Leigh, congrats, this is very well done and makes an excellent point. I don't think anybody can read this and not see the truth in it. You reminded me of how in the past I caught myself discounting people with certain accents, as if some accents are better (or smarter) than others.

Well, full disclosure: I didn't catch myself, actually, a guy with an accent caught me, called me on it, and on reflection, I realized he was right. That was an eye opener for me.

And I completely agree with your conclusions: we all lose out.