A little healthy skepticism when it comes to advertising and marketing is always a good thing.
With corporations constantly striving to convince you that they are the most honest, environmentally caring and socially responsible organizations out there (making a profit is just a nice little bonus for us, really!), the ability to separate fact from fiction ensures that your hard-earned money goes to the right places.
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However, as this story shows, one must be careful not to overstep the mark with surly cynicism and become just a grumpy, smug conspiracist.
A Burger King outlet in Bali, Indonesia, recently made an importantly inclusive move for differently skilled people by hiring deaf employees to join their team of cashiers and order takers.
Burger King management installed several specially-modified service counters at the restaurant, displaying signs that advise that their counter staff is deaf. Customers are asked to point to a lighted signboard to select the items they wish to order.
Pretty simple, right? The move gives disadvantaged people – who might be otherwise overlooked in the labor market – a chance to earn a dignified living as part of a great team. It’s a win-win for all involved!
Burger King’s reply to the cynical tweet was gold.
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The exchange opened up an interesting discussion about corporate responsibility and the rights of disadvantaged people to find gainful employment. Needless to say, most people supported Burger King’s move here.
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The island of Bali, now best known as a tourist paradise, actually has its own unique sign language called ‘Kata kolok,’ or ‘the talk of the deaf.’
This mode of communication is fully native to the island, independent of international or Indonesian sign language, and has been the primary language of the northern Bali village of Bengkala for generations, where a high percentage of residents are deaf.
In Balinese, Bengkala is sometimes called “Desa Kolok”— the deaf village.
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Bengkala has had a higher than normal deaf-since-birth population for a long time, and today 42 of Bengkala’s almost-3,000 villagers have been deaf since birth.
The high percentage of deafness is caused by a geographically-centric recessive gene, called DFNB3, which has been present in the village for over seven generations. For years, villagers believed the deafness was the result of a curse.
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Villagers in Bengkala have since adapted to a deaf lifestyle, instead of ostracizing their deaf neighbors.
People speak with their hands, teaching their children kata kolok as a second or third language, and it is this open acceptance and efforts toward equality that makes the Balinese people known worldwide for their empathy and welcoming nature.
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You can see why Burger King Indonesia was keen to ensure that deaf people got the same opportunities as everyone else!
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The OP decided to respond to the Twitter storm he had caused
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