what would you do - Brown Cafe

City Driver · 06-12-2009, 11:12 PM

ok this is no joke.....i witnessed something VERY immature and stupid by a driver last week

i was washing my hands in the bathroom...a black driver walks in...then a white, lets just say good ol boy, whos never been to our terminal, walks in

black driver grabs paper towels, damps it and starts wiping his face

and billy bob said "you can wipe all you want that poopskin aint comin off"

black driver handled it the best way possible in my opinion.....at work atleast...something along the lines of "that is racist, that is harrasment, i have a witness here(me) and if you ever say something like that to me again ill make sure you dont have a job"

white guy walks out without saying anything else......i ask the black driver if he knew that guy and he said no....and the white guy had told me earlier in the day that it was his first time coming to our terminal

so im asking....would you of reported it? not from my standpoint, i mean if you were the black driver would you report it?

by the way before somebody says it, i dont think I should report it......its not my business but if the black guy was to report it and they did ask me if i heard what he said i would tell them exactly what the guy said

to me, the whole "dont snitch on your union brothers" thing goes out the window when they disrespect the hell out of 1 or more of their union brothers

City Driver · 06-12-2009, 11:34 PM

i also want to make it clear that im not one of those people whos overly sensitive about race

im not quick to label somebody a racist and dont twist somebodys words to do so.....but this was straight up no way around it racist.....and completely unprovoked....unless that driver cut him off on I70 on the way here

fredly00 · 06-12-2009, 11:44 PM

3rd party harassment is still harassment, you could report it that "you" took offense to the comment.

If I were the black guy, (not being black) I'm pretty sure he's probably been treated a lot worse in his years, so it probably wasn't as big a deal... now if he were a real *****, he could complain. I probably would cause well I'm a *****, and I hate people who hate people

City Driver · 06-12-2009, 11:47 PM

i didnt really take offense to the joke cuz im not black.......if i was black i would of took offense

does that make sense?

and like i said im not reporting it and never planned on it...not my business

Sleeve_meet_Heart · 06-13-2009, 01:59 AM

I would report it if the black guy doesn't. I would be offended if I overheard that, probaly moreso than him.

Reason why you should say something; that type of behaviour/commentwill happen again and the situation will end up much different the next time...

trplnkl · 06-13-2009, 03:30 AM

I wouldn't report it but you can bet your bottom dollar I would encourage the offended to do so and I would testify to the situation. Do we really want to allow someone that openly racist representing our company?

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 03:49 AM

I would absolutely be offended by it even if it was not directed at me. And I would report it. That kind of behavior was accepted, even encouraged 50 years ago. Even 20 years ago. But in this day and age it is not acceptable.

Answer me this City, if it was a middle easterener (let's say arab and you can fill in any number of scenarios) that had made a negative comment to someone and you overheard it, would you not report that as well? I bet you would.

This country has gotten super sensitive to racial slurs, and justly so. There are 2 words that I hate more than any other. 1 is the 'c' word (my ex was very liberal with this one) and the other is the 'n' word (used to refer to black people). You want to cause a fight then all it takes is one of those to start it.

UpstateNYUPSer · 06-13-2009, 03:57 AM

C--cute

N--NBA

UpstateNYUPSer · 06-13-2009, 04:07 AM

I just had to check my calendar to make sure that it is indeed 2009, not 1959, before posting my reply. I would have hoped that this stupidity wasn't going on anymore but I guess I would be naive. It is up to the OP as to whether he reports this or not. Silence or inaction on his part would only serve to condone what he did. Maybe it will take someone knocking the white guy on his butt to change his poor behavior.

I would have offered to back the guy up if he chose to report it and then left it up to him as to what he wanted to do.

City Driver · 06-13-2009, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilligaf

Answer me this City, if it was a middle easterener (let's say arab and you can fill in any number of scenarios) that had made a negative comment to someone and you overheard it, would you not report that as well? I bet you would.

i think you are assuming im white....im not

im hispanic

and no i will not be reporting this...if the black guy wants to report the other guy thats his business.....if he doesnt want to make an incident out of it then thats also his business

but this driver had to be straight ouf of the backwoods of the deep south...

bigbrownhen · 06-13-2009, 04:25 AM

What a stupid thing to say, even if he was just joking. If I had been there, I wouldn't report it either. Let the person it was directed at handle it the way he chooses. Seems he handled it very well, better than I would have in his shoes. Now, if you happen to overhear the other person make anymore comments along those lines, I would first make him aware he is a complete moron, then report him.

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by City Driver

i think you are assuming im white....im not

im hispanic

and no i will not be reporting this...if the black guy wants to report the other guy thats his business.....if he doesnt want to make an incident out of it then thats also his business

but this driver had to be straight ouf of the backwoods of the deep south...

Darlin, I was not assuming anything. You can't be offended because you are hispanic? It is your choice. No one can force you to report it. But, you did ask what we would have done (side note: PC, if you happen to read this - I know, I know you have made your point

) and this is what I would have done. I would have encouraged the other person to report it and I would have gone with that person. Had that not happened I would have reported it myself.

City Driver · 06-13-2009, 04:27 AM

i dont understand why u asked the middle eastern scenario if you didnt assume im white....what were u gettin at?

and i asked what would u do if you were the driver.....not me

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by City Driver

i dont understand why u asked the middle eastern scenario if you didnt assume im white....what were u gettin at?

and i asked what would u do if you were the driver.....not me

You obviously live in this country, you have a right to work in this country, you have an allegiance to this country, am I correct?

I was trying to make a comparison with something that is current (hence the middle eatern scenario) to something that has been part of this countrys history (black slavery) for 100's of years.

City Driver · 06-13-2009, 04:53 AM

i still dont see why id be quicker to report a middle eastern person then a white person.....

i wouldnt

but i guess you would

UpstateNYUPSer · 06-13-2009, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by City Driver

i still dont see why id be quicker to report a middle eastern person then a white person.....

i wouldnt

but i guess you would

CD, I think you are missing Dilli's point. She is portraying the middle eastern person as the brunt of the joke, not the joke maker.

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 05:03 AM

City, I will try to come up with a better way of saying what I wanted to. Black slavery is (or at least it should be) a thing of the past. Racial prejudice towards blacks is very uncommon in my part of the world. I know it still exists, that goes without saying. Just as prejudice exists towards Mexicans, Asians, and the list goes on.

I used the middle eastern situation because it is a hot topic and has been for a few years. It is a more current situation and I thought you could associate better with that. I have no idea of your age or upbringing or your life experiences. Being 'white' has nothing to do with loving this country or defending the premise that it stands on. It has to do with being American. Not Hispanic American, Black American (excuse me if that was not pc), or any other classification of American.

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UpstateNYUPSer

CD, I think you are missing Dilli's point. She is portraying the middle eastern person as the brunt of the joke, not the joke maker.

Actually Upstate, I was saying just the opposite of that. I was saying that if the middle easterner had made some racial slur to some one else and it was overheard by City (or anyone else) it would be more likely to be reported because of the heightened sensitivity after 9/11. I think this country is more wary of and faster to jump on issues such as this.

UpstateNYUPSer · 06-13-2009, 05:16 AM

Gotcha.

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by City Driver

i still dont see why id be quicker to report a middle eastern person then a white person.....

i wouldnt

but i guess you would

never mind then

dillweed · 06-13-2009, 05:27 AM

[QUOTE=dilligaf;547221]
Answer me this City, if it was a middle easterener (let's say arab and you can fill in any number of scenarios) that had made a negative comment to someone and you overheard it, would you not report that as well? I bet you would.

City, it took me a few readings to figure this one out. I feel she was asking that if another minority made the remark to the black man would you feel as strongly about it as you did when the white man said it. Does that make sense? Dil - have I got it right?

I don't believe that Dil meant any harm or was trying to back you into any type of corner. She was just trying to dig a little deeper into the topic and maybe pull out a few more remarks/feelings. It's the fun of the forum. I've never seen Dil just haul off and attack for no reason.

So, do minorities of any type have more right to be racial than whites? Nope.

If I had seen this I'd ask the black man if he knew the remark maker and was it a joke. It wasn't a joke I'd let him know he had a witness if needed.

I've often heard people of all races slam each other at work but they ended up being good friends and the punches were all in fun.

City Driver · 06-13-2009, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilligaf

City, I will try to come up with a better way of saying what I wanted to. Black slavery is (or at least it should be) a thing of the past. Racial prejudice towards blacks is very uncommon in my part of the world. I know it still exists, that goes without saying. Just as prejudice exists towards Mexicans, Asians, and the list goes on.

I used the middle eastern situation because it is a hot topic and has been for a few years. It is a more current situation and I thought you could associate better with that. I have no idea of your age or upbringing or your life experiences. Being 'white' has nothing to do with loving this country or defending the premise that it stands on. It has to do with being American. Not Hispanic American, Black American (excuse me if that was not pc), or any other classification of American.

ok i understand that but just because its a hot topic you automatically assumed i would go and report a middle eastern person when i already said i wont report the white guy who did this

you made a big assumption about me with absolutely no basis when you said "i bet you would report the middle eastern person for doing it"

Quote:

Originally Posted by UpstateNYUPSer

CD, I think you are missing Dilli's point. She is portraying the middle eastern person as the brunt of the joke, not the joke maker.

that would make more sense but thats not what she said..she said the middle eastern person was the one making the remark

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilligaf

Answer me this City, if it was a middle easterener (let's say arab and you can fill in any number of scenarios) that had made a negative comment to someone and you overheard it, would you not report that as well? I bet you would.

dilligaf · 06-13-2009, 05:36 AM

Dill, you are right. I was not trying to back City into a corner. I was simply trying to make a comparison that is more current. I don't generally attack unless provoked. And then I will defend myself, relentlessly. I apologize City if I offended you. I was not trying to make any asssumptions, but I can see how you would feel that way.

I am not an eloquent speaker. Not like some that post here.

bubsdad · 06-13-2009, 05:43 AM

It doesn't really matter what the race of either was. Racial comments are wrong and everyone is aware of that. IMO it would be the responsibility of the person the comments were directed at to report it. I would stand by them if they chose to do so. I can't believe a guy would be stupid enough to say something like that to anyone, regardless of knowing them or not.

over9five · 06-13-2009, 05:44 AM

Wow, I can't believe that really happened. My first thought was they were pulling one over on you, but you did say you knew the black man, and it was the white mans first time there.

OK, if it had been me there as the witness, I would have said something right there to back the black man up.
My first thought was to bring white guy aside and talk to him, but if he really is one of those "good 'ol boys", you ain't gonna change his prejudice.
So after I backed the black man up in the washroom, I would have taken him aside after, and suggested we report this together to management.