The Disability of Humanity

Today I went to one of the local department stores, which I would rather not say even though anyone reading this will figure it out after I describe it a bit further, where there was a greeter with a disability.  Now this may seem weird, but I would purposely walk slow in order to watch people in how they would interact with this particular person as it stunned me how much differences affect human behavior.  It was rare that anyone would acknowledge this person's presence and honestly, it pained me to be the idiot watching these events take place.

Before I continue a bit further, I am going to state that I am not perfect or even always the nicest person, but humanity has always been a priority of mine.  I look at people with the idea that there is more to those people, so I may push for something more from them, that is until their actions tell me I am no longer wanted/needed. I have seen people do great things in life and I will admit I am proud to have been a part of if not contributed towards that.

Focusing back to my intention of this post.  My mother, bless her heart (and the rest of her I suppose ;-P), has assisted individuals with disabilities for multiple years, something I will and have admitted I could not do the same way she had for so long, but I appreciate that there are people like her to do this job.  It is this idea that makes me think, "If that were me I would be thankful for her [them]."  What I have witnessed in my younger years, and even in observation of the aforementioned event, is how "normal" people treat those who are not like them.  At this point, I could probably tangent off on the topic of "bullying," but feel the need to stay focused on how you can tell a lot about an individual based upon how they treat others.

I will be forthcoming as I admit that I will, at times, bring a person to my mother's place of work to "test" the individual's reaction.  To some, who do not understand,  this may seem like a game or a type of mockery, so let me just say that the same is done with exposure to my own family. :-P (P.S. if you met them and understand certain circumstances,  you would comprehend why this is an important point). I have seen every reaction from utter disgust to heartfelt welcoming to the people that reside at my mom's place of employment.  Anything other than a welcoming demeanor from an individual is then trashed (as in we are done and you need to leave my life).   Yes, I said "trashed " because how dare you treat another human being as anything less!  A negative response gives the rest of humanity a bad name because of some spoiled ignorant outlook on something distinguished that apparently cannot be comprehended by the simplicity of one's cowardness.  I know, very bold of me to make such a statement, but I do not feel it is undeserving in many cases.

So what inspired me to write this rant?  It is because of the things I have witnessed and my background in caring for humanity that I make a point to say "hi" to the greeters.  Yes, 'greeters', meaning all of them no matter who, what, where, when, why, or how different the person is from me because I always wonder that if they took this position to "make someone's day," why can I not return the favor with a simple greeting?  Anyway, after all my shopping was done, I went to the register, checked out my items, and a small voice, that I had never heard before, spoke up saying "Thanks for coming.  Have a great night."  The voice was not the clearest I had ever heard, but it was enough that I could understand what was being said.  I looked up from grabbing my bags and returning the basket I used for shopping to see in front of me the greeter whom many choose to ignore.  I thanked the greeter, wishing the same upon the individual, and as I walked away I had to look back and smile with one of those Hallmark tears coming to my eye.  I never thought I would hear that person speak, let alone knew this greeter could speak, but for that brief moment while I walked to my car I realized that it is the little things that count in life to the individuals around us considering I did not hear any other salutations made to anyone else after me leaving the registers.  This may sound a bit trite, especially after a fairy tale-ish type story, but I look forward to going back to the store to once again say 'hello' to this greeter in hopes that another single occasion can create a moment we can both smile upon.