Discrimination

I'm feeling quite angry today. I've had rather a bad day, to be honest. I'll skip over personal problems because I want to touch on something that makes me absolutely furious!

I have begun working for a small goat dairy. We are in the process of getting the new milking and cheese building up and running. It's been a very exciting time - I've literally been a part of this from almost the ground up. I watched the building being built, the equipment brought in, and have even helped! I was there when the goats were tested for disease. I have held brand new life, still damp from being born. I have vaccinated and chased down many a goat kid! I've rescued a tiny turkey chick and returned it to its mother.

Sure, not too different than what I do at home already, but all of it together - it's amazing. There have been bumps in the road, but we are trucking right along and can hardly wait to be officially up and running.

One stepping stone to this is the licensing to sell cheese. To get this all important certification, your building must be up to code, along with your animals tested for disease, and your equipment and cleanliness up to par. The book outlining these regulations is practically four inches thick! It's pretty crazy, but when you are going to sell a food product to the public, that is how it must be, *especially* for dairy products.

So, no problem, right? We've got the book and our contractor seems to be quite the smart fellow and has been building to code.

Before I go any further, I must explain that I have two employers, a husband/wife pair. The wife, we will call her Fran, works many long hours as an American Sign Language interpreter and is often not home. The husband, Lan, as we will call him, is deaf.

Why is this important? You will see.

The inspector came out on a day that neither I nor Fran were there, which left Lan to oversee the inspection, and the contractor, we'll call him Bill, was there as well, overseeing some of the final touches to the building. It started out well, but soon things took a very disturbing turn.

Lan brought his laptop into the building so that the inspector and him could communicate easier. Sounds like a good plan, right?

The inspector flat out *refused* to use it. She continued to talk out loud the entire time, preventing Lan from communicating with her properly. She was flat out rude. She began to fail the building on multiple counts that should not have been failed. She literally grabbed onto the insulation of the building and *ripped* it off - which took some doing! She refused to listen to Bill as he tried to explain why certain things were done and how it *should* be within code. She also lied about how long she has been an inspector for the state of Texas.

I have never been so furious in my life. There is no doubt in my mind that this was not only disrespectful, but DISCRIMINATION. This woman refused to acknowledge Lan and communicate with him properly. She destroyed *their* property - up to code or NOT, there is absolutely NO reason for her to literally tear insulation off the walls.

I cannot believe how horrid this woman was, and I can only imagine how frustrated Lan must have been. There was no reason to treat him such. Just because someone is deaf does not make them inferior or stupid. Lan is one of the cleverest persons I know, with a great sense of humor and there can never be any doubt that he absolutely loves the goats and cares for them.

Lack of understanding of ASL is no excuse either. I only know a few words in sign language, and even then, I can usually get the gist of what Lan is trying to tell me, and if I cannot, then that is what modern technology is for, at least until I lean more. There is simply *no* excuse for her to use the tools provided.

Discrimination. It lives on in our world and *sickens* me.

You can rest assured that a lawyer has been contacted and we will not allow this to go unpunished. If we do not stand up against the evil in the world, who will?