Am I A Bigot?

[80fiik]

Ok, so here's a question for you. I deal with a fair amount of specialized labor in my profession. In my experience, people of a certain nationality (and yes, occasionally race) are  typically unreliable and at their worst, dishonest and sketchy. I have lost a significant amount of money (in the thousands) because of my dealings with these groups. This perception has been reinforced several times and with multiple individuals/contractors within my particular area.

 

As a result of this, I have a hard time committing to employing the labor or consultation of these groups. It's not that I am dedicated to the idea that these groups as a whole are inherently untrustworthy, but in matters of business I filter them out as options. Would you consider this a matter of understandable discretion or is it bigotry? I'm undoubtedly passing judgment, but is it warranted?

 

To be transparent about this, the particular groups I'm speaking of are the Greeks and the Colombians.

[Lilllabettt]

if you don't want to be a racist, you can't refuse to consider people for employment based on their race.

surely there are metrics you could use to eliminate untrustworthy potential employees.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

Race metrics! Vroom Vroom!!!

Edited January 11, 2014 by CatholicsAreKewl

[Anastasia13]

Additional references, start with the references that are a different nationality?

[PhuturePriest]

If you ask yourself the question, "Am I a bigot?", the answer is apparent.

[80fiik]

To clarify: when I say "employment," I don't mean actual employees. We don't have any employees besides myself and my business partner. I'm more talking about patronizing businesses owned by these groups. So I actually mean using their services.

 

The references in my industry are very vague, and as we are a young startup in a new-to-us market/area, we did not have a firm grasp of the ley of the land when we made early business decisions. But the question pops up in this context again: if, as I've learned now, these businesses have a known reputation for subpar work and dishonesty, is discriminating against their services a bigoted thing to do?

[Anastasia13]

If you ask yourself the question, "Am I a bigot?", the answer is apparent.

 

Avenue Q: Everyone's a little bit racist.

[Kateri89]

If you ask yourself the question, "Am I a bigot?", the answer is apparent.

I disagree. It's so easy for people to find prejudice where it doesn't exist that we're often worried that we might be crossing that line when in fact we're not. I'm not saying you should deny employment or services to people of specific backgrounds because you've had bad experiences in that area, but it might be wise to have a better screening process. This isn't being bigoted, merely exercising caution.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

If you ask yourself the question, "Am I a bigot?", the answer is apparent.

 

I just tried. It didn't work. #fail

[80fiik]

@FuturePriest, I think that's being a bit too dismissive. In my experience, I cannot trust these shops or businesses to provide quality services. This is based on dozens of interactions and perhaps half as many actual transactions. On what basis should I continue to provide them the benefit of the doubt?

[Anastasia13]

To clarify: when I say "employment," I don't mean actual employees. We don't have any employees besides myself and my business partner. I'm more talking about patronizing businesses owned by these groups. So I actually mean using their services.

 

The references in my industry are very vague, and as we are a young startup in a new-to-us market/area, we did not have a firm grasp of the ley of the land when we made early business decisions. But the question pops up in this context again: if, as I've learned now, these businesses have a known reputation for subpar work and dishonesty, is discriminating against their services a bigoted thing to do?

 

Is it more like a particular organization has a bad reputation or more like the group as a whole? If it is particular organizations, then I understand that. If it is a group as a whole and you don't have a history with them, then doing a little more background checking on the individuals might not be a bad idea. History of past performance should say more than just classes or grouping that don't tell you specifically about their work.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Light and Truth

[CatholicsAreKewl]

True, but he has stated that it's hard to get a background on these individuals. He's basically shooting ducks in the dark.

[Anastasia13]

True, but he has stated that it's hard to get a background on these individuals. He's basically shooting ducks in the dark.

 

Some service business that serve organizations and business will offer references when asked. It's not a lot, but it is something. Also, joining a networking or industry group might be of value to talk to people who are more in the know about the business landscape.

[80fiik]

Is it more like a particular organization has a bad reputation or more like the group as a whole? If it is particular organizations, then I understand that. If it is a group as a whole and you don't have a history with them, then doing a little more background checking on the individuals might not be a bad idea. History of past performance should say more than just classes or grouping that don't tell you specifically about their work.

 

The common consensus among other businesses that have provided me satisfactory service is that the distrust typically extends to the group as a whole. And this comes from a wide range of nationalities; Germans, Japanese, rednecks (duh), etc. Then again, I've also found a substantially greater amount of discrimination in other cultures than in the standard American business field; maybe this is a sign that you're correct in saying that it's more of a case-by-case screening issue than anythhing else.

[PhuturePriest]

It was a joke, people.