Author Topic: What would you do? Racist work environment  (Read 6303 times)

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What would you do? Racist work environment
« on: June 28, 2015, 12:02:28 PM »
This year I jumped into a new industry (renewable energy) that is mostly in rural areas. I moved to a town of less than 15,000 that is the biggest city in any direction for 150 miles and I drive 30 minutes to work every day in the middle of nowhere. The work is surprisingly well paid for the amount of education you need (high school to two year degree) but the hours are long and the work is strenuous so typical of blue collar jobs in rural America, the employees are mostly white and male.

It's satisfying work and I enjoy living in a rural area, but almost every day I heard the word n-----. It's used in all sorts of ways, from cliche jokes about cuckolding or male genitalia, to antiquated idioms (_____-rigging), to just plain insults (quit being a ____.) I never actually hear it to describe black people, but that's probably because there aren't any at my work (or possibly even my town.) It's really shocking and I'm surprised every time I heard it even though it's so frequent.

My last few jobs have all been urban office type jobs and I'm not a complete stranger to the hyper masculine work environment (I was in the military.) But in both of those environments this would never be tolerated so I'm at a loss at what to do now.

For the past three months I have just kept quiet and ignored it. But in light of recent events (OU SAE chanting video, #taketheflagdown) I'm realizing that this is not enough. By doing nothing I am becoming morally complicit and one of the reasons I chose this industry is so I could sleep well at night knowing I was making the planet a better place. My racist work environment is nulling that righteousness. I know I have to take action but I don't know how.

What would you do? Has anyone ever encountered a problem like this before? So far I have been too cowardly to directly confront the people who are saying the word since I'm the new guy and want to fit in. I am also wary of going to the manager because on two occasions he has belittled someone for being overweight so I question his moral compass. I am also worried if I jump right to HR I will sabotage my career at this company. Any suggestions or advice is welcome.

TL;DR:

>work with a lot of racists
>want to make them stop
>scared
>watdo

Positive Touch

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2015, 12:09:58 PM »
I mean snitching prolly won't get you anywhere bc management prolly knows and doesn't care, and having a sit-down with some dudes you barely know most likely isn't gonna make them give a fuck. I feel like in duded-out environments the best way to go at shit you don't like is to casually make fun of the behavior. I mean they're not gonna put up a Black Lives Matter sign in the front but they might at least cut it out in front of you so they don't get an earful.
pcp

Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2015, 01:19:54 PM »
Thanks for the suggestion. Casually making fun of your dude friends in a social environment is one thing, but I can't imagine that making fun of people is the ideal solution to stopping racist remarks in a professional setting.

It's pretty easy to be anti-racism online, on a college campus, or with a bunch of educated liberal elite at the office, but actually confronting it in real life is much more difficult than I anticipated.

Great Rumbler

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2015, 01:26:26 PM »
It's pretty easy to be anti-racism online, on a college campus, or with a bunch of educated liberal elite at the office, but actually confronting it in real life is much more difficult than I anticipated.

The sad fact is that you might be the only person there who has a problem with hearing that word, and complaining about it might only succeed in you being ostracized by everyone else, especially is management if more concerned with conflict-avoidance than racist remarks.

Maybe you could try to figure out who else there is bothered by all that talk and band together with them, so you're not the lone voice complaining. But if you really are the only person...well...man, I don't know.
dog

Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2015, 01:34:38 PM »
Mandark or Chrono pls respond

Olivia Wilde Homo

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2015, 01:36:06 PM »
If you want it stopped, you'll need to report it to management.  Keep in mind though, once they find out that you reported it (they'll find out anyway, doesn't matter if it is reported anonymously or not), you better do a 100% perfect job because any mistakes you make will get you snitched out every time.  Also you'll never fit in with them.  It also depends if the other people are union; if they are union, you're not going to get support or help from any of them, regardless of their job role because union solidarity is a thing.  That and you'll have grievances thrown at you whenever they can.  Which wouldn't really matter much anyway because management will come down on it but they can't be there 100% of the time so enforcing it is going to be a crapshoot.

If that is something you want to take on, go ahead.  There is the chance that in a few months afterwards, they will stop doing it.  That or quit.  These are your two options if you choose not to ignore it.
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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2015, 01:41:38 PM »
Luckily (in this case) there is no union element because I live in an anti-union right to work state.

The fit in thing is the biggest hurdle. Early last year I got hired to do what I considered a dream job and ended up getting fired for what essentially amounted to not fitting in (looking different, talking different, different background.) It went exactly what you said: I made a couple miniscule mistakes that were written up and that was the end of it.

I'm married and this is our sole income right now so I am extremely wary of making the same mistake again.

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #7 on: June 28, 2015, 01:50:40 PM »
Tell them your husband is black and stare them down.

Rufus

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #8 on: June 28, 2015, 01:50:53 PM »
Befriend the smilers and nodders who just go along with it for harmony's sake, just to keep your sanity and maybe get some backing if you ever pop a vessel.

As for getting your peace: What PosTouch said, though I don't see it working unless you have enough prestige. Also depends on how bad it is. Stupid jokes will be stupid jokes, but even a single dude who really hates minorities with all his being is another matter entirely, much less a clique of them.

Are they religous? You could let your better Christian hang out, out-piety them. Half-serious suggestion.

Kara

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2015, 01:54:05 PM »
With one income I wouldn't rock the boat. Not doing what everyone else does is passive resistance, but it's better than running around doing what they're doing.

e: Please note that I already hate myself so there's no moral cost to me for doing this.

Cerveza mas fina

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2015, 02:12:03 PM »
Shift to making jokes about another group of peoples that you dont like

In europe its safe to make jew jokes for example cause there arent any left

Also as this is your only income just lay low bro

Mandark

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #11 on: June 28, 2015, 02:13:51 PM »
Yeah, groups generally don't change for the new guy with no social capital, especially if he's the only one who feels that way.  "You're fucked" might not be the whole truth of the matter, but it's probably pretty close.

Like Positive said, you're almost certainly not going to make a dent in their actual worldview.  This is more about not wanting to hear that shit constantly or to feel like an enabler for letting it slide.

My advice if you want to try talking to any of those guys: preemptively concede their good intentions, be explicitly nonjudgmental, and frame it as asking for a personal favor rather than challenging their behavior.  It's kind of a bullshit way of doing things, but IME you'll have a much better shot that way rather than any sort of direct Real Talk, even if it's relatively calm and respectful.  Actually calling out someone you don't have a strong relationship with is just asking for a defensive crouch.  Nobody wants to be told they're a bad person, and dudes especially tend to dig in to avoid feeling submissive.

"Hey, I know you're just joking around and not really racist, but ever since I served with some black guys overseas, hearing that shit bugs me, even if I know it's not serious."  It puts them in a position where they don't feel threatened, can feel good for having done you a solid, and can have a chuckle at what a sensitive plant that Biz guy is.  Of course you know the lay of the land better than I would and maybe it doesn't work at all, but at least you gave it a shot and there'd be less chance of backlash than going to management/being more confrontational.

king of the internet

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2015, 02:14:03 PM »
Toe the line. Don't be a hero.  :shh

HyperZoneWasAwesome

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #13 on: June 28, 2015, 02:17:24 PM »
"Hey man, careful with that word. Seriously, it doesn't bother me, but I've known guys who got fired due to that kind of language, all it takes is one offended person hearing it and you're up shit creek."

which is essentially what I told my co-worker when he started calling certain customers of ours 'Hood Rats', it seemed to have worked.

CatsCatsCats

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #14 on: June 28, 2015, 02:18:47 PM »
I've ran into this in my work place, I try to approach the matter with empathy -- ie not act like they're doing something to be intentionally malicious or that they're scum and need to be written off as racists -- if they say something directly racist or shitty to me or in a conversation I'm involved with I'll respond something along the lines of "Yeah, I just don't see it that way." I've found if I can without judgement of them let them know I don't agree with what they're saying and don't like hearing it, they have the decency to not say those things around me. You're not going to change minds, but you can establish relationships with people you disagree with without compromising your morals. Then again, I'm in the NW, the racists aren't as many or brave.

Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #15 on: June 28, 2015, 02:23:17 PM »
Thanks for all the advice, guys. You've definitely added some tools to my toolbox for this one. Hopefully I can update this in a few months with a success story.

Mandark

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #16 on: June 28, 2015, 02:29:07 PM »
 :drudge ALTERNATE PLAN OF ACTION :drudge



They'd be a lot less likely to use that language if you actually were black...   :dolezal

Freyj

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #17 on: June 28, 2015, 03:02:00 PM »
I've found the energy industry in general to be a cesspit of awful personal opinions that aren't afraid to be voiced 24/7. I've since moved over into what is probably one of the most progressive places to work in this city and I still hear shit that makes me cringe (i.e. "that's really gross" in response to Caitlyn Jenner or just acting really weird about hiring a gay applicant).

If it's being done with other like minded people around? Hopeless. As Wrath said you'll just be ostracized for doing anything but staying quiet.

If it's being done one on one, the only thing you can really do is stop responding when the conversations go in that direction. Not that some people get the hint. They just continue obliviously complaining about things like "why is there a black X and and not a white X?". This seems to be pretty prevalent in the midwest in particular, as the majority of people just assume you're like minded and will spew whatever racist, sexist, bigoted thing that comes to mind.

Edit: also chances are management is like minded as well, so reporting it just leads to them telling everyone who reported it behind your back.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2015, 03:09:57 PM by Freyj »

Van Cruncheon

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #18 on: June 28, 2015, 03:07:39 PM »
just give 'em the side-eye and a "seriously, bro? it's two-thousand-fucking-fifteen" to start.

:gurl
duc

Phoenix Dark

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #19 on: June 28, 2015, 03:19:48 PM »
Come out as trans-black.

edit: god dammit Mandark
010

Positive Touch

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #20 on: June 28, 2015, 05:14:15 PM »
lollllllllllll that kosmas suggestion is to make some Jewish jokes
pcp

Cerveza mas fina

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #21 on: June 29, 2015, 03:36:38 AM »
I hope you get that I was kidding  :'(

nudemacusers

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #22 on: June 29, 2015, 03:40:59 AM »
just give 'em the side-eye and a "seriously, bro? it's two-thousand-fucking-fifteen" to start.

:gurl
yeah you should have done this the first time it plopped out of some goober's mouth. at this point, you're better off talking shit back and leveling the playing field.
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naff

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #23 on: June 29, 2015, 08:20:01 AM »
Small town in the sticks, racist dudes banding together..... Yeaaahhhhhh. Deal with it, or quit. They already know you're not into it, and if there's no good people that work there you're pretty f'd.


◕‿◕

sarslip

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #24 on: June 29, 2015, 08:39:21 AM »
honestly, anytime i hear someone n-bomb (casual or work) i call them out.  indiana or connecticut, boss or co-worker, idgaf.  i tell them using it is "not cool" and get super serious about it.  this way they at least know not to use it the word around me, and will hopefully second guess the use of it in the future.  it wont cure what they wanna say at home, but at least it wont pollute your ears.  fuck fitting in at work.  my job is filled with repressed racists. 




tl;dr

go straight :bolo mode on racism

what's their defense gonna be for it in 2015  :heh

Phoenix Dark

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #25 on: June 29, 2015, 10:20:07 AM »
"But black people say it all the time, how come I can't say it"
010

Brehvolution

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #26 on: June 29, 2015, 10:27:20 AM »
Level the field by breaking out the white trash jokes.

Quote
What’s the definition of White Power?
Four White boys pushing a Dodge Dart up a hill.

Quote
What does a white woman make for dinner?
Reservations

Quote
Why did white people own slaves?
Not strong enough to pick cotton

©ZH

sarslip

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #27 on: June 29, 2015, 11:04:06 AM »
the quickest way to get them to stop saying it, is to have an actual black person in the room. 

fuckin pussies, say something now  :ufup

Verdigris Murder

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #28 on: June 29, 2015, 11:13:22 AM »
I'm in a similar position Samson, my work environment is full of sickening racism. To such an extent that I'm having panic outbreaks (usually during lunch), and I end up having to calm myself down by masturbating by way of positive reinforcement.

Direct confrontation terrifies me, so I've given their personal details to r/gamerghazi and they'll hopefully lose their jobs, houses and marriages. Many of them have kids too.
:{]

sarslip

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #29 on: June 29, 2015, 11:20:48 AM »
I'm in a similar position Samson, my work environment is full of sickening racism. To such an extent that I'm having panic outbreaks (usually during lunch), and I end up having to calm myself down by masturbating by way of positive reinforcement.

Direct confrontation terrifies me, so I've given their personal details to r/gamerghazi and they'll hopefully lose their jobs, houses and marriages. Many of them have kids too.

so your solution is to masturbate and post on reddit, got it.

Himu

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #30 on: June 29, 2015, 11:26:55 AM »
Ignore it or change jobs. You can't change shit. You've got a few options: do your own jokes towards white trash - which will be viewed as passive aggressive and probably get you fired because of a snitch or someone will directly confront you bringing you to a conflict you don't want to get in, ignore it, or quit.

I highly suggest not taking the joke route because you will want to have good references and this could sour that. If you're going to quit, leave it alone and be a good sport and make acquaintances there in the meantime. Or you could get to know them well enough to a point where you could say,"you know, that "nig.ger" stuff really bothers me because x and y", and maybe they'll stop because you've become one of the guys. Even then your options are limited.
IYKYK

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #31 on: June 29, 2015, 02:02:42 PM »
Or else, pronounce the hate word as "n.gger" which could actually be misinterpreted as tacit #gg support, and thus
be pretty outré.
:{]

Kara

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #32 on: June 30, 2015, 12:03:17 AM »
I'm in a similar position Samson, my work environment is full of sickening racism. To such an extent that I'm having panic outbreaks (usually during lunch), and I end up having to calm myself down by masturbating by way of positive reinforcement.

Direct confrontation terrifies me, so I've given their personal details to r/gamerghazi and they'll hopefully lose their jobs, houses and marriages. Many of them have kids too.


Phoenix Dark

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #33 on: June 30, 2015, 12:06:03 AM »
I'm in a similar position Samson, my work environment is full of sickening racism. To such an extent that I'm having panic outbreaks (usually during lunch), and I end up having to calm myself down by masturbating by way of positive reinforcement.

Direct confrontation terrifies me, so I've given their personal details to r/gamerghazi and they'll hopefully lose their jobs, houses and marriages. Many of them have kids too.

(Image removed from quote.)

Is this MGS6?
010

Steve Contra

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #34 on: June 30, 2015, 02:47:39 PM »
"Hey man, careful with that word. Seriously, it doesn't bother me, but I've known guys who got fired due to that kind of language, all it takes is one offended person hearing it and you're up shit creek."

which is essentially what I told my co-worker when he started calling certain customers of ours 'Hood Rats', it seemed to have worked.
This is my advice.  There's the nightmare scenario where someone gets overheard while you were around and suddenly its "Jim, Bob and Samson were joking around..." and you have 0 recourse.
vin

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #35 on: June 30, 2015, 04:17:15 PM »
Look for work elsewhere.

Stress at work bleeds into everything else.

studyguy

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #36 on: June 30, 2015, 04:43:41 PM »
In all these cases if it's an actual corporate environment, I'd just say stop dicking around and tell HR on the downlow.
In that way you too can be in on the passive aggressive email listings where people suddenly get shook about someone anonymously reporting them.

Help foster a hostile work environment breh.
Get more work done. Watch people squirm.
pause

Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #37 on: June 30, 2015, 04:49:49 PM »
Snitches get stitches, even as a grown-ass adult. Not your fight to battle, even though thaaat's pretty fucked up.
うぐう

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #38 on: June 30, 2015, 04:52:46 PM »
If its making him ashamed of himself for not doing something then it is his fight. 

Himu

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #39 on: June 30, 2015, 04:54:54 PM »
To be honest, Hyperzone's suggestion is the best. Like Contra also said,you don't want to be around when they do use those words and someone doesn't like it because you may be lumped in by association. Also, thinking about it, I think being passive about racism isn't a good idea. So I definitely would look into doing that "hey man, you don't know who's gonna be around, guy at my last job got in trouble for that very thing" talk.
IYKYK

Rufus

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #40 on: June 30, 2015, 05:15:39 PM »
Let me distract you from that by stating that I find "people of colour" to be a really awkward term.

Madrun Badrun

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #41 on: June 30, 2015, 05:20:17 PM »
I think its ok when a person of colour says it though.  Online its a bit annoying because I assume everyone is a white male until stated otherwise so unless I remember they are of colour, I think in my head 'shhhhh they'll hear you man'.  Honestly coloured folks should have coloured user names to remind us.  Like we did for Shaka. 

Rufus

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #42 on: June 30, 2015, 05:36:51 PM »
Let me distract you from that by stating that I find "people of colour" to be a really awkward term.

"nonwhite" doesnt really feel less awkward tbh
Not just awkward, it's blanco-normative. There has to be an alternative that's both a single word and not too informal. English pilfers too many words to not have one. Kara, ideas?

studyguy

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #43 on: June 30, 2015, 05:37:11 PM »
Again I'll share a story about having dinner with my girlfriend's father and some of his friends in the past. Her father rents out his rooms, one of them to his old friend. The friend is black and before he showed up with a bunch of other guests he like made the small remark, 'Don't make black jokes, he doesn't like those'

Which in turn makes me think... this motherfucker said some dumb ass shit to offend his own god damn friend. Which makes sense because the very first time I showed up at his pad with his daughter, he cracked a joke about Chinese. I'm not even asian brehs... and the joke was like :what

I've come to terms with the fact that the dude is a tone deaf old Jew. I mean what are you gonna do when you're fucking a dude's daughter afterall.
pause

brawndolicious

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #44 on: June 30, 2015, 05:45:40 PM »
I feel like if you said people with/without color privilege then it would be a lot more detailed in explaining the individual situation as different races often have different biases of each other.

People of color or nonwhite could be really triggering for most victims/perpetrators of racism.

Kara

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #45 on: June 30, 2015, 06:16:04 PM »
Let me distract you from that by stating that I find "people of colour" to be a really awkward term.

"nonwhite" doesnt really feel less awkward tbh
Not just awkward, it's blanco-normative. There has to be an alternative that's both a single word and not too informal. English pilfers too many words to not have one. Kara, ideas?

Nonwhite is used, but if you think person of color is blanco-normative...

There's also visible minority but that's two words.

It probably sounds awkward because it's an old classification in American English (like 1790s, cf. "free person of color") that was revived by academics after long falling out of common use.

I like citizen of color but I understand that it might offend anarchists. Also citizen has unfortunate connotations due to immigration issues.

Himu

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #46 on: June 30, 2015, 06:24:04 PM »
How is person of color blanco normative when we are people of color? It's recognizing established differences. Now whether you're the type that finds any acknowledgement of different skin colors and races a problem, I'm not sure what the issue is besides historical use of racism through the nomenclature (I.e. Colored person).
IYKYK

Rufus

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #47 on: June 30, 2015, 06:26:54 PM »
Let me distract you from that by stating that I find "people of colour" to be a really awkward term.

"nonwhite" doesnt really feel less awkward tbh
Not just awkward, it's blanco-normative. There has to be an alternative that's both a single word and not too informal. English pilfers too many words to not have one. Kara, ideas?

Nonwhite is used, but if you think person of color is blanco-normative...
Nonwhite is the blanco-normative one, sorry if that wasn't clear (I like how we're now using the dumb word I just made up :heh).

It probably sounds awkward because it's an old classification in American English (like 1790s, cf. "free person of color") that was revived by academics after long falling out of common use.
Outdated syntax, that'd be it. Dodging "colored", I suppose.

Himu

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #48 on: June 30, 2015, 06:30:04 PM »
Person of color != colored person

As i said in the past, it isn't transgendered, much like how it isn't blackened or gayed. I'm fine with PoC but scoff at colored.
IYKYK

Kara

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #49 on: June 30, 2015, 06:49:59 PM »
It probably sounds awkward because it's an old classification in American English (like 1790s, cf. "free person of color") that was revived by academics after long falling out of common use.
Outdated syntax, that'd be it. Dodging "colored", I suppose.

More judicial than outdated, French grammar persists in Legal English despite its non-lexical influence on the overall language waning almost completely. (For example, I  encounter "powers of attorney" and "writ of mandamus" in my line of work.)

Rufus

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #50 on: June 30, 2015, 06:58:10 PM »
One day all legalese will look like formal logic. :rejoice

Phoenix Dark

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #51 on: June 30, 2015, 08:02:56 PM »
Person of color != colored person

As i said in the past, it isn't transgendered, much like how it isn't blackened or gayed. I'm fine with PoC but scoff at colored.

I prefer collard.
010

Dickie Dee

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #52 on: June 30, 2015, 10:39:32 PM »
Person of color != colored person

As i said in the past, it isn't transgendered, much like how it isn't blackened or gayed. I'm fine with PoC but scoff at colored.

I prefer collard.

But we don't call them collard people ???
___

Dickie Dee

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Re: What would you do? Racist work environment
« Reply #53 on: June 30, 2015, 10:44:08 PM »
It probably sounds awkward because it's an old classification in American English (like 1790s, cf. "free person of color") that was revived by academics after long falling out of common use.
Outdated syntax, that'd be it. Dodging "colored", I suppose.

More judicial than outdated, French grammar persists in Legal English despite its non-lexical influence on the overall language waning almost completely. (For example, I  encounter "powers of attorney" and "writ of mandamus" in my line of work.)

My favorite are Legal doublets that have no proper purpose past vestigal reasons

"full faith and credit"

"indemnify and hold harmless" :hnnnnnnggg
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