Someone I’ve worked with over the years happened to be driving down my street. I called out and said hello…
They ignored me. So I repeated myself.
“Oh,” they said, recognizing me. “It’s you.”
We’re more likely to see, hear and care if the person over there is actually a person. A person we know, or admire, or recognize.
If you write a nasty email to a company, it might make you feel sheepish if someone actually responds. “I didn’t know you were going to read it…”
It’s easy to exclude people who aren’t like us, who might have a disability or come from a different background or group.
Not just exclude them, but not design for them, account for them, listen to them or see them with dignity.