[nfbcs] Fake Cover Letters Expose Discrimination Against Disabled

[Joseph C. Lininger]

Here's something interesting to consider. I have exactly the opposite 
problem as that described here. This story may seem like bragging. I 
promise that is not my intention; I'm telling you about this to 
illustrate a point.

One of the gals I work with (used to be my supervisor before she got 
transfered) has gotten so used to me and my abilities that she simply 
can't accept that the disability could or would be a factor in a 
company's hiring dicision or in the way people behave toward me. I work 
for the Air Force, and there's a possibility I will need to find a 
different place to work within the organization. I expressed concerns 
about finding a new position, and she mentioned private sector 
employment (with much higher pay) as a possibility if, in her words, 
"the air force is too stupid to want to keep you." I mentioned to her 
the difficulties of getting hired, and her response was something like, 
"No way. You have years of experience, a computer science degree, and 
you're working on a Ph.D. I don't believe a company would turn you down 
just because of that." She is a rare exception to the general rule, and 
to be honest it's something I never knew how much I appreciated until I 
actually worked for someone like that. She even forgets the disability 
at times. Once she was talking about how i would need to travel some 
place. I asked her for more specific directions, and she was like, "Oh 
yeah, I forgot." She may have been apologetic, but I took it as a 
compliment. It meant she saw me as a whole person, not just a disability.
Joe