What Would You Do?

[desertwoman]

Ok, I work in a public library and we receive and encounter strange people.

Case in point, yesterday I actually met a Nazi. No joke!! He had the prison tattoos the whole nine yards.

Of course he wouldn't greet me with a good morning or a smile, no problem. I can deal with it.

But since I work at the circulation desk (the desk where you have to check out and return your items), he doesn't want any black person to help him. He had no choice yesterday, cause there was only one white worker on the desk and he was busy. He had to go to Mr. Freeman, an older LA on the desk. I came to give him a break and had to encounter him again.

While I was checking out his video tapes, he instructed me to leave em down on the desk, and not put it in his hands and he wanted to refuse the receipt print out of his items. I learned that this wasn't the first time he has done this. In fact, he would say that he doesn't want any black person to check him out, and wanted my supervisor to do so.

My supervisor heard of him, and when he wanted her to check him out, she turned around and walked into her office.

Another incident was when he confronted a young male patron and called him monkey to his face. The young mad handled himself pretty well and told him off and walked away.

Since we work in a public place, we don't deny anyone unless they are ridiculous. But my supervisor told me that we don't have to put up with that type of behavior and we don't have to serve him. But does that infringe on his rights no matter how stupid he is? Plus, the circulation desk is majority black any way.

[Era Might]

If he wants to choose who serves him, I would tell him he can't choose, and if he can't accept that he should take his business elsewhere. If he is verbally attacking people, I would say that is enough to ban him.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1264992' date='May 5 2007, 10:35 AM']If he wants to choose who serves him, I would tell him he can't choose, and if he can't accept that he should take his business elsewhere. If he is verbally attacking people, I would say that is enough to ban him.[/quote]
I totally agree.

That type of attitude shouldn't be coddled by allowing him to choose who serves him, so kudos to your supervisor for not putting up with it.

If you want, I will come kick his patootie for you, desertwoman. He'll never know what hit him.

[homeschoolmom]

do it, do it, do it....!!!

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Not cool. The dude needs some instruction.

My roots were somewhat nominally racist (my grandfather had all black servants...he liked black people as persons, but he couldn't get out of stereotyping them as servants...poked a black guy on the back with his cane once and asked if there were any good BBQ places nearby...my mom about flipped out on him). The town I grew up in is very de facto segregated...so when we watch the news, all the meth busts and prostitutes and murderers are generally from the poorer neighborhoods which, unfortunately, are predominantly black...it builds a false impression in people who see that on the news. It's not helped when local black politicians take it way too far and basically talk about "getting even." All these things...environment, bad situation, and people who don't know what they're talking about...they all contribute to racism. I was never intentionally racist, but the attitudes were unintentionally instilled in me. It was in the seminary when one of my friends was a refugee from Sudan (whose family had been killed for the faith) that I really got to experience the goodness of people who were "different" from me. Now a good friend at Franciscan is a black man from Haiti...he's great...one of the best people I know.

Anyway, my point is this: what he's doing is entirely wrong and clearly intentional, but personally, I'd kill him with kindness. Maybe he'll see that what he's afraid of (racism comes from fear) isn't true. If it doesn't work, at least it's a Christian response. In the meantime, he should probably be banned if for nothing else than protecting your other patrons.

God bless,

Micah

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1265040' date='May 5 2007, 11:52 AM']That type of attitude shouldn't be coddled by allowing him to choose who serves him, so kudos to your supervisor for not putting up with it.[/quote]
Yeah, and besides, what's more idiotic than saying, "you're not worthy to serve me?" That's just stupid. He thinks you're lower than he is, but he won't let you do what "lower" people are supposed to do (serve). Evidently, if you were his slave, you would be worthy to serve him, but since you're free, you're not. Gimme a break.

If I were a more violent person, I'd arrange an "accident," rush him to the ER, and have a black doctor treat him...that might humble him.

[Katholikos]

Desertwoman, this guy (and others like him) is ignorant of the facts of life. We are all literally brothers and sisters. Our God says so, and science says so. We are genetically all from the same set of parents. This has been proven through DNA studies. So he's dissing his sister. Dummy.

The most amusing fact is, all of our ancestors were black at one point in time. Some of us gradually lost our melanin, the stuff that causes skin pigmentation or color, because of environmental differences in the places to which we migrated, and became lighter skinned. So tell him, "We're all out of Africa, brother." He'll have an apoplectic fit, but it's [b][i]da trut[/i].[/b]

Likos

[desertwoman]

Thanks for ups guys. To work in the public and for the public is a difficult task. I sympathize with many of the folks who come here, but with flat out stupidity as this is beyond me.

But I have to serve him and pray and treat him with kindness even though he doesn't.