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Post by shmeep on Sept 27, 2006 13:50:16 GMT -5
Thanks, Carl. Very interesting blog. It's interesting that there's a lawsuit against Target right now. I always thought they weren't particularly sensitive in their handling of the disabled. Deaf or hard-of-hearing employees who work there have to literally wear a vest with the words "Hearing Impaired" across their backs. Horrible. |
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Post by mlm828 on Sept 27, 2006 13:53:57 GMT -5
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Post by awlrite4now on Sept 27, 2006 15:02:44 GMT -5
It's interesting that there's a lawsuit against Target right now. I always thought they weren't particularly sensitive in their handling of the disabled. Deaf or hard-of-hearing employees who work there have to literally wear a vest with the words "Hearing Impaired" across their backs. Horrible. How would you solve this problem, shmeep? I'm sure it was done to keep customers from complaining to management that Employee X was blatantly "ignoring" them. Not the most genteel solution, I agree. I overheard an older veteran telling someone at the VA that he has a ballcap that reads "Blind as a Bat" that he wears when he shops, so people won't wonder why he runs into things, etc. But do you think this guy would consider using a cane? Noooooooooo...that is "too embarrassing" for him. That's what he said! Like wearing that cap isn't? |
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Post by inuvik on Sept 27, 2006 15:28:08 GMT -5
I still think this would be a really neat experience. And if it helps increase awareness, so much the better. I hope it comes here. |
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Post by mlm828 on Sept 27, 2006 15:29:10 GMT -5
It's interesting that there's a lawsuit against Target right now. I always thought they weren't particularly sensitive in their handling of the disabled. Deaf or hard-of-hearing employees who work there have to literally wear a vest with the words "Hearing Impaired" across their backs. Horrible. How would you solve this problem, shmeep? I'm sure it was done to keep customers from complaining to management that Employee X was blatantly "ignoring" them. Not the most genteel solution, I agree. Is that the stated justification for the practice? I wonder if it's a real problem (i.e., whether the affected employees work in positions where it would be a problem), or just a pretext? If there is a real problem, I'd like to think there is a less offensive solution, although I can't come up with one off the top of my head. I overheard an older veteran telling someone at the VA that he has a ballcap that reads "Blind as a Bat" that he wears when he shops, so people won't wonder why he runs into things, etc. But do you think this guy would consider using a cane? Noooooooooo...that is "too embarrassing" for him. That's what he said! Like wearing that cap isn't? The difference between the vet and the Target employees is that he chooses to wear the cap, while the employees don't have a choice about wearing the vests -- if they want to keep their jobs, that is. |
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Post by awlrite4now on Sept 27, 2006 17:38:06 GMT -5
How would you solve this problem, shmeep? I'm sure it was done to keep customers from complaining to management that Employee X was blatantly "ignoring" them. Not the most genteel solution, I agree. Is that the stated justification for the practice? I wonder if it's a real problem (i.e., whether the affected employees work in positions where it would be a problem), or just a pretext? If there is a real problem, I'd like to think there is a less offensive solution, although I can't come up with one off the top of my head. I don't know if it's stated practice or not. Do you know, shmeep? I don't know of any hearing impaired employees of Target here, but that's to say there might be some, and I haven't been in there enough to know. I overheard an older veteran telling someone at the VA that he has a ballcap that reads "Blind as a Bat" that he wears when he shops, so people won't wonder why he runs into things, etc. But do you think this guy would consider using a cane? Noooooooooo...that is "too embarrassing" for him. That's what he said! Like wearing that cap isn't? The difference between the vet and the Target employees is that he chooses to wear the cap, while the employees don't have a choice about wearing the vests -- if they want to keep their jobs, that is. I should have started a separate post for that, I guess, because one has at best marginal links to the other. Just what I was thinking about at the moment, that how a person is "identified" makes a difference. I did not mean to imply anything else. |
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Post by mlm828 on Sept 27, 2006 17:51:47 GMT -5
This whole discussion raises an issue about people with disabilities or medical conditions which are "invisible." We've probably all read about Deaf people who get beaten up and arrested for "resisting arrest," because the cops think they're being uncooperative when they don't respond or do what the cops are telling them to do. There are also cases of people with diabetes or other medical conditions being thrown in jail because they're believed to be drunk or on drugs or mentally ill -- sometimes with fatal consequences. As I said before, the idea of having people wearing vests that say "Hearing Impaired" is offensive, but what is an appropriate way for people with these kinds of "invisible" conditions to protect themselves from such misunderstandings?
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Post by awlrite4now on Sept 27, 2006 18:00:55 GMT -5
Maybe since this has taken the thread offtopic, the admins would like to move these posts and start a new thread about disability awareness or something of that nature?
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Post by carl1951 on Sept 27, 2006 18:35:16 GMT -5
Maybe since this has taken the thread offtopic, the admins would like to move these posts and start a new thread about disability awareness or something of that nature? I agree with that idea. Later, Carl |
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Post by carl1951 on Sept 27, 2006 18:38:12 GMT -5
I must also add: The vest thing reminds me of the Scarlet Letter. Remember the book? It's a Puritan-run world.
I do have to add this: Concerning the Target vest. How is the visually-impaired/blind suppose to know if the person is hearing impaired/deaf?
Later, Carl
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Post by carl1951 on Sept 27, 2006 23:16:13 GMT -5
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Post by kytdunne on Sept 28, 2006 16:46:34 GMT -5
Thanks, Carl. Very interesting blog. It's interesting that there's a lawsuit against Target right now. I always thought they weren't particularly sensitive in their handling of the disabled. Deaf or hard-of-hearing employees who work there have to literally wear a vest with the words "Hearing Impaired" across their backs. Horrible. It's a website design issue and correcting it is more likely beyond the skills of the employee(s) assigned to the task than it is an issue of bias. But assuming Target is showing a company bias toward blind people on the web, and deaf workers in the stores... If the vest issue is really a horrible situation, surely the deaf community has come up with a solution that can manage to address the reasons for the vests (which haven't been given, that I've seen). Is there a solution or ten that Target's ignoring in favor of maintaining a prejudice? Kyt |
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Post by kytdunne on Sept 28, 2006 16:55:26 GMT -5
I do have to add this: Concerning the Target vest. How is the visually-impaired/blind suppose to know if the person is hearing impaired/deaf? Heh. Drawing this to an absurd solution: How about sound-emitting devices being attached to the vests? And so blind people can tell when they're addressing an employee who can hear, a second sound for them. Add "Hearing" to their vests for the deaf people to read. And braille for the deaf-blind folks. And Universal Symbols for everyone who doesn't read English. Everyone in vests (is this only for Target employees, everyone in Target, or should it become country-wide)? Okay, I'm sure I've missed a group or two.... But it is one of the problems with the ADA. Where do you draw the lines? Does the ADA have workable guidelines for what is a reasonable accommodation and/or common sense? Or is it a grease-the-squeaky-wheel determination? Kyt |
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Post by carl1951 on Sept 29, 2006 21:58:03 GMT -5
Kyt: Glad to see a post from you.
Later, Carl
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Post by awlrite4now on Oct 9, 2006 12:39:37 GMT -5
Maybe some of you saw this young man on the Ellen show. Ben Underwood is my new hero.
[ftp]http://www.infectiousvideos.com/index.php?p=showvid&sid=2462&o=0&idx=1&sb=daily&a=playvid&r=
Ben_Underwood_-_the_blind_kid_with_sonar[/ftp]
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