Re: Do you feel excluded?
the coworker who asked the question simply said something along the lines of, "Uh-Huh, thank you."
I don't know how you actually got over a put-down like that. I imagine myself in that situation and would have probably quit. LOL. Jobs are plenty and you can always go somewhere where your work and value are appreciated.
I noticed this in Europe mostly, not necessarily in America. The attitudes about blind people are drastically different. We were attending a conference where we had launched a new product we had been developing. I was surrounded by five sighted coworkers at the booth we had rented, and 100% of the time inquirers would just go right past me and to the sighted people directly. This even happened when only one sighted person was with me at the time at the booth.
It was so bad that when one gentleman approached me and asked if I could demonstrate the product, it made my day and I ended up thanking him for actually asking me directly.
In contrast, another convention we attended in the US was the complete opposite. Most inquirers had no problems approaching me and I was seen as a true equal there. After these two experiences, I mentioned this to my coworkers and noted the differences in attitudes between Europe and the US. They agreed with me and said that they had noted the same thing. It helped them gain a better understanding of what we go through as blind people in terms of struggling to be seen as as competent as our sighted peers.
I'm fortunate to be working in a place where my blindness is nonexistent, so for my coworkers to see the general attitude of sighted people towards blind people was shocking to them (I was instrumental in the software's development after all.) They had no idea how bad it is for us before we went to the launch conference in Europe.
So if you're working at a company in the US @Kaigoku, I'm sad that you've experienced this type of put-down. I hope you can find a place where you're valued. No job is worth your self-worth.
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