Business Administration Department 52
That is the class I have to take over the next 2 and a half weeks for 4 hours a day monday through thursday.
Today we spent about an hour discussing whether mexican americans prefer being called mexicans, mexican americans, latinos, or hispanic (I think I'm forgetting one...). Does anyone else see that as a waste of time? I can see spending 2-3 minutes on those types of topics but when it comes down to it, should we really care? As long as they aren't used in a demeaning way I don't see why it should matter. However, I'm white and have never had to think about that sort of thing so I could easily just not understand what the big deal is. We also discussed whether to call Asians: Asians, orientals, or asian americans. Then whether blacks preferred to be called: blacks, black americans, or african americans.
It seems I could have put those three hours to better use...
ID:192657
 May 29 2002, 10:36 pm
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Well, I'm American, and I get ever-so-slightly insulted when people refer to me as American. Not because of way word the American part, but simply the fact that I'm prefered to as American rather than a human being. I don't like having where I live mean something. It's not like I got to push buttons on the map to decide where I wanted to be born.
Name: Foomer Race: Human Sex: Male | |
You didn't? Where I come from we got to choose...uh...nevermind, I've said too much :p
Our teacher said we usually won't have to use them but there may be some circumstances where we might. One explanation was where you are at a meeting and later you are asked who was at the meeting but you can't remember some of their names. You could say, "...you know that black woman with long hair, that's slender, and talks fast?" That sort of thing. We might insult someone who has black skin by calling them black...I still don't get why. I'm glad I'm not going to be a Human Relations major, this should be the last class I have to take like this...I hope... | |
PS: And before anyone comments that the goal of these courses isn't to make you change your point of view, but rather, to make you more sensitive about issues facing minorities, I say it's STILL crap. It depends how you interpret "sensitive". If you take it to mean "walking on eggshells for fear of saying anything that will push anyone's buttons", then that's precisely the point of the exercise, and it probably succeeds to an extent. The ultimate goal of such an effort is not to push a touchy-feely agenda, but rather to minimize the number of nuisance lawsuits against the company, which is perfectly sensible. | |
Until the layoffs yesterday, I was a software developer at IBM. When I first got there, I had to go to a diversity training seminar which took a number of days to complete.
I have never seen such an inordinate amount of PC BS in my life.
I specifically recall a video we had to watch, where a series of individuals (of varying races) were flashed on the screen, and you had to vote on whether they made you feel comfortable or uneasy.
One of these images was of a Latino teenager throwing up a gang sign. Naturally, I selected uneasy (white, black, purple... if I'm on the street, and see you indicating that you're part of a gang, I'm going to move to the opposite sidewalk, thanks).
When we got to the discussion period, I was the only person who seemed to recognize what the kid was doing with his hands. I'm in my twenties, and nearly everyone else was over forty, including the instructors, who were two middle-aged Lilith Faire, ultra-sensitive types. The conversation went something like this...
Me: I marked down "uneasy" because the kid was throwing up a gang sign.
Instructor #1: You mean he LOOKED like a gang member?
Me: No, he WAS a gang member.
Instructor #2: And you think ALL Latino Americans are gang members?
Me: No, just that one. You generally have to be indoctrinated into a gang before they teach you their sign.
Instructor #1: So then how do you know that that was a gang sign? It looked to me like a peace sign.
Me: I've watched enough MTV in my lifetime to know what a gang sign looks like. That was no peace sign.
Instructor #2: I think maybe you're projecting all that you've seen about gang members onto this individual.
... and on, and on, and on, until I gave up trying to explain.
I think the bottom line is this: depending on where you grow up, and how you grow up, we all have prejudices. I grew up in whitebread Maine, for instance, and that probably makes me more sensitive about racial differences than your typical inner-city kid. The key thing is that I try not to ACT on the basis of my prejudices, and in fact try to rise above them.
No three hour course is going to make you change your ways. If you're an ignorant, hate-filled, racist prick going into the course, you're still going to be an ignorant, hate-filled, racist prick when you come out. THAT is why such courses are a complete waste of time.
Regards,
Corporate Dog
PS: And before anyone comments that the goal of these courses isn't to make you change your point of view, but rather, to make you more sensitive about issues facing minorities, I say it's STILL crap. If I'm making every effort to treat you as a fellow human being, regardless of race, and you're going to call me on the carpet because I referred to you as "purple" rather than "Eggplant American", then YOU'RE the one with the issues. When a label becomes more important then the way someone treats you, you're not seeing the forest for the trees.