I am the support groups coordinator for the Education and Support Services here at Horizons. And I have an accent, just in case you haven't noticed it. That accent is just one small example of how people can be different.
Training you about diversity essentially means helping you to understand, respect and appreciate those differences.
One thing I like about Horizons is the diversity of the organization. I also enjoy our willingness to confront our differences and debate issues together, until we come to a practical solution to a particular problem.
I'd like to share with you something that I found very insightful in one of our Prevention Team meetings. Two of the staff members appeared to disagree on how to approach an issue.
One of the staff member was a gay male, and the other was a heterosexual female. I believe that the differences in their cultural background and sexual orientation probably contributed to their different points of view. But it was not important to judge one right from wrong, but to allow this two different and valid points of view to see all the perspectives to help us arrive at a common goal.
I recently attended a transgender and transsexual forum where I learned a lot about differences and being different. As a gay man, I thought that I already knew about being different. But the transgendered individuals at that conference, taught me what really being different is all about.
One of the panelists mentioned that if they could put together all the tears they had cried for being different, it would overflow Lake Michican.
If we as individuals learn to appreciate, respect and embrace differences, then we are creating a more caring and loving world.
I am an optimist, so I can see the day when big private corporations would have at the end of a job listing: transgender and transsexual individuals encouraged to apply.
But I also believe that it all starts with us; when we truly value ourselves, then society will value us.
Id like to quote from a speech that Mr. Al Wann gave here at a conference in Chicago on Diversity
He said:
If you have studied Eastern philosophy, you may embrace the concept of the balance of forces in the universe. In Eastern philosophy, there is no life without death. There is no spring without winter. You cannot appreciate the light without darkness. Without differences, there is only sameness. Without positives and negatives pulling against each other, there is no spark, no energy.
Visionary business leaders also believe this. They believe in the concept of dynamic tension. They do not expect all people to like each other, only to work well together. They do not want all people to agree with each other, or with them. They do expect all people to celebrate their differences and to cooperate for a common goal.
He also said that ignorance produces fear and it is human nature to fear change. We tend to welcome sameness, especially when we lack self-esteem.
Low self-esteem leads to bigotry and prejudice. People who dont feel good about themselves see things in terms of threats. People with high self-esteem see things in terms of new challenges and opportunities, and their minds wonder, What can I learn from this new situation?
I would like to share with you a little story of a woman named A-yah from the book Clan of the Cave Bear.
She is essentially a breed apart. She has made an evolutionary jump forward. She possesses skills that only males are allowed to practice. Obviously, she is feared and is banished from the tribe. But she survives, alone in the wilderness. She copes and believes in herself. She returns to the tribe where she is finally accepted as a leader.
The message here again is that she was different. She was seen as a threat because she upset the accepted norm. She represented change, and therefore was cast out instead of being acknowledged for her talents as a valuable resource to benefit the whole group.
And finally, I would like to say that it is our hope that trough this training you will learn to understand, respect and appreciate differences and each other.
Thank you.
