September 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Yes, it’s not fair that lizzy may has my name
TangoJuliette that’s an excellent point. It also raises the further question why they heck didn’t someone notice before. I still don’t believe he could possibly have a medical condition and not know its name. It sounds harsh, but I don’t believe him. I don’t believe any condition can let you speak perfect French, but not English. Hypothetically supposing Dion does have a mystery problem, so what? Almost all Canadians have some kind of medical condition or disability; few of us are fortunate enough to never need to go to the doctor. It shouldn’t stop anyone from living their lives and doing what they aspire to do. I never let mine stop me.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I wonder why no headline are out naming the condition; doing stories about it.
I actually wonder how many liberal plants are out there making comments, asking questions.
On journalist talked about a guy who leaned over to him and said I have that same condition - how coincidental!!
Today on Mike Duffy Live - just coincidentally, an email was sent to Mike from a “BC voter” asking to have her questions on the green shift answered - well guess what - Old Mike Iggy was there to tell her all the benefits of the green shift and how she shouldn’t worry - that she would come out a winner.
Just wondering if anyone else finds it a bit too convenient? Or am I just paranoid? LOL
September 9th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Actually I believe Dion when he says he has a hearing problem. I suffer from the same problem. I can’t understand a word Dion says.
September 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Joanne,
Dion’s hearing problem cannot be cured by the use of a hearing aid. His hearing problem lies much deeper in his brain structures. Dion’s hearing problem is not so much that he cannot hear what is being said as it is that his brain filters out what he hears.
Dion never had a hearing problem when he was a part of Liberano Gang in charge of Canadian government as nobody dared to offer him negative feedback.
This hearing “impairment” is quite common among people suffering from personality disorders (especially Narcissistic Personality Disorder). Dion’s fragile ego cannot tolerate information that could potentially make him feel bad about himself. That being the case self defence mechanism kicks in and all negative input that he hears gets filtered out before it reaches parts of the brains determining emotional meaning of the message.
There is very simple test to determine if that is the case; try to whisper something positive in Dion’s presence and check later on if he heard it, than have somebody say something negative about him in his presence and check if he heard that message.
Ever since Liberanos were driven into opposition he is bombarded with negative messages. Since his ego cannot cope with negativity his selective hearing kicks in so often these days that he is almost deaf for all practical purposes.
September 12th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
[...] Kindred Spirits Stephane Dion says he has a hearing problem. [...]