After reading the article ”Campus learns a lesson in life” by Eric Zorn, I was forced to consider how I really feel about handicapped people and their employment in public places.
I have never thought of myself as prejudiced against the handicapped, but this article brings out a side of the story I had not considered. If I were inconvenienced by the fact that a handicapped worker could not perform a job as quickly as another person, would I be willing to overlook this
inconvenience? Probably not. More likely, although I do not like to admit it, I would be one of those many in line who complain about waiting the extra minutes.
Hopefully, though, I would be sensitive enough to weigh the difficulties involved in this kind of problem. It is most important for the handicapped to be able to function in our non-handicapped world and not be trapped in a world of their own. This is a responsibility of our society.
The statement ”the handicapped should be able to work in public jobs, and those jobs should match up to their skills” is the essence of the matter and should be our guideline for the future in other circumstances.
