Racism in the workplace

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Not to be a downer or anything but I have noticed some harsh things said about patients and sometimes even co workers in my unit when they think no one else can hear them. Has anyone else dealt with this?

Specializes in Psych.
In all fairness, I have heard black people (co-workers and pts/family) describe someone as "that white nurse" or "he was a white guy". I work in an almost 50/50 white/black environment and honestly.....I think it's just a matter of description. Like calling someone "the blonde lady".

Agreed. It is often used as a form of id, like blonde, redhead, fat, skinny, distinguished, sloppy. It is not ALWAYS racism when people describe someone by the color of their skin. Sometimes it is used as a descriptive term to differentiate one person from another, especially if they have the same name. It can be handy when you are trying to determine which particular pt. you are talking about, especially when giving meds; performing a procedure; sending someone for testing/surgery, etc.

Ok, I don't normally listen to Rush anymore because I'm asleep when he's on the air. I had to look up the comments you referred to BECAUSE I don't think they've been posted here:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608240003

I think it was pretty clear from the context that Rush was purposely playing upon stereotypes in order to highlight the silliness of CBS's concept.

Rush is known for a sense of humor that highlights the absurd by going above and beyond it. Outlandishly so. But more important, obviously so.

You can't take any of the comments at face value unless you also accept that he was serious about this comment: "the white tribe, if it behaves as it historically has, will bring along vials of diseases and will wind up oppressing the other tribes by deny[ing] them benefits and property, but will later try to put [the other tribes] on some kind of benefit program." He further asserted that if CBS "allows ... cheating" and "oppression," "then of course the white tribe is going to win."

If you can't see the intentional hyperbole in that, then maybe Rush's sense of humor isn't your cup of tea.

Love him, hate him. But, it's made him rich.

~faith,

Timothy.

Maybe you are right. Do parents have this stuff on when little kids can listen?

Anyway that and other illogical beliefs linger. I think you are right that we Americans are messed up regarding race because of our history. When I first read about candidate Hudson I wondered if he had been to Jamaica

Republican congressional candidate Tramm Hudson apologized Thursday for making derogatory comments about the swimming ability of blacks at a Christian Coalition political forum earlier this year.: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/15298441.htm

VIDEO http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8373430295407428837

Guess he never heard of Cullen Jones - http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/photo?slug=getty-71650068jv033_panpac_12_49_15_am&prov=getty

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/photo?slug=getty-71650068jv035_panpac_12_48_42_am&prov=getty

http://www.tvsc.org/

http://lledit.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060822&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=608220431&Ref=AR

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/other_sports/article/0,1375,VCS_256_4917878,00.html

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SWM_SPORTS_SHOWCASE?SITE=TNNAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Specializes in CCRN, CEN.

There is no value left in this thread. Let's close this before someone gets hurt feelings.

Specializes in Critical Care.
Maybe you are right. Do parents have this stuff on when little kids can listen?

Anyway that and other illogical beliefs linger. I think you are right that we Americans are messed up regarding race because of our history. When I first read about candidate Hudson I wondered if he had been to Jamaica

Republican congressional candidate Tramm Hudson apologized Thursday for making derogatory comments about the swimming ability of blacks at a Christian Coalition political forum earlier this year.: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/15298441.htm

VIDEO http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8373430295407428837

Guess he never heard of Cullen Jones - http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/photo?slug=getty-71650068jv033_panpac_12_49_15_am&prov=getty

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/photo?slug=getty-71650068jv035_panpac_12_48_42_am&prov=getty

http://www.tvsc.org/

http://lledit.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060822&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=608220431&Ref=AR

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/other_sports/article/0,1375,VCS_256_4917878,00.html

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SWM_SPORTS_SHOWCASE?SITE=TNNAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

I could argue that that the candidate was referring to an American study about swimming, generally.

But, you know what? I'm just not vested in defending those comments. So, I completely concede to your multiple links regarding the candidate.

Rush on the other hand, was making a different point. Rush brought the comments up to HIGHLIGHT the absurdity of CBS's proposal. Rush was not trying to make a VALID point, but an ABSURD one.

~faith,

Timothy.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch..... :nono:

Does racism exist in the workplace? It sure does. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is exhibited subtly and subconsciously, but it's still alive and well.

I could argue that that the candidate was referring to an American study about swimming, generally.

But, you know what? I'm just not vested in defending those comments. So, I completely concede to your multiple links regarding the candidate.

Rush on the other hand, was making a different point. Rush brought the comments up to HIGHLIGHT the absurdity of CBS's proposal. Rush was not trying to make a VALID point, but an ABSURD one.

~faith,

Timothy.

I think we agree on this.

But Rush is on in the morning, afternoon, and night. I don't think kids should hear his show. I have no idea what his reasoning is. I have listened to his show and never heard any disclamer or hint that he is joking.

I had a total of ONE link regarding the candidate. The others are about Cullen Jones who with Jason Lezak, Neil Walker and Michael Phelps set the world record in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships this month.

U.jpg

Meanwhile, back at the ranch..... :nono:

Does racism exist in the workplace? It sure does. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is exhibited subtly and subconsciously, but it's still alive and well.

Yes.

Specializes in Critical Care.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch..... :nono:

Does racism exist in the workplace? It sure does. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is exhibited subtly and subconsciously, but it's still alive and well.

By accepting a lessor goal of self-segregation, and not full integration, we allowed the issue to settle on the backburner.

There is still miles to go, and we, as a nation, are asleep at the wheel. And far too comfortably, at that.

~faith,

Timothy.

Specializes in Critical Care.
I think we agree on this.

But Rush is on in the morning, afternoon, and night. I don't think kids should hear his show. I have no idea what his reasoning is. I have listened to his show and never heard any disclamer or hint that he is joking.

I had a total of ONE link regarding the candidate. The others are about Cullen Jones who with Jason Lezak, Neil Walker and Michael Phelps set the world record in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships this month.

U.jpg

Yes, I concede to let your links on Mr. Jones speak for themselves in refuting the candidate's obvious political and intellectual shortcomings. . .

The reason Rush rarely acknowledges his absurdity is to GET people to think about them at face value first. It stirs the issues far more effectively then letting people off the intellectual hook from the start. THAT'S why he is so good at what he does. And, even if you don't like him, he is good at what he does: making money by having a successful formula. But, Rush isn't really on point to this discussion.

~faith,

Timothy.

Specializes in Critical Care.

From "Somebody Else's House" by Tamar Jacoby:

"Integration, (Stokely Carmichael) wrote . . . in his widely read book, 'Black Power', is not only unrealistic, but 'despicable', based on the assumption that there is nothing of value in the black community and that little of value could be created among black people. It reinforces the idea that 'white' is automatically superior and 'black' is, by definition, inferior. No American, he argued, had ever been remotely color-blind - and even if they were, it would not be a good thing for blacks. Race, he concluded, is an overwhelming fact of life. Integration, by definition, (is) a subterfuge for the maintenance of white supremacy. . .Carmichael struck a chord with virtually every black who heard him, even those who disliked him and were intent on getting by in the white world."

She is talking about the divergence, in the wake of Malcolm X's assassination, away from the goal of integration. Oh, to be sure, the seeds of such divergence were already there, but Malcolm's assassination germinated them - and Stokely Carmichael fertilized them into full bloom.

Instead of MLK's "We shall overcome", Carmichael would chant, "We shall Over-run". And Charmichael's contemporaries routinely referred to MLK as "Martin Loser King".

In many ways, MLK's dream was so compelling BECAUSE it was aimed not just at blacks, but at the white community as well. Carmichael and his leaders were not interested in a message that played to the white community. 'Black Power' was not just an implied, but an overt threat. Anger was the only coin that mattered.

It is surely no surprise that MLK day is on the books, and Malcolm X day isn't. Don't take me wrong, but that itself has racial overtones. Which viewpoint was adopted, and which was ignored by the greater masses?

But, can you not see the divergence in attitude in our society today between MLK and those that followed in the wake of Malcolm X's assassination? For many blacks, integration IS STILL the goal, many achieving high levels of success as a result. But, we have a whole subculture that operates on the assumption that society itself is the enemy.

The question becomes, whose society is it? Is it the 'white man's' society, where integration is betrayal? Or an inclusive society, where integration is success? This is, in fact, where we stand today, unresolved in viewpoints that fundamentally contradict each other.

The result is that we have two societies - in self-segregation, where crossover is surely possible, but not inherently valued by all.

The concept of integration was this: if you intermix cultures, you end up with a dominant culture that is changed from both ends. That requires not just access to each other, but a constant confluence of mutual interests.

Is there racism in the workplace today? Of course. What do you expect, when we live in parrallel cultures? Without a confluence of mutual interests, any forced mixing yields to the misintepretation of two separate cultures, speaking past each other. That isn't always the case, there are bridges and more and more we DO link together. But we don't enough, or, enough of us don't, that it can't but lead to conflict.

And, both sides bear some blame. Shoot, we can't even TALK about race without a radical alarm for the fallout sure to occur. No doubt this is one of the most highly watched threads by the moderators for JUST THAT REASON.

The result: all we've learned in the last 40 yrs is to tune out and to merely tolerate the situations where that isn't exactly possible.

In fact, isn't that our very creed today? Not full integration, but mere 'tolerance'. The longer we 'tolerate' racial relations as they exist today, the longer our current apathy endures.

'Tolerance' is the problem. Not because it's not a fine goal. But, because it isn't enough.

~faith,

Timothy.

Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.
There is no value left in this thread. Let's close this before someone gets hurt feelings.

I am learning from this thread. I am sure many more are too. I think part of the problem is that generally speaking we are too afraid to talk about these issues. We don't learn anything about the issue if we don't TALK about it.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Ultimately, we must address the 'fundamental contradictions' about our society that the silent coin of tolerance merely reinforces. The 'War on Poverty' was designed to do just that. It cannot be historically viewed as anything less then a complete failure. Poverty rates are essentially unchanged and key bridges remain unbuilt. At some point, we are going to HAVE to go back to the drawing board. The solution, I believe, will only come from an open and frank discussion about how to create a more meaningful 'confluence of mutual interests'. And that will mean finding a meaningful way to 'reach out' to a disenfranchised sub-culture - and give them incentive to reach back, not just for their own interests, but because it's a mutual interest.

One thing for sure: it's not enough to just complain about the words that those that feel utterly disenfranchised use in their songs. See, in many ways, we ARE still just talking past each other. There has been much improvement, our vital signs might be more stable, but the basic wounds are essentially unchanged from the days when MLK and Stokely Carmichael were doing the very same thing - talking past each other.

In one word, let me emphasize just how deep that wound still runs - Katrina. But the failure was not our response to Katrina. No, this current failure is 40 yrs in the making. Or rather, we've had 40 yrs since MLK and Malcolm X to address this fundamental gap, but instead, we've played it safe and tuned out. How 'tolerant' is that? Or, more to the blunt point: what exactly are we tolerating, and is it truly tolerable?

I guess I'm saying this: Racism in the workplace only scratches the surface of what we have ignored. It's a symptom of a much larger and still unaddressed wound, and that wound is the 40yr gap between the mutually exclusive views of MLK and Stokely Carmichael.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokely_Carmichael :

A few days after Carmichael used the "Black Power" slogan at the "Meredith March Against Fear", he reportedly told King, "Martin, I deliberately decided to raise this issue on the march in order to give it a national forum and force you to take a stand for Black Power." King responded, "I have been used before. One more time won't hurt."

~faith,

Timothy.

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