Latest / Podcasts By Donna Jodhan / Remarkable World Commentary Episode #95: Ask Advocate Donna

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Remarkable World Commentary Episode #95: Ask Advocate Donna · Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

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  Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to
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  her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary.
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  Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts,
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  insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners.
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  Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids,
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  especially kids with disabilities.
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  Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach,
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  dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur,
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  law graduate, and podcast commentator.
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  She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge,
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  skills, and expertise in access, technology and information.
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  As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles,
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  she just wants to make things better than possible.
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  Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Greetings, everybody. And I'm Donna J.
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  Jordan, your host for the Remarkable World Commentary,
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  my second podcast for June.
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  My goodness, we are up to June.
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  So this podcast is titled Ask Advocate Donna.
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  It's for the month of June.
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  And what do we have in our bag of tricks for this month for you?
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  I want to start off with this.
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  My favorite quote is this.
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  Speak in such a way that others would want to listen to you and listen in such a way that
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  others would want to speak to you.
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  I truly believe in this quotation.
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  I also have something new to add for you.
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  And it is this. Let's make it better than possible.
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  Let's not just sit there and say it's possible.
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  We got to make it better than possible.
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  And I got this term from former prime minister,
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  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who started his term in office in 2015 with
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  that quote. Let's make it better than possible.
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  So let me start with my favorite word game for your consideration and for your
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  pondering. And it is this defensive or offensive.
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  So many times in an advocate's career or in an advocate's journey,
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  they're faced with these two terms, they are on opposite sides of the spectrum.
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  Okay. Defensive or offensive?
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  Which is it going to be?
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  For me, it is a mixture of both.
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  Learning when to be defensive, learning when to be offensive.
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  I don't think one can go either way or, you know,
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  be always being defensive or always being offensive.
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  Now there are some advocates who thrive on being offensive,
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  other advocates who feel that it is necessary to be defensive.
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  For me, I think it's a mixture of both knowing when to be defensive,
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  knowing when to be offensive.
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  Okay. Here's another pair of terms for your Consideration,
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  sympathy or empathy. Most people really appreciate
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  when empathy is shown, but in many cases, sympathy is often
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  necessary. Both terms are close in proximity to each other.
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  I believe in both. I believe in showing sympathy as a long time advocate,
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  and I also believe that empathy is necessary as well.
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  Sympathy versus empathy.
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  Which is it going to be?
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  And I think you have to choose the circumstance where you believe that either
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  one is applicable. All right.
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  I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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  So write to me at Donna jordan@gmail.com.
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  That's GODHAN at g mail.com.
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  Let me know what your thoughts are.
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  I would be really interested to know.
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  Okay. All right. Each month I provide you with stories that I have gathered over the
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  years, or people or listeners and readers send it to me and I share these with you.
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  Here's the title to the first story.
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  There was a lady in a wheelchair who was denied entry to a concert.
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  Lucy had gotten had gotten sorry, dressed up for this concert.
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  She really wanted to go.
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  And when she and her friends got to the hall to hand in their tickets for this anticipated
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  concert, Lucy was told that she could not enter the concert area.
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  When she asked why was she being denied entry to the concert,
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  she was told it was because she was in a wheelchair.
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  Just imagine when her friends started to ask questions.
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  The group was told by officials that the hall could not accommodate anyone in a wheelchair.
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  Just imagine. What would you advise Lucy and her friends to do?
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  I know what I would, but I want to know what you would.
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  Okay, so Lucy is being denied entry to a hall.
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  Concert hall? Because she's in a wheelchair.
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  When her friends ask why, they are told That because the concert hall
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  is not accessible for a person in a wheelchair in these modern days,
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  this is not acceptable in these modern days.
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  This is horrible in these modern days.
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  This is a sad, sad statement for anyone to make.
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  Okay, so what are the points here?
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  The major points. What is advocacy?
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  Advocacy is when something is not right and something needs to be done.
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  And in this case, Lucy being denied entry to the concert hall because it is not set up for
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  a person in a wheelchair and who gets involved in advocacy,
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  Lucy to start with, and then her friends, which is what they did,
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  they started to question the persons at the desk.
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  The customer reps. The customer agents.
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  Okay. And why is it necessary?
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  Because something is not right to tell a person that you cannot enter a concert hall
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  because it is not set up for a wheelchair or a person in a wheelchair is not right.
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  And how does one get involved in advocacy in this case?
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  Simply look at what Lucy and her friends did.
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  Her friends started to ask questions and challenged,
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  you know, the concert folks, the concert hall officials.
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  That is what advocacy is.
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  That's how you get involved in advocacy.
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  And when do you do that again?
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  When something is not kosher All right.
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  Okay. Let me go to the second story of the month shared with me by another listener.
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  All right. A boy was denied entry to a swimming pool because he did not
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  speak English. This is Canada, remember?
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  And we have always thrived on the reputation that Canada is an open country to any and
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  everyone entering it or living in it.
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  And Hamid was looking forward to swimming in the pool in his condo complex.
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  And when he got to the swimming pool on this very hot summer's day,
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  he was told by the lifeguard that he could not go swimming.
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  Now, Hamid's elder brother, Ali, had told the lifeguard that Hamid could
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  not speak English. What would you advise Hamid and Ali to do?
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  You have a younger brother?
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  Hamid doesn't speak English.
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  His older brother Ali telling the lifeguard just that.
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  And now there is trouble brewing ahead.
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  Okay. What Ali did, I think is the right thing.
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  Ali then took his brother back to their condo and told the parents what was going on.
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  Okay. At first the parents said, well, maybe the lifeguard is correct in that,
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  you know, Hamid doesn't speak English and there might be a barrier or a communications
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  problem if Hamid were to get into difficulty while swimming.
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  But his brother Ali was there who spoke perfect English.
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  So this is a very tough call.
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  Is a lifeguard correct?
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  In saying that, Hamid would be denied entry because he didn't speak English?
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  Because they were afraid for their own I wouldn't say their own jobs,
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  but they were afraid that if Hamid got into trouble,
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  they wouldn't know how to communicate with him. And they'd have to depend on Ali to help
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  Hamid. What do you think?
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  Okay. So who gets involved in advocacy if this is pushed?
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  Ali and his parents, because Hamid probably knows what is going on,
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  but cannot advocate on his own for himself because he doesn't speak English.
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  And why is it necessary?
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  Well, it is necessary if you want to push the case that Hamid is entitled to go swimming,
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  despite the fact that he cannot speak English.
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  So it's going to be a very interesting discussion between Hamid and Ali and their
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  family, their parents and the lifeguard and his supervisors.
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  Because on the one hand, Hamid should be entitled to go swimming.
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  But on the other hand, because he doesn't speak English,
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  as you know, how is the lifeguard or how can the lifeguard communicate with him if
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  something is wrong or they need to tell him something?
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  He would need, he would have second hand a second hand opinion from the lifeguard
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  because they'd have to go through Ali.
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  So it's all a second hand relay to honey from the guards.
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  And is this correct? We don't know.
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  Only fruitful discussion will determine how to get around this.
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  Right. How do you get involved in this type of advocacy?
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  It's really the parents who have to start it with Ali's account.
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  And then they go step by step from there.
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  Really. And when do you get involved in advocacy in this case,
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  if you want to push this matter, if you want to push that,
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  your son Hamid should be given equal access to go swimming.
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  So the parents have to decide what is the best thing to do.
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  Okay. So there you have it.
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  Now let's go to the third story of the month,
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  again shared by another listener.
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  There we go. So. A blind lady has refused an interview,
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  and she came to us with this story because she wanted it aired.
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  All right. So. Aaron had sent
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  in her resume in response to a call for resumes from a call center.
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  But. When she showed up for the interview and the interviewer noticed that she was vision
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  impaired. She was told that the job was just filled.
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  When. Aaron was at first very perplexed.
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  The job was just filled.
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  When Aaron asked when exactly was it filled?
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  The interviewer took matters into his own hands and told her that she could not be
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  hired because of her vision impairing impairment.
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  Sorry, what would you advise Aaron to do?
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  I know what I would advise Aaron to do.
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  This is not acceptable.
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  Totally unacceptable for any company to tell a prospective or an interviewee But you
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  cannot be interviewed because of your vision impairment.
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  It is down right discrimination.
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  That's what it is. It's nothing more.
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  It's nothing less. Downright discrimination for any company to tell an interviewee or
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  prospective interviewee that you can't be hired because,
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  or even can't be interviewed because of your vision impairment.
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  No no no no no no no. Not acceptable.
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  So what is advocacy here?
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  Advocacy is advocating for her rights and her rights.
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  She's entitled to an interview.
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  She's not entitled to be told that you cannot be interviewed or you cannot be hired because
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  of your vision impairment.
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  That is wrong in this country of Canada and in most developed countries.
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  So who gets involved in advocacy?
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  Aaron to start with, because this directly affects her.
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  She then has to go out there and start the the spade work,
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  the hard work of finding probably agencies of the blind or for the blind get,
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  you know, tell them your story, get on on their case,
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  tell them, not tell them, but seek their not approval,
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  but seek their support in helping you to bring this company to task.
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  And why is it necessary?
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  It's all because Aaron's rights have been downright or blatantly infringed upon.
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  Okay. It's been infringed upon.
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  And like I said, how do you get involved in advocacy?
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  You now have to go out there and attract the attention of others in a meaningful manner.
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  Constructive manner. All right.
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  Again, you get involved in advocacy when because something has not been done properly.
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  Okay. So there you have it.
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  My three stories for the month of June.
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  Please write to me at Donna Jordan.
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  Donnajodhan@gmail.com.
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  Thank you for tuning in to listen to me and have a great rest of the month.
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  Bye for now.
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  Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at donnajodhan@gmail.com.
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  Until next time.