A Jew, a gay and a black guy go into a bar... »
Posted By Spadecaller 6 months, 3 weeks ago in HumorThe Delaware Department of Transportation designed its recent "Diversity Spotlight" newsletter to be an "in-your-face" effort to fight workplace discrimination, but the diversity coaching backfires. It seems the Delaware DOT decided to list things you should not say to a gay, black, Asian, disabled, or Latino coworker. Do not expect to keep a straight face when you read the newsletter.
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Spadecaller
Welcome to my profile. About me: I'm an artist of several kinds; from bull to painting. I don't spare too many words. Most ...
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Comments you never want to make to a coworker...
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“Wow, you are from India! My neighbor Ashok Shah is from India; do you know him?” LMAO!
(“Think for a minute…do you know everyone who lives in Dover or Wilmington?”)
...but I don’t have any neighbors from Dover or Wilminton. -
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Radiofreeeuropa6 months, 3 weeks ago
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The road to ruin is indeed often paved with good intentions.
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This is hilarious but underscores the awkward way in which we deal with diversity. I do hear well intended dumb stuff like this more often than I'd care to think about. And of course true bigots are still a part of our society, I was getting a haircut the other day and some guy was going on about how he had a bar in Philadelphia (City of brotherly love by the way) when 2 Peurto Ricans had the round objects to come in! (I don't know how he knew their nationality- some kind of special imbecilic psychic radar only available to racist minds perhaps?) Anyway, he seemed to think they had no right to be thirsty, and claimed he grabbed a gun and chased them out.
That was the extent of his stupid story, since he seemed to get a round of sympathy from more than half the folks in there, I won't go back...too bad the guy was a pretty good barber and he can't control what his customers say but I don't want to know people really think like that, it's too damned depressing.-
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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RFE;
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Your story is both sad and funny...
I would have a difficult time expressing my distaste for those bigoted comments while someone is cutting my hair and is holding a sharp object near my neck. I would also opt to wait and just not return. BtW: that is how they have cultivated the bigoted clientele that they have. -
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Eagle_Eye6 months, 3 weeks ago
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"but I don't want to know people really think like that, it's too damned depressing." I do want to know what they are thinking, I was so nieve before Propeller let me know how "Stupid, Bigoted and Hateful" people are!!
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I also make note of conversations in business' and will not do business with a place that is against my beliefs. I have put stuff down and walked out of places because of that kind of stuff and I have no problem voicing my opinion on my way out.
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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That' hysterical dave! One could make a point of stereotyping Delawarians. Affter this training memo and learning about Biden's foot and mouth disease, one might assume that it is a trait common among the people of Delaware.
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BTW: I have a neighbor from Delaware...
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hyperbola6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Just for you Ace.
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What Obama must tell Bibi: Israel's free ride on America's back is over
http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/05/06/what-oba...
The toughest meeting of Barack Obama's young presidency is approaching. In the next few weeks, he will have to sit down with Israel's Binyamin Netanyahu . The difficulty is not just that the prime minister refuses to accept the right of a Palestinian state to exist and thereby shows the Palestinians have no partner for peace.
Far more burdensome are the ghosts of US policies past. If Obama is sincere in wanting to break the stalemate of the Middle East's core conflict, he will have to launch the US relationship with Israel on to radically new lines. Israel must be treated as a normal country. It cannot enjoy permanent licence to escape criticism for practising policies that would be condemned if carried out by any other country's government.
The day of the blank cheque must be over. The day of the huge cheque must be over, too. Why should a country with one of the world's highest per capita incomes receive around $3bn annually, or roughly a third of the US foreign aid budget (not including extra support from the Pentagon)? Why should it not have to account for its purchases like every other recipient country – a conscious lack of oversight that allows Washington to turn a blind eye to the fact that US tax dollars are financing illegal settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank and helping to build the so-called apartheid wall?
Unless Obama ends America's special relationship with Israel, this omission will be the achilles heel of his foreign policy. America's standing in the Middle East, its influence in the Gulf, its image in the Muslim world, its relationship with Iran, and even its support in Europe are all linked to the way it treats Israel.
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Bkumm6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Yes, we can all have a good laugh at the Delaware DOT, but this is a more serious issue than we're letting on.
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How EXACTLY are government organizations supposed to address issues like bigotry if they can't talk specifically about the kind of overt bigotry that people face? If they don't talk about it then people get upset. If they do talk about it then people get upset. If a group is left out of the discussion then they get upset. If a group is specifically mentioned then they get upset.
Sorry folks, I don't think this is funny, I think it's really, really sad.-
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hyperbola6 months, 3 weeks ago
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I agree with you. Many of these things are NOT offensive and only depend on the way in which they are expressed. For example, I quite often have very interesting discussions with people when I ask them what their native country / language is. I kind of enjoy trying to guess in advance and often try out a foreign language greeting to see if I have guessed right. We often chuckle about my "error" afterwards.
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This is the kind of "political correctness" mandated by government that we do not need. Pretty much the same attempt to "legislate" homogeneity as hate crime legislation.
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Well if that was a sincere question and not a rhetorical criticism against me and all those of us who understand this pathetic memo for what it was, here is an answer:
In fact, I am not just giving you theory. I have experience in administering programs that were designed to teach better understanding of these issues to personnel.
"How EXACTLY"? Convening a seminar or a workshop comprised of individuals representative of the various targets of oppression is most effective; in these forums shared experience is communicated. The results are quite impressive and even some of the most toxic bigotry is often quelled.
"Sorry folks, I don't think this is funny, I think it's really,k really sad."
Well, the rest of us ignorant, insensitive, fools must be such a great disappointment for someone of such high ideals - especially someone who has such a great track record in identifying bigotry and opposing it.
To be honest, I wonder if your lack of humor is more the result of your grudge for me than your overly critical condemnation of all of us who find both humor and sadness in this ridiculous government memo.-
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Bkumm6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Don't you think that Delaware has had "diversity workshops" in the past? I've worked for companies and Federal agencies that have had them and although they were not administered by your excellent self, they are generally a waste of time. People will say whatever they think other people want to hear, especially in a supercharged environment like a diversity workshop.
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Quelling dissent and telling people that they're "anti-Semitic" when they disagree with you is NOT the same thing as better understanding each other.
The rest of your comment is not worthy of response. -
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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For those interested in discovering programs that are effective in improving sensitivity and respect in the workplace where oppressive conduct may target individual on the basis of gender, sexuality, race, religion, nationality, and disability, there are numerous programs like this that have proven to be invaluable.
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http://www.worldlinksgpa.com/training/train1.asp
But, how anyone can email or post that memo and not expect the reactions that ensued, is not in touch with reality. In fact, the government worker eventually realized it was a mistake and apologized. -
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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How true ameliog!
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Most professionals all agree that to some extent or another everyone is infected to some degree with prejudice, as it is virtually impossible not to harbor consciously or unconsciously judgments and/or stereotypes of groups of people that deny the individuality of its members.
Just as we experience every day on Propeller, many of us who are conservatives or liberals often "assume" that everyone of each orientation is a carbon copy of the next one. Like a ping pong ball, most of us, including myself, bat back and forth criticisms against the "wing-nuts" or the "lefties" and only on occasion during these dialogues do we discover that we are in dialogue with one or two people. For those of us who struggle in the challenge of communicating and overcoming these barriers, it can be frustrating at times.
The best aid that often helps me avoid the blindness that comes with seeing all conservatives in one light is to remind myself that each commenter is an individual and that the message of the story is what needs to be focused on.
However, it is a difficult challenge especially when there are a host of members with one primary goal, to attack the messenger in whatever way possible. I would like to say that I can avoid reacting to these kinds of attacks; but the truth is that like many of us I sometimes make the mistake and get down in the mud. with them.
Often times, for me, the best freedom is to celebrate my humanity by admitting the most obvious truth when it applies; when wrong admit it -- and not to worry about the consequences. Feeling good about oneself has more to do with my opinion of me not those of others.
"To thine own self be true."
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aceofspades16 months, 3 weeks ago
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Hyp - what does your usual rant have to do with this thread??
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You act like you have a new malady - "Propeller/OCD " the uncontrollable urge to cut & paste anti-Zionist comments on every Propeller thread -- does the Delaware DOT address how to deal with people with this disease? -
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aceofspades16 months, 3 weeks ago
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Bkumm - I think you are right you need a bit of a tune-up. Had this post come from anyone else I think you might have found some humor in the cluelessness (is that a word?) of the author of the memo.
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To me pc is a pain in the ass whether its P.C. as in political correctness or pc as in pc25-
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Bkumm6 months, 3 weeks ago
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It doesn't matter to me who posts it. I think it's incredibly sad that we can't even address an issue by addressing the issue without having to worry about someone getting upset because we're addressing the issue.
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Could they have used different terms? Certainly. Would it have been as effective at rooting out the clowns that perpetrate this kind of behavior? I don't know. And neither does anyone else. -
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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When I was much younger and dating for the first time, I went with my girl friend to meet her family. I had no idea that my background (Jewish) would be of such paramount concern. Only minutes after we walked in the door, I was seated at the kitchen table. The first question that came from her only speaking parent, her mother, was (I am paraphrasing almost perfectly):
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" Do YOU PEOPLE celebrate those holidays... you know, the ones they call the HIGH HOLY DAYS"?
I responded; "Are you referring to Pesach, Roshashana, and Yom Yom Kippur?
Before she answered, I got the distinct feeling that I was not a welcome sight. In fact, I could easily sense her extreme unrest with my presence in her house; at which point I tried to cut through the bull.
The gist of my qeustion was: "Does the fact that I might be a practicing Jew create a problem for you?"
Well she started fluttering NO No No nO... and turning various shades of red.,
Needless to say, I did not marry that girl when I discovered that the apple did not fall too far from the tree.
Most of us who have been the targets of oppression of any kind and have even a minimal of street smarts, can smell a bigot like a bloodhound can smell frying bacon. -
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Spadecaller6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Bkumm
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LOL...I don;t think everyone is out to get me. I guess that you believed my tongue and cheek remark about all the Jews feeling excluded.
But then again, you have frequently suggested that Jews (like me) are all paranoid. Seems like you would be a good candidate for those seminars.
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lloydm656 months, 3 weeks ago
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The reason jews are paranoid is because they have been kick around forever.They have a group mentality.When a Jew opens a business in a minority neigborhood he is the enemy.The same goes on for Koreans,the blacks in L A think they are invaders,and they should own stores themselves.Last I look there is no law against owning the stores,and shops.Well you do have to put forth an effort,and thats hard.So it's better,and easier to protest
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kriicket6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Can't we all just get along... ;-)
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Although I didn't see anything to be offended by, I can certainly understand how others would be. Sometimes when people try to "break the ice" with someone of another race, they tend to try too hard and say things that they really don't intend to come out the way it does. I have found that to have a friend, you have to be a friend...and I always try to treat others as I would want to be treated.-
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Bkumm6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Apparently not! LOL>>>
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You're right. The so-called "Golden Rule" is a good one to live by. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to know more about the people with whom you come into contact. If we were all a little more understanding of the insatiable curiosity of the human species and a little less ready to take offense at every honest mistake, I think that we'd be a lot better off.
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