[Nfbofsc] Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: a Shining Example of the Value of Diversity in Employment

[Steve & Shannon Cook]

> 

> *Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: a Shining Example of the Value of 

> Diversity in Employment*

> 

> *By Dick Davis, Chairperson*

> 

> *National Federation of the Blind Employment Committee*

> 

> 

> 

> *From the author: Over the holidays, as I was reading the Little 

> Golden Book "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to my grandson Lucas, it 

> struck me that I could use Rudolph's story  in my talks because it has 

> everything to do with discrimination and the value of diversity in 

> employment.  So here it is, slightly rewritten to serve that purpose.  

> *

> 

> 

> 

> Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was a differently-abled individual who 

> faced discrimination and social ostracism because of his red nose.  As 

> we all know, deer  have beautiful shiny black noses.  Rudolph's was 

> shiny too, but it was red - so red that it actually glowed!  While 

> this characteristic might have been regarded as beautiful in some 

> societies, it was a visible, ugly deformity in reindeer society.  

> Because of it, Rudolph was mocked, humiliated, and disqualified from
participating in reindeer games.

> 

> 

> 

> To make things worse, Rudolph fell prey to this discrimination, 

> internalized it, and took responsibility for his misfortune instead of 

> realizing it was a problem of the larger society.  Since he was 

> isolated at the North Pole Manufacturing Zone, there  was no 

> organization of disabled reindeer to explain this to him.  So when 

> Santa sought applications from reindeer to pull his sleigh, Rudolph 

> hid himself out of shame until all the candidates for the job had been
selected.

> 

> 

> 

> On Christmas Eve, a sudden fog, no doubt caused by global warming, 

> arose, impeding the progress of Santa and his team.  But when Rudolph 

> came out of hiding, Santa immediately realized the practical value of 

> his "disability", and hired him as lead worker for the sleigh team.  

> The other reindeer, realizing that they had foolishly overlooked an 

> individual with the exact skill set to enable them to achieve their 

> mission, welcomed him to the team.

> 

> 

> 

> Were it not for Rudolph, the team would have failed to achieve their 

> all-important Christmas objective, resulting in global disappointment 

> to all the good little girls and boys.  But because of Santa's wisdom 

> in understanding that difference could be an asset rather than a 

> limitation, they succeeded.  And they memorialized this organizational 

> achievement by creating a song which continues to be sung by children
today.

 

Steve and Shannon Cook

Steve on Dice World: Steve6009

Steve on Twitter: @SteveCook67

Today I married my best friend.  

The one that I laugh with, live for, love.

October 11, 2003 

 

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