Would you hire her?

I was browsing linkedin right quick before signing off, and I saw a headline that grabbed my attention. It opened up about wether or not you would hire “The ugliest woman in the world,” Lizzie Velasquez.

Interesting story…. or is it? Nope, not the least bit. And it pisses me off. Do not bring to my attention what appears to be an awesome woman struggling to overcome diversity and challenges…. and then make your entire article have nothing to do with her! Asshole.

As I refuse to link to that story and give it more viewership, I will instead link to her site, because it’s more beneficial than the cruft and trash that the article had in it. Lizzie's Site

Anyways, now to the important stuff… Would I hire her? Hell yes. Read on to understand how I think about things…

Lizzie Velasques has a strange condition that prevents her from gaining weight. It has caused what others consider to be disabilities, and sure, some of that is true, sorta.

How the hell do I see it then? Well, first off, let me give you some background. My mother used drugs when she was pregnant with all of her children, self included. I have seen first hand what happens, and how it affects people. It resulted in some pretty serious issues for our family. I got lucky, my father was apparently an extremely intelligent person (wouldn’t know), and so was my mother, at least when she had me. After that, she went downhill. My younger siblings didn’t come out unscathed, and unfortunately, most of the issues show in some form of mental “disability.”

Now, coming from a background where I have had many friends and even family that are “mentally challenged”, or physically handicapped, I noticed something…. The people who are “limited” are, in the right circumstances, the hardest working, most determined to succeed, and do not blame anyone or anything for their success or failure.

Anyhow, now back to the normal intent for this posting, instead of flashback; Would I hire her?

How many people do you know of that cannot even get through college under normal circumstances? Lizzie was bullied, she has sight only through one eye. She is comparable to a bad case of anorexia. Guess what… She has a minor in english, and is working (or maybe finished, depends on how old her video is) on her communications degree.

Lizzie is like many of the people I grew up with, judged beforehand, shocking after the fact. Companies do not take the time to understand employees, and how hiring “disabled” people, wether physically or mentally handicapped, can benefit them in many other ways, plus surprise them when it comes to how well they can actually do the same jobs as everyone else.

Disabled people bring us closer together, not just because we “feel sorry for them”, but because it reminds us of our humanity, and the compassion we can feel for others. They also show us what it means to be strong. They don’t give up, they overcome diversity and disability, and they succeed, even when “normal” people fail.

I will take a “disabled,” “ugly,” or “handicapped” person over normal people many times, because honestly they will do whatever it takes to be successful in their lives. Stop judging people by what you don’t know, and take the time to really get to know them. It will amaze you.

I can sincerely say that I have learned more about being a human from disabled individuals than I could ever teach to them about being “intelligent,” “smart,” “beautiful” or any of the superficial things that we judge people on. (I’m pretty certain (read: positive) I just botched the quoting on that, but I don’t care, I’m uneducated ;) — Did you know or guess that from the way I converse?)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: Why in the hell was she voted the ugliest woman in the world? She has some issues sure, but overall, shes actually pretty beautiful. Superficial morons confuse me.

-Villain