Am I A Bigot?

[80fiik]

Another thing I've learned is that references can be very easily fabricated, especially within a tightly-knit niche market like mine. Knowing who to trust is a bit of a gamble, which is a major factor in why this question of bigotry arose.

[NotreDame]

The term is "societal trust".  Cultures with less of it will be more likely to screw you over.  So... if you are doing a risk assessment, culture could be a part of it without you being a bigot.

[Luigi]

Your experience is your experience - good, bad, or indifferent. It's only racist when you apply individual experiences to all people of the group, as in, "I know an Irish guy who's a drunk; all Irish guys are drunks."

 

The only time, IMHO, it's permissible to generalize is when you're talking about a cultural trait. So if you're dealing with Muslims and they're never on the job on Friday afternoon, you need to figure out that it has to do with their holy day (the same with Jews on Saturdays or Catholics on Sundays)..

 

Other than that kind of cultural basis for action, about the only thing you can do is tighten up your screening process. And when you find someone you can trust to do an good job (not an easy accomplishment in ANY profession), send all your work their way.

[GeorgiiMichael]

I've found rednecks to be incredibly knowledgeable and reliable in the areas where I'm using their services. This, despite their uncouth demeanor.

[CatherineM]

I learned in mediation training that everyone has biases, the important thing is to recognize what your biases are, and not let them affect your decisions.

[God the Father]

It seems your practical experience is diminishing faith in your training. The masters must be informed of this, yes, yes, I assure you, something will be done.

[Basilisa Marie]

You're not a bigot, if you're not willfully hateful toward another group.  You're certainly displaying racist tendencies, though. 

 

I kind of know what you're talking about. Working in the service industry, I couldn't help but notice that a lot of black female customers really really got on my nerves. For a while I thought the problem was the black females.  Then I realized that the problem was me - I tended to have more patience with white people because I'm white, and less patience with females because on some level I thought they should know better.

 

Cultural differences might also be fueling your frustration. Certain cultural groups learn to behave a certain way, and if you run into someone who's different, it can cause tension. 

 

Don't discriminate against someone because they're of a certain ethnicity.  Discriminate because they have bad reviews, or because you already know someone who will do a good job.  Don't eliminate someone because they're brown or black or white or purple.  That's racist, and it'd be a good idea to recognize these tendencies and work to fight them.   :)  If you don't, they'll certainly grow, and you might end up turning into a bigot. 

Edited January 12, 2014 by Basilisa Marie

[cruciatacara]

I don't think you are a bigot but I do think you need to be careful not to end up that way. My Dad tried very hard not to be a bigot after the second WW but he had a real aversion to buying what he would call a "Jap car' because of his bad memories and it wasn't until he was much older that he actually owned a Japanese made car. He was lumping all Japanese in with 'the enemy' that he had to fight.

 

Cultures do have different ways of doing things and each one ends up getting a reputation for something e.g. the Scots are thrifty (or cheap depending on your point of view), the Germans are efficient (or inflexible), the French are often considered rude (but I never met a rude one when I was living there). I found a lot of Indians (from India) to be dishonest in business dealings with me, and yet I have friends who are Indians who would never cheat anyone.

 

Anyway, the point is that we probably all use typecasting when we think about different cultures but the danger is in thinking that ALL of a particular culture are going to be the same. Like I said, I loved France and found everyone to be great. The same thing in New York, and yet people warned be that the NYers would be rude too. I got on a bus with coins but without a token and didn't know what to do but so many other passengers offered to help me out so didn't have to get off the bus and go looking where to buy one.

 

You aren't being judgmental based on their race or color, but on their behavior. I would just say, don't do repeat business with those companies who don't live up to your expectations. As for using companies of those same cultures, use caution to check out things that worry you but don't assume that just because they are [Greek, whatever] that the second company will be the same.

[NotreDame]

FYI - per my earlier post, this is what I was talking about.

 

http://www.pewglobal.org/2008/04/15/where-trust-is-high-crime-and-corruption-are-low/

 

[dUSt]

Don't trust whitey.

[PhuturePriest]

Don't trust whitey.

 

Especially bald ones.

[GeorgiiMichael]

Especially bald ones.

You wanna go, little man?

[PhuturePriest]

You wanna go, little man?

 

As long as you don't use your head to blind me; I want a clean fight.