I was naughty at work today
Discussion
I work in a chemistry Lab which is a fab job and two of my work mates are of Indian decent. Cause they are different to me they are interesting people I might add, but for some reason they spend half the day on the friggen phone talking to their mothers and it really 
me off when am constantly being their personal assistant taking messages etc. So I let rip and said "you Indians spend way too much time on the fcuken phone do some work" Well this went down pretty bad and they made a formal complaint saying that it was a racist comment.
I now have a tainted record cause of some git who spends all day on the phone. If I cant call them Indians, what do I call them rag heads, curry munchers? No seriously I didn't think "Indians" was a form of being racist in this instance?
me off when am constantly being their personal assistant taking messages etc. So I let rip and said "you Indians spend way too much time on the fcuken phone do some work" Well this went down pretty bad and they made a formal complaint saying that it was a racist comment. I now have a tainted record cause of some git who spends all day on the phone. If I cant call them Indians, what do I call them rag heads, curry munchers? No seriously I didn't think "Indians" was a form of being racist in this instance?
all the time... Racism is bizarre in the workplace. We've got some proposals in for a tender and one of them is French. I work for a French company and to be honest, there has been a bit too much advantage given to this French proposal.
As it is technically the weakest, I've opted for a British manufacturer. And now what am I being called... yup. Racist.
As it is technically the weakest, I've opted for a British manufacturer. And now what am I being called... yup. Racist.
Act all stressed, claim that you are not a racist and you are now finding it difficult to work in that environment any more. Go see your doctor and get signed off with stress. Take legal action against your employers for this wrongful accusation. Claim significant damages, buy a nice car and get a new job. Start feeling better about yourself. They are taking the p*ss. If your co-workers were caucasian you may have called them French, German, Yanks, Brits, Poms, Irish, etc. etc. On no occasion would they have claimed you were being racist.
Stick to your guns. If they are Indian then what you stated was factually correct and not a racial slur.
A guy I worked with once lost his job for putting a new desktop picture on someone's PC of a football team mooning. It was an old biddy's (ageism!) PC and she wasn't amused.
The issue went all the way to the top of the company (large company) because no one had the balls at any level to turn around and just say "That was stupid, don't do it again". It became a PC issue.
I HATE CORPORATE PC BULLSHIT
A guy I worked with once lost his job for putting a new desktop picture on someone's PC of a football team mooning. It was an old biddy's (ageism!) PC and she wasn't amused.
The issue went all the way to the top of the company (large company) because no one had the balls at any level to turn around and just say "That was stupid, don't do it again". It became a PC issue.
I HATE CORPORATE PC BULLSHIT
I guess you called them Indians, because it was the most obvious they both have in common.
You may have also used "the two", "person A and person B" or something else not concerning their origin.
If they were the only persons younger that 30, and all others are older than 50, you maybe would have called them "the two young people", because it would have been the most obvious they had in common - being the youngest in the department.
Being pedantic, you would have discriminated them by their age, but nobody would complain
BTW:
You Englishmen spend waaay to much time on Gassing Station! Do some work! 
Whom have I discriminated yet? English men? Or English women? Or non-English people by not including or not careing for them?
Bodo
[off to do some work]
You may have also used "the two", "person A and person B" or something else not concerning their origin.
If they were the only persons younger that 30, and all others are older than 50, you maybe would have called them "the two young people", because it would have been the most obvious they had in common - being the youngest in the department.
Being pedantic, you would have discriminated them by their age, but nobody would complain
BTW:
You Englishmen spend waaay to much time on Gassing Station! Do some wo
rk! Whom have I discriminated yet? English men? Or English women? Or non-English people by not including or not careing for them?
Bodo
[off to do some wo
rk]
Ask your employer to provide you with a definitive list of racist words that should not be used in the workplace, including the context in which the words should not be used. Ask them to confirm the context in which the word "Indian" can not be used.
Do this in writing and watch them squirm....
Do this in writing and watch them squirm....
this whole racism issue really annoys me. Can you not criticise someone of another colour for anything without being racist. I used to even call my best mate what could be considered a racist nickname and he would call me a big nosed t*sser (see call sign of Shnozz). He would highlight a physical difference in me to others and call me it as a joke. I would do likewise. We were best of friends, no offence was taken as it was clearly in jest and we had utmost respect for each other as most friends do. We were both comfortable with each other.
Isnt racism about having a prejudice as a result of someones colour, not avoiding the issue of it entirely. I do not prejudice, but I see things as they are.
Isnt racism about having a prejudice as a result of someones colour, not avoiding the issue of it entirely. I do not prejudice, but I see things as they are.
Now just suppose it was two girls that were chatting - could you be done for sexual discrimination if you said 'you girls'? Pah.
Bodo said: BTW:
You Englishmen spend waaay to much time on Gassing Station! Do some wo
Excuse me, Bodo. As a Welshwoman I object to that remark!!
Edited to add: Big M - he might've been done for sexism then...
The world has clearly gone mad. Or is that discriminating against the insane??
>> Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 8th April 09:50
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