Racism

[Trek420]

If you ask 1,000 gay people you will get 1,001 opinions (the 1 being me changing my mind). I'm guessing your fine flamboyant fabulous friend has faced this before. I'm guessing your DBF has seen, heard, felt the hurt of racism before.

Both are painful but no surprise other than in this case the source, someone you thought of as a friend.

In the words of my maternal grandmother "better you should open your mouth and I know how you feel then keep it shut and I don't know" or she said something like that in heavily Polish accented English. Something like "well, at least now we know where the idiot stands".

What to do? I feel she's free to have her opinion, we all are. And we do all have prejudice, it's what we choose to do about it that counts.

I can't tell you what to do personally with this gal. I like to hang around with those who share common values and dreams. We don't agree on everything but we can talk and learn from each other. Lunch and rides with her ... it all depends.

Can you forget what she said? Better can you talk with her about it?

In a business sense her right to have prejudice against a group ends when she mistreats a client or a coworker. And I feel that's regardless of local, regional law or company policy.

Turn her back and walk away from a gay customer, make a comment after she thinks another leaves ... mistreat an individual or group and the word gets around. Customers vote with their feet and take their money elsewhere. Remember the nationwide Denny's boycott anyone?

One day I was picking up lunch at an eatery nearby work as the waiter ignored a black couple to the point it was obvious; she was taking the orders of everyone around them at the counter, even ignoring my offer "take their order, they were here before me!".

The eatery is still there but word got around.

I don't know how big your company is, is it possible to say without pinpointed her that you are aware of possible discrimination of customers and just get a reminder, training out there "hey, in this economy everyones money is just as green and we treat everyone well. We do it because it's the law, we do it because it's office policy, and we do it because it's the right thing to do. We treat each customer as we would like to be treated"