I am just sitting here right now, deciding to do Thursday Thirteen or write what is plaguing my mind this very moment. I guess I am leaning towards the latter, because you would see the Thursday Thirteen banner within this entry. I sorry if I offend someone reading my journal, but I have to get this off of my chest. I am not trying to start any trouble or controversy. I am just venting.
When I am at work I tend to shy away from Drama. I learned my lesson when getting involved other peoples drama. I try to help out, and I end up making matters worse. Someone tell you something (a secret), and it's about a friend and fellow co-worker. What do you do? Keep it to yourself, or let the friend find out you knew and hate you for it. I have been in the middle of some drama before. There was a kind of love triangle going on at work at one point, and two of the three people involved were my friends. They brought me in to Fray, and it nearly destroyed all of our friendships. After that experience I decided that I didn't want anything to do with any rumors, secrets, sex, lies, and videotape. Just leave me alone!
About two weeks ago, a co-worker who shall remain nameless called one of our fellow co-workers a racial slur, twice. Two of his "friends" witnessed him saying this, and one of them told the assistant manager along with the person he said the racial comment to. Some of the employees didn't believe what the witness or the victim of the racial term said, or that the nameless co-worker did such a thing. The witness was so upset that he was getting ready to transfer to another store, but the store manager himself got involved, and asked the other witness to the nameless ones comments, if it were true. Eventually the other witness confirmed what the first witness said was true. So the nameless co-worker has been fired and it should be the end of this right....Wrong! It turned out that the nameless employee had said a racial slur before at one of the assistant managers. Assistant manager 1 told the nameless one to go home, and then the employee went to assistant manager 2 and told him that he was sent home, and that manager told the employee that he isn't going home, and that the other manager didn't have that kind of authority. I don't know what's worse, the fact that assistant manager 2 didn't agree with assistant manager 1's decision after the culprit used a racial term towards assistant manager 1, or that the nameless employee has used these bad words and has gotten away with it. The nameless person is trying to fight this, but if he comes back there is going to be a lot of upset people there. I may even quit if he gets his job back.
Some of my co-workers asked me how I felt about it, and I tried my darndest to stay out of it. I just said I am used to it now. Well I am not! I never will be!
I don't care if you are, employee, employer, president of the United States. If you demean someone, you have no business in the work place. Hatred has no business there, and prejudice is a type of hatred. It's sad that something like this is still happening in our world. I can wake up one morning, and feel like a million bucks, and have someone I don't know say one little word, snatch that feeling away, and make me feel like I am in debt. What did I do to deserve this? What did my two co-workers do to deserve it? Does anyone deserve this? What will it take for to end? Sometimes it can be draining.
Myth & Magic: Ireland's Fairy Tales
2 years ago
4 comments:
prejudice comes bearing many faces and ALL of them hurt. I'm glad I'm out of the workforce.. i couldn't stand it anymore if I had to.
Put your mind to rest. It is all nothing but talk right now. Nameless employee will not be back to work unless both witnesses recant their stories. The EOC will not tolerate it. I know I am a very cynical person, but one thing for sure is blatant discrimination is not tolerated. In the military, everyone and I mean EVERYONE is far too clever for blatant discrimination, i.e. actually calling someone a name. It has now progressed to subtle hate, the kind that cannot be proved; it is just a feeling, a nuance. That is the danger in my eyes, ----getting away with the subtle. But one thing about the subtle is, it requires some thought, and usually the person that can think enough to be subtle will think enough not to express racism. Hopefully he or she will reflect.
As far as the managers, I think it is a power struggle. However, I see that the one who did not want him to go home will be seen as the “racist supporter” and will catch hell from that. Which is also a good thing, because he or she needs to question why they did not feel like it was important enough to send the offender home. Unfortunately at this point it is probably no longer about the slur and more about “he/she is trying to do my job” and “I am going to show him/her who is the boss around here.”
Take a deep breath, unless it is systematically tolerated, it will soon blow over and trust the offender will not be coming back.
You are right. You can be having a wonderful day and then have someone say something nasty and ruin it all. Why is it that you say the things that I think but never say out loud? I hate when people do that. They shall be called "the Ruiners" and I shall avoid them at all costs.
Wow, I can really say with all honesty that I have truly missed reading your blog these past few weeks. You have an honesty and innocence that is so pure, I hope you never change, man. I hope you stay this way forever.
Ari
There isn't any room for that type of thing. I have had to fire people for "innocent" sexual harrassment but haven't had anyone drop the racial bomb yet.
You know what the biggest dirty secret is in management? It seems that no one thinks it is too bad to choose someone because they are younger than the other candidate or ruling out someone because they "have been around awhile"
I have had to rip some new ones over that.
Chris
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