Paterson worries about leaving NY state

Subject: Re: [acb-l] Paterson worries about leaving NY state

John believes that Governor Paterson has made such a negative impression regarding his compatency as a blind man, that employers will be turned off toward hiring blind people.  I responded as follows:

 

John,

Again we disagree.  I say it once more.  Articles such as any that have been written about the out going governor have no influence on anything except the bottom of the Bird Cage. 

I have hired many people over the years, interviewing dozens and dozens of hopeful applicants.  Despite all sorts of negative articles I'd read about Blacks, Gays, Women, Native Americans, Jews, Muslims, Blind People, or Viet Namese, I determined my hiring based on interview scores and resumes. 

While I am as impacted by stereotypes as the next guy, I do my best to be aware of such biases when looking for the right person for a particular job. 

Of course I am not some really smart, rich, wheeler and dealer hiring high power top executive types.  I just hired run of the mill government workers.  You know, the kind we all love to trash as lazy no goodniks. 

Look John, I've been in the rehab business for over 35 years.  During that time I have really impressed a very few folk, angered many more, been acclaimed as better than sliced bread and Damned as Satan's Spawn. 

But in all of that I doubt I have impacted the Universal Blind Stereotype one tiny bit. 

In the scheme of things no single one of us is all that powerful.  But collectively, like as members of the ACB, we can make inroads. 

But even then it is painfully slow. 

 

Curious Carl