Too Many Businesses Deal with Workplace Racists the way the Catholic Church Dealt with Pedophile Clergymen!
Whenever I speak or write about how some Whites in the workplace discriminate against, retaliate against, and harass Black workers, some people get upset. They argue that there is no tolerance or encouragement of that behavior in the workplace. They argue that there is no favoritism and there are no biases in the workplace. They give a la-la land view of what's really going on.
In my view, too many businesses treat active workplace racists the way the Catholic church treated it's pedophile clergymen. Anyone familiar with the church sex scandals knows that for decades clergymen were simply moved from town to town and church to church in order to cover-up their crimes. The church didn't want to admit what was going on, didn't want to admit they were aware of the incidents, didn't want to punish their own, and didn't want to accept one ounce of scrutiny or liability for allowing immense harm to happen on their watch.
That is often what we see in the workplace. If a Black worker can get the tiniest bit of acknowlegement that a White person has violated their workplace rights, we can still often not get that person terminated. We see them possibly transferred to another department or site location. Or, we may see them slightly demoted. Or, we may see them forced to go to sensitivity training. Or, we may hear that the person had some punishment that we, the victim, can't be told about.
But, the tormentor is usually lingering around somewhere and is given an opportunity to thrive or prey upon others, once again. The victim is left behind in emotional turmoil and may not even have a job, since they may have resigned due to stress or forced termination.
So, I'm amazed when people act as though White workers, who are guilty of illegal behavior, are always dealt with appropriately by businesses. That's just not reality.
Think about the last time you knew of a White person getting immediately fired for violating the employment and civil rights of a Black worker.
Now, think about how many chances White workers get to redeem themselves before the slightest employment action takes place.
You can hardly get a White worker suspended, let alone fired, for violating your employee rights!!!
Do you know how far a White employee, manager or executive has to go before that sort of shoe is dropped, particularly when race is an issue that’s linked to their potential termination?
A White person often has to do something extremely egregious to be punished by another White person because another White person is always ready to provide an excuse for them or is always willing to believe a load of bullshit that wouldn’t pass the snuff test if the same explanation were to be given by someone Black.
More importantly, everyone in the corporate structure is often more interested in protecting the business than in doing the right thing--getting rid of actively racist employees and managers.
God forbid anyone admit wrongdoing and have to potentially pay a financial settlement to correct the problem. It's all about the dollar signs, even when a black worker simply wants an apology!
If businesses stop using the Catholic church protection model, maybe we can flush out all of the those people who would violate the rights of others. If we ever showed that, as a society, we REALLY don't tolerate this behavior, we could get rid of all the cancerous individuals that harm productivity and put companies at risk.
I don't know if that day will ever come, but until it does, we must continue to fight.
In my view, too many businesses treat active workplace racists the way the Catholic church treated it's pedophile clergymen. Anyone familiar with the church sex scandals knows that for decades clergymen were simply moved from town to town and church to church in order to cover-up their crimes. The church didn't want to admit what was going on, didn't want to admit they were aware of the incidents, didn't want to punish their own, and didn't want to accept one ounce of scrutiny or liability for allowing immense harm to happen on their watch.
That is often what we see in the workplace. If a Black worker can get the tiniest bit of acknowlegement that a White person has violated their workplace rights, we can still often not get that person terminated. We see them possibly transferred to another department or site location. Or, we may see them slightly demoted. Or, we may see them forced to go to sensitivity training. Or, we may hear that the person had some punishment that we, the victim, can't be told about.
But, the tormentor is usually lingering around somewhere and is given an opportunity to thrive or prey upon others, once again. The victim is left behind in emotional turmoil and may not even have a job, since they may have resigned due to stress or forced termination.
So, I'm amazed when people act as though White workers, who are guilty of illegal behavior, are always dealt with appropriately by businesses. That's just not reality.
Think about the last time you knew of a White person getting immediately fired for violating the employment and civil rights of a Black worker.
Now, think about how many chances White workers get to redeem themselves before the slightest employment action takes place.
You can hardly get a White worker suspended, let alone fired, for violating your employee rights!!!
Do you know how far a White employee, manager or executive has to go before that sort of shoe is dropped, particularly when race is an issue that’s linked to their potential termination?
A White person often has to do something extremely egregious to be punished by another White person because another White person is always ready to provide an excuse for them or is always willing to believe a load of bullshit that wouldn’t pass the snuff test if the same explanation were to be given by someone Black.
More importantly, everyone in the corporate structure is often more interested in protecting the business than in doing the right thing--getting rid of actively racist employees and managers.
God forbid anyone admit wrongdoing and have to potentially pay a financial settlement to correct the problem. It's all about the dollar signs, even when a black worker simply wants an apology!
If businesses stop using the Catholic church protection model, maybe we can flush out all of the those people who would violate the rights of others. If we ever showed that, as a society, we REALLY don't tolerate this behavior, we could get rid of all the cancerous individuals that harm productivity and put companies at risk.
I don't know if that day will ever come, but until it does, we must continue to fight.
posted by S. Mary Wills at 9:00 AM
2 Comments:
Wow, I wished I found this blog last year. I am a Black Engineer working in an industry, field, and department where I rarely interact with anybody that looks at me. For the past year I have been forced to work with a racist and psychological disturbed Senior Engineer. I made multiple complaints to my Management, HR, and even Union Representation but the solution hasn't improved. As a result of this I am transferring to another division of my company. I am moving from Washington State to Florida. This move is into a position which is not as prestigious as my current one nor does it have the same level of job security but I felt that I could no longer work in such a hostile environment. Thank you for starting this Blog.
I REFUSE to quit my job! I have filed a racial discrimination lawsuit in Houston over my treatment over the years and I am mor ethna willing to go to the media. Managers have been moved around, but no one has been fired for their outrageous behavior. The sad thing is they actually used a Black woman to sabotage my work, and now that it's no secret some Blacks are actually working to TRY and help set me up...don't care ..I AM NOT QUITTING. I relish the day I can expose them...it may never come.. but they'll know they've been in a fight!!
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