Racist or not?

On the other hand, by having already said something, people may now think twice before voicing prejudices, which has to be a good thing.


Vicky

I so agree. Riding about the office on a high horse and grassing people up for things you overheard is a sure fire ticket to great unpopularity with management and colleagues alike.

And it's just plain nasty.

Don't do it.

Totally agree.

 Ok, I agree with most of what was posted. Some people say things that they think may be taken lightly and they aren't. People can always be prejudiced about something. Age, race, religion...even the way you dress or car you drive. Some times people say something they don't mean or it gets taken the wrong way.

"True. I heard many things about Alaskans recently... I'm glad we don't have to find out if they are true."

 And I know the above quote was probably made because of the recent elections in the US...but just to let y'all know (since I know not a lot of people have experience with us Alaskans), Palin is NOT like a lot of Alaskans. I was born and raised there, and I have never in my life heard someone talk like her, except in that Fargo movie(based in Minnesota, I believe.) I am 3/8 Eskimo(both Yupik and Inuit). 
 People, in my limited experience here on this earth, tend to form an opinion of a specific race/religion/etc. based off of their first experience with such. Sometimes that opinion continues to be influenced by other peoples actions, and sometimes it is only influenced because you are already biased.
 If you met me you would never think I was from Alaska. I say y'all, ma'am and such. That is because my Daddy was from Alabama. Yes I can shoot a gun pretty well, I eat grits, cornbread etc, and I like the Rebel flag (the last is not because I am racist, but because I know the actual meaning of what it stands for and agree with it) but that was not from my mother's side, that was also thanks to my Daddy. I don't speak Yupik or anything else(some Spanish that I learned in H.S.). And up until the recent election for Governor, I had never heard of Palin (I was born in Kodiak, raised from the age of 7 in Anchorage), and the city I am from is only about 60-90 minutes from Wasilla. That could just be because I am biased from what I have heard from family that are currently in Alaska, or just because I hate how she talks. Who knows?
 Okay*as I step off my soap box* just saying, not everyone agrees with what others have to say. If you believe it will continue to be a problem, then do what YOU feel is necessary. If it might of just been a comment that somehow was not taken lightly (as it was maybe intended), and then turned to something more...maybe hold off unless it becomes something that would affect your work environment, or others around you, until you decide to do something more?
~Ange
 p.s. sorry so long. am a bit of an insomniac and have been prowling the forums all night in the hopes that I would get an email from the consulate while I was on line  I do hope no-one takes this post personally, as it was not an intended jab at anyone...just my opinion based off all that I had read and what I think.

That's funny, I didn't even think of Sarah Palin when Alaska was mentioned--I did think immediately of "Northern Exposure" though--a bunch of ecclectic and loveable characters to be sure!

There's a volunteer at my work who has made negative comments at least 4 times about Indian and Pakistani people and I won't say anything about it, but it has shone a real light on her true nature.  She even prefaced one of her comments with, "Excuse me for being racist (but I'm not)...."!

To a large extent this is just a bit of fun, and is not considered inappropriate behaviour. In a customer service environment, this sort of thing would be absolutely confined to the back office. If a Welsh or Scots customer was subjected to those kinds of remarks, even by accident (e.g. an unmuted phone) then a serious misconduct issue would arise. Likewise if a member of staff was being bullied or victimised. Remarks about people of ethnic origin outside the UK such as Asians and black people would be over the line in any circumstances.

Aren't double standards wonderful?   

They'd feel terrible.  But how would someone feel if they reported someone to a manager, lost them their job or got them a serious repremand, when it may well have just been a case of someone throwing out a thoughtless flip statement after talking to an annoying client?


Vicky

It really depends on things like tone of voice and facial expression, which only the OP would know. You would probably be able to tell if it was a joke, a thoughtless flippant comment, or if the person really had a problem with Welsh people if you were there.

Funny that there are so many posts on this board about how bad customer service in the UK is, and when there really is an opportunity to do something about bad attitudes toward customers, we are afraid of getting someone in trouble.

I guess your attitude changes depending which side of the phone/desk you (or your friends) are on.

I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who deals with customer advocacy and has to listen to recordings of customers being treated like sh*t because of staff who don't care; and watch focus groups where customers are driven to tears because of how they have been treated, and then figure out how to fix all of this.  So I am thinking of the Welsh guy on the phone.

We don't know whether she dealt with him in a good or bad way.  It could have been letting off steam after he was abusive to her, for all we know.

I am trying to see things from both sides. 


Vicky

Aren't double standards wonderful?   

Indeed.

It should be the same respect and treatment for any group of people.

Vicky, does the UK have anti-harrassment laws around "hostile environments", as the US does?

Basically, this means that by showing prejudice against people who aren't workers, you make life difficult for some of the people who do work there. For example, if my husband had to work in an office where he had to listen to people make insulting comments about American customers. Even if they aren't insulting him (or me, his American wife) directly, it still makes it an uncomfortable place for him to work.

Vicky, does the UK have anti-harrassment laws around "hostile environments", as the US does?

Basically, this means that by showing prejudice against people who aren't workers, you make life difficult for some of the people who do work there. For example, if my husband had to work in an office where he had to listen to people make insulting comments about American customers. Even if they aren't insulting him (or me, his American wife) directly, it still makes it an uncomfortable place for him to work.

I'm not Victoria, and I'm not exactly sure why you addressed your question only to her BUT I don't actually think it would be covered under the Race Relations Act  http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/askncvo/index.asp?id=179 since it's not directly harrassing someone because of their race (nationality falls under this) but you could probably argue it  and scare them a bit if you felt really strongly about it.

I wish Britwife, our resident lawyer, were here more often these days! She'd definitely have the answer. 

I'm not Victoria, and I'm not exactly sure why you addressed your question only to her BUT I don't actually think it would be covered under the Race Relations Act  http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/askncvo/index.asp?id=179 since it's not directly harrassing someone because of their race (nationality falls under this) but you could probably argue it  and scare them a bit if you felt really strongly about it.

Because Vicky is a lawyer.

US law specifically addresses this based on legal precedent, i.e. court cases that were appealed.  I did a paper on harassment legislation in uni but it was a while ago and don't remember the case details. I was wondering if there was something similar in the UK legal system. I understand that the US judicial system doesn't operate the same way as the UK judicial system (the relationship between the judiciary and the legislature is different.)

Because Vicky is a lawyer.

No, she isn't.

Like I said, The Race Relations Act is the most likely thing to cover this.  Have a look at it.

Because Vicky is a lawyer.

where did you get that idea?

Do we HAVE to have this conversation again.

I am an immigration consultant.  Because it this makes me a 'legal professional', people often make the mistake of thinking I am a lawyer, I am actually only licenced to practice immigration law.

Vicky