Discrimination?

Summer is on its way to full swing, and the phones are ringing off the hook for me down at the county extension office.  I work every Friday and am loving life. People call in with all sorts of questions ranging from simple gardening basics to insect classifications and pest control, to the hard ones of disease-ridden trees or turf analysis.  When there happens to be a dull moment (almost never), I do research on things--usually items to add to my husband's 'honey-do' list.

I am thankful to the extension office.  While other businesses have looked down on my handicap and made excuses to not hire me (you will never prove this), the extension office has urged me on and told me if it ever gets to be too much to let them know and I can take a break.  They made me feel like a human-being again when all others made me feel 'stupid' or 'less-than'.  It truly is sad  to say a lot of society thinks when someone is handicapped  their IQ suddenly drops several points.  Sometimes, it drops off the charts.

Several years ago, I applied for a preschool substitute job.  During the phone interview, I got rave reviews.  They loved my resume.  I had great qualifications.  "Why haven't you been out teaching?"  blah, blah, blah.

Now to give a a brief outline of my resume:  I was a tutor in college, graduated with an AA [emphasis in English], went to Longridge Writing School, published a few books, and a bunch of other things with children.

I got called into the office for a second interview.  It went well--except they kept asking me if I was sure I could handle preschoolers, getting up and down on the floor with my cane and brace and all.  What about them tiring me out?  Doesn't MS make you tired? I assured them I could handle it, since wasn't I just a sub?

I was hired but was only called in three times the first year by a lady I already knew who worked there.  She knew I could handle it.  The office always called another friend of mine who was hired at the same time.  (Which btw, I wrote her resume).  And when she couldn't do it, did I receive a call?  No, they called others on the sub list first that lived farther away.  The second year, I never got a call.

My friend got a call to see if she would like to be put on full-time. She was unable to take the job but put in a word for me.  No call ever came.  I ran into one of the main teachers in the grocery store and asked her why I was never given the chance for the job.  She just stuttered and said something about how she thinks it was given to an in-house teacher.

Once again, something that can't be proven, but the feeling is there of discrimination.

That got me thinking: how many times are we judgmental against someone by the way they look or act.  Do we think they can't do something because they are slow of speech or don't hear well?  How about in a wheelchair or walk with a limp?

I am so grateful to be able to use my love of gardening and the knowledge I have received at school to help those around me.  I am glad someone gave me a chance to prove I am not "ignorant" or "less-than" anyone else.  We should never make anyone feel that way. I hope as we venture out in our everyday lives we are not trying to be better than anyone else, because we aren't.