For DPHH…
The night when we “cut the ribbon” at Sam’s Boat was October 2004, (I think, I am not good at remembering dates). It was a huge success! Deafies from all over were there! There were so many new faces out there and I believe that was the biggest number of deafies for DPHH in Houston ever. But there was one thing that was bothering me, where are the deaf lawyers or doctors and such? I asked myself, “Was it a misunderstanding?” Did we advertise to the wrong people? Later I looked around and realized maybe some of those girls are looking for a deaf guy who is a professional or vice versa? Maybe there were deaf college students were here to meet with deaf professional for advice? Maybe those who are out of job may want to meet with deaf professionals to gain networks? It could be anything. That night, the word “professional” did not matter to me as long everyone had a good time.

For DHH…
Like I said before, professional or not, it does not matter. But then again, I can understand what John Doe was implying. Lets say there’s Deaf Doctors Happy Hour. Without having to think twice, I wouldn’t show up there. But if I happened to find out there’s all kind of deaf people excluding deaf doctors mingling at a bar for Deaf Doctors Happy Hour, then I’d say something was not right. I would ask why couldn’t they take the word “Doctors” out and make it to DHH. That would even make sense and open up a bit more for everyone. Especially for those who may not have heard about it would clearly understand who are welcome.

I know some people have pride with the title, will stand up for it and leave it the way it is. I know some people would change it to make everyone happy. But ask yourself this, why is the title so important? Is it worth fighting for? Save your energy to fight for a good cause and let everyone enjoy what he or she like to do. I can see both point of views and I agree with both sides. But that’s not important to me. It’s just a name or a title. Big Deal!

Great website, Long!!!!!!! Thank you for all the work you do for DPHH!!!! :-)

Now, on to the point of this post… I have to say I agree with everyone here – John Doe, Long, and Billy. Seeing that everyone has their own opinion and they differ, I think that they all differ with good points.

Personally, I’ve always had a problem with the term “professional” because frankly, from what I’ve seen – people don’t really behave “professionally.” However, I may have no room to say anything, as I’ve only gone to DPHH three times since it was started. As Long said, it’s also a place to just get together and relax. For that alone, DPHH is obviously the perfect outlet for deaf people to socialize. The DPHH committee gives up their free time to plan the monthly gatherings and whoever shows up (and how they behave) is out of their hands. As John Doe commented, we live in a small world so we cannot afford to be choosey. If DPHH establishes rules on who may attend and such, the crowd will dwindle even further and perhaps DPHH will be no more.

To further discuss the “professional” in the name, I have noticed that a majority of the people who show up aren’t necessarily professionals. Many are out of work, myself included, and others have “blue collar” jobs. Like Billy, I have to comment on the definition of “professional.” While the definitions posted are valid and accurate, I have to be the one to say that everyone has their own personal opinion on what a professional is. It’s funny – you may meet a man who has worked as a plumber for the past 30 years. He may be regarded as very knowledgeable in the field – but would anyone declare him as a professional? A plumber? How about someone who has worked at Target or Wal-Mart as a cashier for the past 15 years. Is he/she a professional? Typically, “professional” to many people, means a nice-paying office job that has a dress code that prohibits people from showing their butt cracks.

It may be because of that perspective that people will say “DPHH is nowhere near anything professional.” But people seem to forget – how they dress and behave at work does not have to reflect how they really are on their personal time.

Now, to comment on one last thing – the location. As Long stated, it’s just simply a place for people to come and enjoy themselves. People can drink or not. It’s their choice what they do once they arrive. I agree with that. I also know people who show up simply to socialize – they don’t drink. However, I want to bring up one final point – does anyone honestly, really think that if DPHH decided to hold gatherings at a park instead of a bar – would anyone show up? If it was BYOB, probably. But if it was a neutral family-friendly place, I can almost guarantee you that there wouldn’t be a good crowd. So – that brings me to my conclusion – people just simply don’t know how to have fun without drinking. So, if it wasn’t for DPHH at bars, DPHH probably wouldn’t have taken off.

So how about this – balance the scene and have the events at different locations instead of just different bars. That way, it can truly be a networking experience rather than an alcohol-infused version of ASL socials.

I really like your idea with Houston Deaf Professional Network, but for now I want to see how people respond to this site. Who knows, i may take your advice and roll with it in the near future.

Point being – professional happy hour back was something that would help to enhance and try to improve the visibility of deaf professionals in the working world. But not everyone is into that. :)

Personally what would probbie be better is just have a Houston Deaf Professional Network – this way it wouldn’t be restricted to a bar, or anything like that. :)

So you guys can go ahead and start hating! :D