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

[adrijana prokopenko]

Can we share this?

On 12/20/17, Dick Davis via rehab <rehab at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Dear List Members and Friends,
>
> This is an expanded version of something I posted on Facebook.  One of our
> list members urged me to post it.  Have a great holiday season.
>
> Dick Davis, Chairperson
>
> NFB Employment Committee
>
>
>
> *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.
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