PHOENIX — A call to the community to just be kind. A Scottsdale man with hearing issues was growing tired of being berated by customers so he ended up leaving his job. Now the Saguaro High School graduate hopes his story serves as a reminder to all of us to be better.
“I always thought it wasn’t really an issue to have that sort of disability as long as I’m competent in understanding what they need,” said Jordan Murray.
Jordan is now out of work and disappointed in his community. He recently quit his job at a Scottsdale convenience store after facing off against the worst of human nature.
“It would start out with 'hey are you kind of illiterate or something, what’s going on, like why can’t you understand me,' and I would say hey like I apologize, I’m hearing impaired,” said Jordan.
Jordan’s had hearing issues since he was a child. While not completely deaf, he relies heavily on lip reading to navigate life and work.
“I guess I just got used to having that hearing loss and I kind of just you know make the best out of the situation,” said Jordan.
Unfortunately the customers he was serving weren’t so empathetic. Over the last month, he faced a barrage of insults from them about his disability and it finally reached a breaking point.
“He was called illiterate, that he should go to the Salvation Army and work where poor people work or something, it was hurtful to hear, ” said Jordan's mom Marisa who is now supporting him financially until he finds work.
Marisa says Jordan broke his hearing aids when he turned 18. Due to financial reasons, replacing them wasn’t possible.
“You know, there’s different varieties of hearing aids and they’re not cheap,” said Jordan.
Hearing aids can range from $1,000 to $6,000 and the majority of time aren’t covered by health insurance. Rather than continue to take the abuse, Jordan left his job.
“We’ve lived in the same community for 13 years and to find out that potentially our neighbors were treating him or treat anybody that way that has a disability, I was very disappointed,” said Marisa.
“Take a step back and say we’re all kind of stressed out, use that to be a little kinder instead of a little meaner,” said Marisa.
