Discrimination
So it seems lately there's been many discussions about the subject of discrimination on the internet and the media, so I was wondering: have you ever suffered discrimination in your life? And by this I mean the sort of discrimination that hits you the hardest. Not getting made fun for liking wrestling(me in 10th grade) or the Ninja Turtles more than it's socially acceptable to do so.
As far as I know, I have never been a victim of racism or xenophobia in my entire life to this day. And I don't count some idiot or troll on the internet yelling insults at me after I beat him on an online game or after I disagreed with him in an online discussion and he had no arguments left except insulting me. I'm talking about real life here. Sure, I've had people of all backgrounds being rude dicks to me, but afaik, racism or xenophobia weren't behind it at all. I always assume that when someone is a dick to me it's because they just personally don't like me or find my appearance odd(for years I've had long hair and a bit unkempt facial hair. heavy metal \m/). Perhaps I am lucky. What about you? Got any stories to tell? |
Not really. I'm white and I don't talk about my religion so nobody cares.
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I've always been an Atheist and remember other kids in school looking at me funny "you don't believe in God, really?" but I don't consider that discrimination, tbh. It didn't affect me much, let's say. |
White atheist who keeps said lack of god beleifs to herself, so not really.
I've wondered if maybe there was some in that regard from a former employer of a short lived job, but not sure. (But they were sucky people and I suspect they had a habit of ditching people after only a short time anyhow.) I probably get, or at least witness, more prejudice by simply working retail and seeing/dealing with customers who think it's their right to treat retail workers as inferior human beings. Quote:
That said though, Catholics are probably the ones I would (and on rare occasion have) feel most able to be open about it, since they are, at least around here, the more liberal and tolerant among the various forms of Christians. Far more likely to shrug it off and agree to disagree and not bother with any threats of hellfire or acting as if you are diseased. |
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The only possible personal discrimination I can think of is when I was a kid and I wanted to go on this school trip to Greece. I got my application in on time and as I was studying Classics I got first priority but I was worried because I was on the autistic spectrum they wouldn't let me go. However my dad said that legally they'd have to make adjustments and the school assured me it wouldn't count against me.
Anyway, I didn't get to go and I just assumed it was because there was a limited number of places. Then later on I found out that my friend who studied Latin got to go and I didn't. I could be jumping to conclusions but it does feel like possible discrimination. I was frequently called 'Bible basher' in school because I was a Christian and my dad was a vicar (for the record, I don't go around trying to convert people or anything like that, I just mention it if it comes up in conversation). Also when I told my uncle my boyfriend was going to be a vicar too, I joked I was surrounded by vicars and he replied that it's not good for me. What??? Although while that's certainly prejudice, I wasn't really discriminated from anything due to my religion. |
None that I can think of, even being Hispanic. But I grew up in the hood, also, where white people are the minority.
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Nah. White dude here.
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I'm fat, so it's a big, fat YES.
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Sexual harassment, mostly.
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I once went into a more "hoodish" area. Not everyone in such places is a dangerous person. I guess it depends since some "hoods" are worse than others. Also you gotta make sure you don't look lost or intimidated, in order to avoid the locals knowing right off the bat "this guy ain't from here".
There's way worse places out there and I'd NEVER venture into those. |
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And yeah, while at work. Really kind of sucks, because unlike the sexual harassment I've gotten say...on the floor of a Con dealer room, I wasn't really able to defend myself. Thankfully I've had no interaction with that co-worker again. |
I've been pressured into working overtime and not taking holidays because I'm single with no kids. I also think that the fact that I'm a non-drinker has hurt my career progression.
I've been sexually harassed before, in situations that I couldn't easily get out of, but it wasn't due to discrimination. |
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I'm hispanic, not in shape, and incredibly socially awkward IRL, and suprisingly haven't had any discriminatory problems. Guess blending in/not being noticed has it's ups after all. :ohwell:
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Nothing is fully coming to mind except for maybe two instances. My friend's friend and a work situation. The former is pretty silly and this may not fully count, the latter definitely could. The former I also don't take seriously.
Now, I have a friend (white). At the time he was sharing a home with two others. My other friend (Central American/Latino) and I used to call them Bob Sagat and Uncle Joey. I can't remember why now. Anyway, Bob Sagat was a bit on the racist side, or more so ignorant. I apparently wasn't bad for a "colored girl", meaning I wasn't ghetto and didn't speak in Ebonics. My friend would always apologize for the things he would say about blacks and latinos, which was tame compared to how he was when we weren't around him, but I was apparently an exception. He was actually concerned when the tsunami and earthquake hit here six years ago since I lived near that area. "Is your nice colored friend alright? I hope she's safe," was apparently said by him. So yeah, maybe ignorance, but karma is kind of sucky for some. He's gay, btw. His boyfriend left him for a black guy. Bob is now a churchgoer, says he's no longer racist, etc. Still funny. So yeah, this is more so indirect. Back in 2007, I'd lost my job of two years (bad housing market was the main cause) so that meant job hunting again and schooling online. I was registered with a job agency and the job I was sent out on was a temp to hire position. One of the jobs was an office job. I went, had my laptop so that I could do homework, type papers, stuff like that. No internet access though. The workplace was 99% white. I was the 1%, meaning I was the only person of color there...literally. When I walked in to meet the manager (or the supervisor, I forget), her smile faded when realizing that I was the one she was meeting. She also looked puzzled as she reconfirmed my name twice. Anyway, after three days, I was fired. Reason? For goofing off online/using the internet for inappropriate things. I didn't have my own cubicle nor did I have a work computer, and my laptop didn't have net access. Bottom line, they lied. I saw other employees playing Yahoo games and one I recall looking at WWE's site, and the supervisor was with me during that and those employees had worked there a few years. Virginia is a right to work state. You can be fired for almost any reason, including no reason. So yeah, I chalked it up to them being prejudiced against non-whites and the reason I was even given a chance was probably because of my name sounding stereotypically white. Sounds straight up European, my full name. Yet, despite the fact that I've been overweight the majority of my life, I've never been discriminated against for it. |
Every time I have a random hookup, I need to take a moment to explain briefly explain the Hatchet-Man tattoo on my arm as a unwise decision of my youth before we move any further :roll:
Otherwise? Nah. |
Well, I'm also black. One significant experience of discrimination might have been when I was pulled over eight years ago for having a non-functioning brake light. The cop wasn't wrong to do that, but after he told me his reason for stopping me, he also asked me where I was going. I'm told that that's what the cops do nowadays, but the he also goes "all right, give me something". I was under the impression that he thought I might have had something I shouldn't have, such as a weapon, or any drugs. Some thing he was trying to trick me into bribing him. Then some time after making all that fuss, he told me that they're looking for someone who has a car that matches the description of the one I was driving. Of course, that's a classic line that cops use to cover their asses.
Long before that, I was also leaving a store that I had been in for a while, and two cops stopped me to check to see if I might have stolen anything. I was also followed around in a Waldenbooks store, and the guy made it so obvious. I regret not confronting him about that. I wouldn't have even gotten aggressive with him, but I'd have just told him that he should at least offer me help if he's going to follow me around the way he did. That's why as a minority, I get a little uneasy when I'm in a store and I get asked if I need any help. I'm also male, and I might have also experienced discrimination in schools when I was younger, from female teachers. The seemed to treat the boys as though our successes would always be insignificant since we weren't girls. |
I've been passed over for promotions in favor of guys in my department even though I'm routinely called the best at my job, take on harder cases than they do, and come in earlier and stay later than they do. I've asked three levels of managers for feedback as to why I was passed over with no response. Only that I'm the best worker they have.
One guy just got promoted over me and he spends most of his time wandering around the office talking about his kids sports and routinely comes in an hour late and leaves an hour early. Then when he's behind on his work he "delegates" to me. The kicker is they never post the promotion opportunities or take applicants for the positions. I'd call them on the violation of the EEOA, but all that would do is stigmatize me and I'd never advance again. |
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Also reminds me; it's not exactly discrimination as much as it is nepotism, but when I'm promised a promotion one season to only have it then given to the executive producer's accountant's eighteen year old daughter who has no passing interest in the position in the first place, well... :x |
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It's easy to think that workplace discrimination is getting better too, because companies can't stop talking about diversity and inclusiveness initiatives, but in my experience, they don't really understand the concept at its core. Diversity is just another buzzword to slap on a recruitment ad; it's something they want to be seen to be doing, more than a real concern. I'll give you an example without going into too much detail. I'm working on some material to support International Women's Day with a couple of my colleagues. This is so important to their boss, that rather than work on any of it himself, he's palmed it off to a bunch of women in his department. He's got a communications manager, and a commercial sales manager organizing morning tea. This guy thinks he's doing the right thing, but he's just mindlessly checking boxes. He says he's committed to equality, while treating engineers, managers, and other professionals like an overqualified secretarial pool. (No offense to any admin - I think they are undervalued too). |
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Then I got moved to a headquarters because i had a certian "look". (Read: size 4 with DD boobs at that time) and the wanted me there. Once there i spent more time fetching coffee and snacks for the officers than doing my own job. I quit. I have 2 masters degrees. I'm not your toy. |
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Even with labour unions and such, employers like to exploit workers. And people wonder why there are so many unmotivated and unproductive workers. :roll: Quote:
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Is it true that some bosses try to sleep with their female workers before giving them promotions? I see this in movies and TV shows all the time, does it happen in real life?
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While i'm sure it happens I doubt it's as common as you'd see on TV. A boss won't just ask a female employee to sleep with him out of the blue. He'd risk getting sued. At my first job one of the supervisors was having an affair with one of the female workers, but no idea if it involved promotions or not. Most likely just lust. |
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It's been said around 70-80% of all female workers in the workplace suffer sexual harrassment from men. I'm shocked the number is so high, especially since most of these men are also married and are thus cheating on their wives.
I honestly wonder how many bosses sleep with their female workers, or vice versa, how many seductive women purposely flirt with their bosses to get raises or promotion. |
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He's also made quite a few discriminatory comments like repeatedly referring to me as 'little girl' and one time when I asked him politely to turn the radio down so I could hear people, explaining that I have a condition that can make it harder to focus around too much noise, he just said I should get a new job. Another time he referred to a patient on a learning disability ward as 'simple' and said you just need to treat them like children. He only gets away with it because he's close to management. |
I have on occasion, due to my beliefs. Once I lost a job for unspecified reasons once it became known that I was Wiccan- it was at Hobby Lobby which apparently is very "Christian values" oriented. I've also had people try to convert me or "save" me when they learn of my particular faith. I also get asked to come to churches all the time, mainly by people who know what I am. While not discriminatory as such, it is somewhat offensive at times, especially from those who try to convince me I am "going to Hell" because I pray a different way than them. I've had a few who even thought I needed an exorcism! (Sorry, no I am not possessed by demons nor do I worship your god's arch-rival- the fact that mine is sometimes called "the Horned God" is merely an unfortunate misunderstanding by your ancestors, I assure you....)
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When I was in fifth grade, the teacher held this contest on Valentines Day where those who wore the most red would get some sort of prize. All the girls won, and no boys did. That's kind of BS since pretty much all girls' clothing comes in red. I was taking a summer enrichment class after I finished seventh grade and was going to be in eighth grade soon. One day, the teacher that we had for a course had us do an assignment. Then she wanted to know who was finished with their work. She went and said that all the girls are finished, and had to say something about how girls mature faster than boys. I may not have been done with my work then, but it wasn't like I had been screwing around or anything. For all she knows, some boys might have already finished by then, and were just going over their work. You never know what's going on. So I don't think there was any need for her to shame us. You said that where you're from, a girl is more likely to be excused for talking in class. That reminds me of how one of my friends told me about how she got to visit her son's kindergarten class. She said that all the kids were talkative, but the teacher only went after the boys for talking so much, and my friend said that the girls were talking just as much. |
It's very disheartening to hear so many people being fired from their workplaces due to their race or personal beliefs. This is the 21st century, legally employers should have to give a reason. While this approach isn't foolproof, it's would make it harder to fire someone for those reasons.
On another note, I remember how when I was a kid during 'wet play' (which sounds kind of dirty now I think about it but it actually just means it was raining outside), we had to stay indoors. They split up the boys and girls with the boys playing lego and the girls colouring and talking. I enjoyed both so switched between the two. The boys and the teacher treated me like I didn't belong because I was a girl and the girls isolated me because they thought it was weird. I don't know if it's still the case in schools, I sincerely hope not. |
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Yup, I do. Rural Texas, smack in the middle of the Bible Belt. Mostly conservatives, particularly Southern Baptists. Lots of Catholics around here too, due to the large Latino population. And many of them are VERY supersticious. Especially when it comes to things like Tarot, or anything having to do with hexes or charms, poppets, and pentacles.
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I've always wondered why there's so many outspokenly religious people and so many religious factions and cults in the Americas. Maybe because all of the different people there means everyone wants to feel their a part of something, whether it's a religious or cultural group?
Unrelated to your example but It's kinda odd/funny how so many people nowadays, even non-believers, hold superstitious beliefs. Some of them quite silly. And don't get me started on football supporters who really believe that their pre-match rituals such as wearing their "lucky boxers", "lucky scarves", or wtv, is gonna lead their team to victory. :tlol: |
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They're basically like a cult, as you said. Some of them really are insane and think they're possessed by angels or demons or some other such nonsense. |
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