For more on mystification, see this link:
http://www.marlier.pro/documents/FamilyTherapy.html
Important quotes from the article:
“Mystification is a way of masking or disguising what is taking place between family members. Mystification refers to a process that occurs when one or more members of an organization fail to understand the meaning and or purpose of a communication from another member, usually a leader. Similarly to the other concepts explained here, this can take place in any organization, not only in families. The communication is often deliberately vague and made vague in order often places the mystified person in a ‘one-down’ position, which disempowers them and fails to produce a clear message.”
“An expert in mystification can use it on every occasion, make you wonder if you are sane, and imbalance you.”
This is also one of the insidious machinations of audism.
Transcript:
Hello. I’m Adrean Clark, and this vlog is “The Angry Deaf.” I’ve been thinking this week about emotions, especially anger. I’ve noticed that some Deaf people who speak out on issues are labelled as “angry.” Are they always angry? No, but where does that emotional burst come from?
The word “mystification” comes to mind. It is often used in family therapy. For example, late at night, a parent may tell their child, “You’re tired. Go to bed!” The child doesn’t actually feel tired and protests. In this situation the parent has put their thoughts and feelings onto the child, disregarding the child’s reality.
This also applies to deaf people. Often with mainstreamed deaf children, parents (and educators, doctors, etc.) tell the children that speaking and reading English has primary importance. They tell the children not to be like the other “lesser” deaf people who sign. The child gets cochlear implants and oral training in the name of being educated and a “success.”
That twists reality. It is a terrible thing.
I understand why deaf people, as they become older, realize what their parents and others said don’t match with reality and become very angry. Some people never come to that point, their emotional development stunted. Some may recover. Still others repeat the cycle they learned from parents, educators, and the like.
Now that we’ve recognized mystification, we can catch its subtle machinations. We can catch it in action and change for the better.
