Coworker making me very uncomfortable.

the absolute answer wrote:

One cannot be "racist" against another.

Just as environmentalists aren't "against" the environment and journalists aren't "against" journals, racists aren't "against" races.

The term for which you are all searching in vain, is "bigoted." It's simple English, really.

Huh?

Racism is the belief that one race is inherently superior to another or others.

Bigotry is intolerance (and can be applied to a wider range of things like creed or beliefs).

Flagpole wrote:

I would NOT do this. Even if all the other people in the office think the mentor guy is a tool, you complaining to HR about him makes YOU seem a squeaky wheel. Guess who gets laid off when bad times hit. Squeaky wheels.

There are lots of racist and boorish people in the world. If you complain to HR over every little thing that bothers you, then that says more about you. Let it go. You go to HR when someone touches you inappropriately or makes unwanted advances or some such major thing. Don't do it over this...you will be among the first to go when the time comes if you do.

I recommend you just outlast his ability to be your mentor so that you don't have to deal with him much anymore.

Wow, really? Nothing serious?

Maybe this is a regional thing, but I can tell you where I work this would be considered very serious. Probably more serious than the "touch" which only affects one person instead of everyone in earshot.

This would absolutely be a fireable offense at my job. My advice, mention it to your boss. If it continues take it to HR. If you work at a place which would lay you off for being a "squeaky wheel" about this, then consider yourself lucky to not work there anymore.

Blacks commit more crimes than whites.

voe wrote:

Wow, really? Nothing serious?

Maybe this is a regional thing, but I can tell you where I work this would be considered very serious. Probably more serious than the "touch" which only affects one person instead of everyone in earshot.

This would absolutely be a fireable offense at my job. My advice, mention it to your boss. If it continues take it to HR. If you work at a place which would lay you off for being a "squeaky wheel" about this, then consider yourself lucky to not work there anymore.

We don't know who is around when the person says the troubling things. I assume (maybe wrong) it is just the 2 of them. This person is the poster's mentor. The poster has been there only 3 months. There is no proof. This would be come a he/she said thing. The mentor would be warned by an HR troll about this sort of thing, that is all that would happen since there is no proof. The new guy is then tagged with a label of not being a team player. The best case is Mentor is then more careful about whom he speaks frankly around. Very little changes. OP gets screwed.

Sometimes you do the right thing regardless of consequences. Sometimes you do a cost benefit analysis and decide to just shut up.

Here's what you do: Start quietly agreeing with him and laughing at his jokes. Supply him with funny-racist websites that conform to his views (but don't do it through email, just mention the sites when you're in his office).

You can begin to build a paper trail when he starts sending you joke-racist emails. Build a sarcastic repertoire with him so that your reply emails appear innocuous to him but to the outsider(HR) they will give the appearance of discomfort.

Then, when in a public area, start prodding him for his slander. Subtly at first, like "what was the joke you mentioned earlier?" Then, at your next company outing, have a few drinks with him and again get him talking. With the alcohol in his system and the comfort of your acceptance, he'll rifle through the entire library.

When other employees start to complain you can be a corroborating source for the HR investigation and you'll have the email-trail to back your side up.

Follow my simple plan and you'll be in the corner office in no time. Contact me if you need any legal assistance.

-Shawowski

It depends on whether his remarks are ones that could possibly affect other workers.

If he makes a general racist "observation" or uses racial slurs and stereotypes, I would say something to the effect of "I don't agree with that" and then quickly change the subject back to something work related.

If he's making comments about other workers, or worse, hinting that he may purposely not promote someone or sabotage their efforts because of racism; document, document, document, and separate yourself from him lest you be associated with his behavior.

In either case, start finding a second work mentor. If he's helpful professionally, you don't have to shun him (although I think politely reminding him that you don't share his views is appropriate), but you should be seen as someone willing to learn from experienced employees rather than as the BFF of the racist guy.

New to the Workplace wrote:

Do I share with him my discomfort in his outward expression of his views? Shrug it off and ignore it? Try to convince him his views are wrong? Just disengage with this guy altogether?

Go for a run, that always makes me feel better.

wild world wrote:

Perhaps they are telling you the truth and your years of White Guilt Programming by the Jewish media is making you angry at hearing reality?

FACT

90% of Interacial Crime is Black On White.

FACT

Media almost only talks about Interacial Crime if it is White on Black.

Those are FACTS. But I bet you still got mad.

Big fan of the KKK and Jared Taylor are you? They certainly can provide FACTS that are, in fact, dead wrong.

I'd call those falsehoods, but maybe that's just me.

Actually, FBI and U.S. Census data shows poverty, education level, social status and urban residence account for criminal behavior far more than race.

Income is actually the single largest determing factor for crime.

Now, the poverty rate for blacks vs. whites is something like three times as high, so you can - if you misinterpret statistics - come to the wrong conclusion.

break it up wrote:

Grow up. Every 5 people you are going to work with is going to be like that. If you have a sack then if it bugs you tell them you don't want to hear that stuff. Or do what I do and just don't respond back when they want to get into a topic you are uncomfortable with...

Did you really just say, "If you have a sack then... Or do what I do..."???

Yep. I don't have one in those situations. I'm not out to change "hearts and minds" in my workplace environment. I'm trying to make a living. Maybe if I was the owner or CEO I would step up, but would good would it do for me?

After you lived and worked a little while you will see how this works. If you don't like the workplace environment and you are on the bottom rung you better just leave.

Now I've seen plenty of stuff I would put in the catagory of "sexual harrassment" along the lines of comments that I thought were out of line but my only thought was if they didn't like it it was on them to step up and complain.

OK dude so why even bring it up in the first place? he wasn't like oh heres an interesting little tidbit for ya, i dont know why i even thought of this but here it is... what possible conclusions are we supposed to draw from these facts? that black people are predisposed to violence genetically or culturally (the only two possible options)? and where do we go from here? treating them like second class citizens? this IS racism bro. my panties get wadded over racism. And Id like to see credible studies proving that these are the facts.

Its tough out there wrote:

Your co worker from Minnesota is correct. No matter the income, black areas do have more crime then white areas. Its a fact its not a racisit view.

My black buddies wouldnt argue that,yet you honkie pc types get your panties in wad. Having said all that and although I agree with him it is totally out of bounds to bring it up at work. Not the time or the place.

Work is a place for work not social opinions.

If you disagree with him, tell him. Imagine that ?

Oh i forgot: i dont know what workplace you work in, im guessing youre in college or a grad student, but you would be a moron to "disagree". You think the guy will be like "oh cool, well lets just agree to disagree" and then its over? you must be socially retarded. this is confrontational and will result in him defending his opinions and the situation getting bigger than it should ever be. by this point you've turned a simple racist comment into a discussion and in doing so have scored points with like minded co-workers and lost them with others. Most importantly, you've lost points with the people with brains who understand the obvious workplace etiquette is to shut up about this stuff (politics, religion, etc.) Talking about this crap will only serve to hurt you, plain and simple. Please go say what you are saying on this board at your office job if you have one and see what happens.

awesome book that details the wave of Black on White violence that is going on in the USA.

http://whitegirlbleedalot.com/?gclid=CN_ttbXf5a8CFSWFQAodYTzjzQ

Dude its not even a question in the black community about violence. One of my best buddies who is black and in my wedding works in his spare time trying to curb black on black violence amongst black youth. He will tell you its a breakdown in the black family structure and black men in particular failing to be fathers. Its epidemic. Kids having kids leads to a breakdown of society. What is ironic if a black says this whites are fine with it and compliment the black person for being thoughtful. If a white says it white liberal calls him the dreaded R word. Only a white liberal would declare they need a study to believe it. I grew up in a mixed neighborhood and dont need a white liberal asking me for studies. I lived it. What black America needs is more Malcom X and less Nancy Pelosi.

I have never been more in agreement with you RAH.

There's standing up for your principles and standing up for your principles! RAH had it right brother...there's a time and place to do that...when you're just talking to one other person and no one else hears, that's not the time to take action. I've had lots of people I've worked with in the past slip out a racist thing (some of them wouldn't even have known that what they just said was racist). You just ignore and avoid, and if you're ever pressed by them wanting you to agree with them, then you tell them your view.Someone says a racist thing in front of a lot of people, ESPECIALLY if one of those people is likely to be offended by such racism, then go ahead and speak up right then. In the situation the OP is in now, it's best to ignore and avoid as much as possible for now.

It is serious.

And if someone else complains and then it is found out that the OP knew about it and didn't say anything, that is taken as the OP condoning it. And now who else is in trouble? The OP.

While people don't like people that complain, people that never say anything about anything and don't do anything to improve their company never get anywhere. You need to be a doer, not a follower.

Comments like "whoa", "really?" or "careful..." could go further than you think. Certainly a non-response in a 1-on-1 situation works.

Wiki Wild Wild wrote:

FACT Citation needed

wild world wrote:

Perhaps they are telling you the truth and your years of White Guilt Programming by the Jewish media is making you angry at hearing reality?

FACT

90% of Interacial Crime is Black On White.

FACT

Media almost only talks about Interacial Crime if it is White on Black.

Those are FACTS. But I bet you still got mad.

mods are fkkn retarded hypocrites...they dont delete threads now, just cherry pick posts to delete they disagree with, and then dont delete the posts that quote them that include their agreeable opinions. fkkn morons.