The Onus To Include

There’s something about animations that really bring out the warmth in people. Maybe it is the simplicity of the message or the overall ambience created with the audio visual effects. Maybe it is the softness of the characters or maybe it just is that we tend to open ourselves to vulnerability when we see it in otherwise improbably characters – in this case, animated animals at school.

I watched this video with my 9-yr-old this morning while we were waiting for the school bus. It seemed harmless enough to spend 2 minutes watching a heart-warming video of a cute little hedgehog. The conversation that followed the warm smiles on our faces went deeper still.

In very simple words, my son said, “It isn’t fun to be left out.”

No it isn’t. It never is fun, let alone okay, to be excluded and made to stand on the fringes of excitement when everyone else is participating to the best of their #ability.

There you have it – ability.

That is a strong word and yet, although many of us often use it casually, to those who do not fit into the stereotyped box of being ‘able-bodied’, ability can be quite a loaded concept. Being excluded due to ability or disability can have far reaching effects – and usually of the kind that are not easily seen by the naked eye.

Many teams and organizations put in the effort towards #inclusion. Many others, however, feel it is just a politically correct, ‘woke’ theme that organizations try to drive in. Corporate Social Responsibility (#CSR) is often seen as an extra-curricular activity to check the box of must-haves. But the bottom line remains that for everything that is on the outside, it has been really strong on the inside. Social structure is created only when the individual members of the society truly live its values.

Every team is a micro social system with members of diverse interests, skills, abilities and disabilities. A team that consists only of selected abilities without including the ones of us with ‘disabilities’ not only cuts the diversity of the team, but also severely limits its opportunity for empathy, collaboration, human substance and compassion. The inside of the structure misses out on the opportunity to learn innovation, curiosity and creativity that is the inheritance of humanity when faced with challenges.

Take this video which at first glance speaks of the hedgehog being excluded from games and playtime. It would be extremely easy to shrug it off thinking, “It’s not my fault, he’s a hedgehog!” It isn’t. It isn’t his fault he is a hedgehog either. We all are what we are – who we are. Responsibility goes both ways, but usually, when a few of us are excluded for being who we are, for how we look like or because of assumptions and stereotypes, we shut down the doors to creative compassion… or compassionate creativity that was finally sparked by the little squirrel.

The onus of inclusion doesn’t rest firmly on the shoulders of the one being excluded – even if it is just a perception. The onus of inclusion lies on every single one of us to create an atmosphere conducive to inclusion. It doesn’t need to show up with neon flashing bulbs, but simple gestures that blend with the atmosphere of the culture makes it as natural as a the air we breathe.

Simplicity is the key to authenticity.

Sometimes, all it takes is a box full of Styrofoam beans.

The onus lies on us to include because including #diversity and learning from it is always a win-win…. for all concerned.

Video credit: Erste group YouTube channel

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay