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These types of post remind me arguing with a white coworker who insisted on telling me that the term 'black people' or being referred to as 'black' was offensive to African-Americans because someone else black told him so. After 10 minutes of trying to convince him as someone who's been black my whole life along with another life long black coworker that that not the case for the majority of black people, I gave up.
If you want to raise your blood pressure up, reading stories like this, being convinced that most black people are hypersensitive about stuff, knock yourself out.
Based on reading the article, it's implied that the guy who was fired would have been detailed about the firehouse he was being assigned to. With the current racial climate in this country and probably the Detroit area itself this was very poor judgement, especially on your probationary period. It's just something that can be read many different ways by people you barley know.
At 41yrs old, I would think that he would have had a more common sense about bringing a watermelon,even if he really didn't mean anything by it.
I wouldn't expect a black person to make probationary period at a 90% white place of employment wearing BLM logo shirts or black power shirts to work even if the didn't mean anything racial by it.
It's just poor judgement skills. It can imply that this person may make costly poor decision down the line or someone who will turn into a HR headache later on.
You're comparing an activist group to a piece of fruit? That's not at all the same thing. But I can guarantee you wouldn't be fired for wearing that BLM shirt to work. And that's the point. Why fire the guy instead of explaining why some people were offended?
Yeah, there certainly could be. It’d be interesting to hear it.
It looks like this new person was not liked and gave them a reason to fire him since the union is not backing him. Maybe because he was a rookie? Maybe because he was 41 years old rookie? who knows?
So essentially white people can't eat or offer watermelon with blacks present...social justice warriors wont allow it.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around foods being inherently racist. Social justice warriors love to defend the smallest of the small groups of people, but they always refuse to support a WHITE guy who's perhaps being labeled racist when he's really not. If enough people say "racist" - that's it, you're labeled.
Airplanes are still flying over your head.
Be mad at the people who perpetuated the watermelon stereotype in the past. You should wrap you head around the lack of sound judgement skills of a 41yr old man, who there was 99% chance, who was in no way was not aware of this stereotype. Bringing the watermelon in this particular instance was just not a good idea period to any logical thinking person. By going further and tying it up with a ribbon leaves to much to interpretation on whether he brought the watermelon out of innocence or with underhanded malice. He'd have honestly did better bringing a box of fried chicken.
Young black males often get stereotyped for wearing hoodies as 'ghetto' and 'thugs' when they could be completely harmless. Although it's a very convenient form of clothing and the stereotype doesn't get applied to anyone else who wears one. Not much I can do about it, and I don't get worked up over it either.
It looks like this new person was not liked and gave them a reason to fire him since the union is not backing him. Maybe because he was a rookie? Maybe because he was 41 years old rookie? who knows?
Or maybe because he was white? It does say 90% of the firemen at this station are black. Could it be that someone they wanted hired wasn't, and this guy was?
Or maybe because he was white? It does say 90% of the firemen at this station are black. Could it be that someone they wanted hired wasn't, and this guy was?
This could certainly be the reason too.
The sad part is that they had to make this poor guy the bad guy. I don't think he was a moron or a racist. I think he was wrongfully terminated.
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