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Turf Battles

Linda Annala, B.A., M.Ed., C.A.G.S.

Contributing Columnist

September 2006  

 
As we approach the fall season, there is this perennial sport favorite that is coming up real quick: Football!

In some ways as one watches their favorite football team on TV or better yet, in their home stadium on the hard bench seats rooting for their team on home turf.  You might get the sense that the two teams are fighting for their turf . . . hence this month’s column title: Turf Battles.

In real life, we encounter often those “turf battles” whether it is sharing one’s bedroom with your younger or older sibling while growing up.  You two, or worse, three of you, having to decide which side of the wall, how much closet space to allocate for each of you in your one bedroom.  Sometimes it had gotten downright ugly, involving fist fights or pulling a hair strand of your sister.   This turf battle does not end when that sister moved out either to go away to college, to get married or just moving out to be on her or his own!   Turf battles even occur when you and a friend enter a hotel or motel room and one decides which bed to take occupation.  

Also involved are some examples of turf battles: office space, a seat on a bus or train, on the plane, or a lounge chair by the pool side.  I’ve been through some outrageous ‘turf battles’ in my heyday and I’ve come out a survivor, but I don’t know if I was a winner, though!

In our overly crowded planet named Earth, there are a lot of turf battles going on world over.  In essence there are too many people occupying a square foot of land.  In the beginning when God created heavens and earth, He had plenty of room and was able to put a man and then a woman.  But when those two humans met up and mated, God told them to keep up having more children to replenish the earth.  So this was the case that when Adam and Eve saw their great-great-great-great-grandchildren moving and spreading all around them, they moved up to a mountain to oversee their ever growing family.   Some of their offspring had their own turf battles too even way back when . . .

And Noah came along and had to build the Ark to take the animals and his family.  That was done to start all over again as those turf battles were getting way too much for our Lord God . . .  and Noah and his three sons along with their wives had a bit of turf battle . . . Shem, Ham and Japheth had to choose where to go and spread out.

Down to Abraham a few generations later, Abraham and his nephew Lot had their turf battle too.  But this time, Abraham did not fight for his choice.  He simply said to Lot: There are two choices here.  One is near the city and the other is the plains.  You choose one and I will take the other.  A very peaceable man, Abraham that is!   Lot got into plenty more trouble with his choice of that alluring city of lights . . . and he went to live there . . . plenty trouble for his choice.  For Abraham, it was a piece of mind, no, peace of mind actually because with the plains, he was able to stretch out much more all around him.   

Today the land of Israel is a tremendous battlefield for turf possession.  No need to go into details here because you have been reading up on this little plot of land that belongs to God Himself and His people.

Turf battles stem from greed of wanting to own a little more of something, land, space, room, seat, or whatever.  Sometimes the need not to move over or squeeze a little more can give away to a fight or name calling.   With Deaf Blind people, the sense of turf possession is very difficult because the turf is already named either Deaf land or Blind land, but there is not much room for Deaf Blind land in between.  Sometimes it has to come to a point where the Deaf Blind people will have to consider settling on an unoccupied tract of land and try to make it their own Deaf Blind turf.  It’s difficult to own and possess land when one finds it hard to farm the land to make a living out of it.   Some measures are necessary to make the land workable for Deaf Blind people.  If we see some other people encroaching on our Deaf Blind land, we should shout to them, “No Trespassing!”  Those intruders might test our mettle and see if we mean what we shout at them.  

Even with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, there is some sense of land already being drawn up on boundaries or plots of ‘land’ belonging to several groups of disabilities.  Deaf Blind as a group is not recognized within the ADA as it appears to be written based on more of accessibility needs such as wheelchair ramps, widths and related concerns these people have.  Some other accommodations have been drawn up for visibility and sound, but there is not much by way of making the world much more accessible to Deaf Blind people.  We as a small but significantly overlooked group need to make our legislators, government officials and everybody who makes ADA work is more aware of our specific needs.  We need to go out and talk to people and let them know we need services, support and encouragement if we are to continue to function as independently as possible.  Turf battles between either Blind land or Deaf land can become a little more difficult because of the differences between sight and sound, and we as a DB group have to deal with Sight AND Sound accommodations!   

Advocacy is a term that we need to cultivate on our farm land that we call ours.   Deaf Blind land is scarce and sacred to our own sense of identity and as a group.  We actually do need some protector type of entity that will watch out FOR US, but not work against US!   Very difficult choice to make sometimes when there are so many different entities that run businesses here and there!   

Sometimes a certain branch of family has an on-going feud with another branch of family that could last through several generations.  This type of feuding is very difficult to break and to heal the “long forgotten reasons for this feud.”   We need to find out just how we could resolve and live and get along peaceably with one another.   Sometimes the need to move away and make one’s own tract of land theirs is recommended if the group wants to grow and expand!

Speaking of mid-term elections this year, there is a great big turf battle going on between the democrats and the Republicans.  For 4 years the Republicans have the controlling majorities of the Senate and the House of Representatives.  This time around, well, there might be a tough turf battle.   The most important thing YOU can do at this time is to go register to vote.... information can be found online or ask someone who can assist you and go with you to sign up for your voter registration.  Usually the voter registration is open for a few more weeks until the deadline is imposed just about before the Election Day in November.  Go and vote for someone.  Even if you don’t know who the person is, try to find out what he or she believes in.  Your vote really COUNTS!!!!  Very important factor!

When I write about a turf problem, I say: “Mr. Senator, I voted for you in your last Senatorial election, and I am hoping you can help me with this situation I have.  Blah, blah, Blah!  That was a good way to introduce myself and I even told this Senator that I am Deaf Blind citizens living in Louisiana.   For what it’s worth, and to identify the need for Deaf Blind Land here, we have the right to go vote and ask for assistance in return, right?  

Even animals have their own “turf battles” as you might watch either a domesticated pet or wild animal try to declare their territorial boundaries!!!    

Linda