Why Is My Difference So Different?
A couple of years ago I joined a Leadership working group made up of a diverse group of individuals who wanted to learn how to be more inclusive and practice celebrating diversity. At the first on-line group meeting, there were 8 of us from different locations in Canada, and even one person calling from England. There were a couple of grandparents, one male, one person who uses a wheelchair, somebody who disclosed they deal with severe anxiety, and myself - a person who is blind.
Multiple times during the group, other members expressed concern about me and my ability to participate fully in the group. All I had to do was sit at my computer and listen and occasionally speak. The technology was quite accessible. The only thing I could not see was the part of the screen where text or pictures could be displayed, but the facilitator did a great job of reading and describing what was there.
If it weren’t for the other group members bringing up my ability to participate, I would have felt equal to everybody else in the group. The irony was that their need to ensure I felt completely included made me feel singled out and exposed. I absolutely know this was not their intention, but it has caused me to reflect. At the end of the session, while deciding what to talk about next week, a couple members expressed a desire to hear from me about my disability, and how I am able to participate, as well as some of the do’s and don’ts of blindness. This is what I do for work, and what I do in the world, whether I want to or not. I joined this group as a way to force myself to do some self-care, and take some time for personal growth. Now, I’m being asked to do extra work so the other members of the group will feel more comfortable with me participating.
If we are there to celebrate our differences, then maybe this is a good thing? Does this mean that mine is the difference we have chosen to celebrate first? Or, is it simply that my difference is the most uncomfortable for others in the group? Or, is it just that mine is the difference that most people understand the least?
by Shawn