Tired of discrimination

[Al.ginger]

Hi, Im RN and I'm also ESL (English second language) speaker and I cover my hair (for religious purposes). And I'n tired of being treated as crap by my management. I work for the same place for 4 years, as an aid, TMA and then RN. What I've notice that if you re not white American you will never be promoted, you will not get hours you want, you will be treated like crap. Of course all management is white americans. And as soon as one comes on the floor they soon get promoted to office/better schedule job.

I'm venting. Today the DON was on my floor, showing place around and didn't even say HI to me, while I was running around working short stuffed. She did find time to say HI and friendly chat with housekeeper who, guess what? White American lady.

I'm tired of being treated like a crap just because of the way I look and my accent. I think I'm good professional and want to be judged by my performance and not appearance.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

You may think that I'm Mediterranean or something but I'm actually very pale and white in appearance and if I loose my scarf I'd look just like any white American minus the accent. But I thought it is a constitutional right to practice your religion. well. enough of that.I'm East-European origin and have settle accent, not bad. Some foreigners mistake me for American sometimes. And I'm proficient with writing and speaking English.

I appreciate ppl who are not too quick to judge because you will never think the way minority thinks unless you've been a minority.

I know you feel that your are proficient in English....and I am sure that you are not trying to be careful on a casual social media board.....however I have corrected only spelling errors in your post and have left grammar alone. There were seven of them. I am not trying to be mean...I am trying to get you to do some self reflection to help you be the best you you can be which can only make you a better nurse. Don't look to other people for things "wrong" in your life...you are the master of your destiny.

In history...there have been many who have immigrated to this country who have been discriminated against. Lets start with the only true Americans...Native Americans. Now there is some real discrimination that continues today. Raped and pillaged and have everything they ever knew and owned stripped from them only to be placed in some corner... ignored and forgotten.

The Irish have been considered PAgans until they were forced to "find religion". In the the 19th century with the NINA laws...No Irish Need Apply

Anti-Irish sentiment or Hibernophobia may refer to or include persecution, discrimination, hatred or fear of the Irish as an ethnic or national group, whether directed against Ireland in general or against Irish immigrants and their descendants in the Irish diaspora.

It is traditionally rooted in the medieval period, and is also evidenced in Irish immigration to other countries like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Anti-Irish feeling can include both social and cultural discrimination within the island of Ireland itself, such as sectarianism or ethno-political conflicts in The Troubles of Northern Ireland.

Discrimination and racism towards Irish Travellers, an Irish minority group, is evident in both Ireland^[1] and the United Kingdom. Such racism is open and can be compared to that experienced by the Irish diaspora in the 19th century, with the hanging of signs in private establishments in Ireland stating "No Travellers" in the same style as "No Irish Need Apply". The European Parliament Committee of Enquiry on racism and xenophobia found them to be amongst the most discriminated-against ethnic groups in Ireland.

The Irish were considered drunkards and were considered "white negros" these were my ancestors.

Anti-Irish racism in Victorian Britain and 19th century United States included the stereotyping of the Irish as alcoholics, and implications that they monopolised certain (usually low-paying) job markets. They were often called "white Negroes." Throughout Britain and the US, newspaper illustrations and hand drawings depicted a prehistoric "ape-like image" of Irish faces to bolster evolutionary racist claims that the Irish people were an "inferior race" as compared to Anglo-Saxons

Anti-Irish sentiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Irish Catholics were isolated and marginalised by society. Both ministers and priests discouraged intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants. In addition, the creation of a parochial school system and numerous colleges affiliated with the Church tended to compound rather than alleviate anti-Catholic discrimination.

One of two NINA ("No Irish Need Apply") ads found in The New York Times between 1851 and 1923.

After 1860 many Irish sang songs about signs reading "HELP WANTED – NO IRISH NEED APPLY"; these signs came to be known as "NINA signs." (This is sometimes written as "IRISH NEED NOT APPLY" and referred to as "INNA signs"). The 1862 song, "No Irish Need Apply", was inspired by NINA signs in London. Later Irish Americans adapted the lyrics, and the songs perpetuated the belief among Irish Americans that they were discriminated against.

During WWII, after Pearl Harbor, those of Asian decent were placed into interment camps just because they were Japanese.......even if American born naturalized citizens.

Japanese American internment was the World War II internment in "War Relocation Camps" of over 110,000 people of Japanese heritage who lived on the Pacific coast of the United States. The U.S. government ordered the internment in 1942, shortly after Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor The internment of Japanese Americans was applied unequally as a geographic matter: all who lived on the West Coast were interned, while in Hawaii, where 150,000-plus Japanese Americans comprised over one-third of the population, only 1,200 to 1,800 were interned. Sixty-two percent of the internees were American citizens

These example of those that have been discriminated against ALL have fought and scraped their way to make themselves better for what they endured.

While it is a constitutional right to practice your religion just like it is a constitutional right to speak freely. Doesn't mean you don't have to work at it. But within those rights there is responsibility for one's own destiny and the freedom to affect change. Don't wait for others to to hand you what you think you deserve. Just because there are constitutional rights it doesn't mean they they don't come at a price.....work for what is rightfully yours by being the best and the brightest you can be.

Make your star so bright that it can't be dulled...don't wait for someone to polish you...use your own rag for polish yourself and put in a brighter bulb than what everyone else has....don't play victim...take an active role.

Although, I don't feel like contributing to someone who treating me like I'm not existing. (Which should be "like I don't exsist")

One of my favourite quotes......

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"........ Eleanor Roosevelt

[Emergent, RN]

I'm wondering, the OP states she is Eastern European and white in appearance, yet in the opening statement, she complains of whites getting preference. She reports going through nursing school, but doesn't even know how to use spell check? She wears a headscarf, does she feel like she is being hassled over that? Or because she's not white, even though it turns out she is?

[smartnurse1982]

Are you Muslim?Then its not race,but rather religion.If that's the case(religion) than Nj is Muslim friendly(if you are in fact Muslim).Nursing is more diverse in Nj than say,SC.

[smartnurse1982]

Those correcting her posts are really annoying.She already said she is ESL.Geez,leave her alone. You are not the spelling police. She passed nursing school. She is a licensed nurse,not an English teacher.

[smartnurse1982]

Dave Ramsey recommends a book by a Rabbi, which explains why the Jewish people, a historically discriminated against group, are successful. Here's a review of his book, Thou Shalt Prosper. You might want to read it to pick up some tips on how to better carry yourself in the future, to ensure your success. It may be that you are doing something now to undermine yourself.Capitalism Saves: Rabbi Daniel Lapin and the Secret to Jewish Success

There are some cultural differences with Muslims.For instance,females can't look men in the eyes.I read some posts on here where the Muslim Doctors were complaining because that was seen as "disrespect".She might come across as being angry when she really isn't.

Of course,none if this applies if she isn't.

[NurseDirtyBird]

What is this crap? Are you people for real? I love how almost every post is undermining the OP because they don't believe racial discrimination exists anymore, when it is clearly happening in this very thread. The feeling I get from the responses is people believe the OP is at fault because she is upset. What's I'm hearing is "Those people scream 'Discrimination!' every time they don't get their way. They're taking away white privilege and causing us to be treated just like everyone else! Boohoo!" Yeah, you don't think it exists because you don't understand it because it's never happened to you because you have the privilege of being white in a predominantly white society. People get passed over promotions, jobs, and lots of other things because of their race and/or religion ALL THE TIME. Who are you to decide whether the OP is really being discriminated against or not? You don't know her, and you don't know the people she works with. You've decided she's being passed over for promotions, or even a hello from coworkers because of her attitude in one angry post. I have seen so many angry rants and venting articles by nurses who've had bad days at work or are dealing with a hostile work environment and nobody denies that their experiences are real. But this person says she's being racially discriminated against and is upset about it, and all of a sudden she's full of crap and people like her are oppressing white Americans. Get over yourselves and have some empathy for someone who has to struggle in a society with people like you in it.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Those correcting her posts are really annoying.She already said she is ESL.Geez,leave her alone. You are not the spelling police. She passed nursing school. She is a licensed nurse,not an English teacher.

If you wish to address me...please do, I don't mind.

No I am not the spelling police and I seldom if EVER correct spelling, I pointed this out so she can improve these skills so she can overcome any limitations being placed upon her. Management will look at things like writing, spelling, and punctuation. to limit someones advancement...it is just the reality.

The OP stated she is proficient in writing the English language....and feels that she is not being promoted due to her race/religion, which is entirely possible. I am merely suggesting, pointing, out that she look towards things that she can control and improve upon to control her own destiny instead of blaming others.

I think the OP may be right....she might be discriminated against, but she needs to be on the best footing possible being the best she can be so she can move away from this place. As long as there are minor things that the facility can point out that she may be deficient in and need to improve...they can get away with whatever they wish.

I only wish to help her over come any obstacles in her way. To prove to the facility that when she does leave they are suffering a loss of a skilled individual.

[sarcasm]

As a white male, everything has been handed to me on a silver platter...

I've never had to change my behavior to fit in, never had to work ungodly hours doing the worst jobs, on the worst possible shifts. I've never seen other people promoted over me, even when I thought I was a better candidate. I've gotten every job that I've ever applied for... just send in my "I'm a white male" picture and, voila... I've never had to take orders from a dolt, I've never been bullied or marginalized or insulted or disrespected... I've never had to feel like an outsider...

Thanks, Dad, for not hooking up with one of the African ladies during your 20 years there... and for firing some Y chromosomes at just the right time.

[/sarcasm]

I can't say that you're wrong and that you're not facing blatant discrimination based on being not a "white American" but I will also say that (a) there can be many reasons for being passed over or ignored and (b) that it's easy to find persecution, and use it as a crutch, if you look for it.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

[sarcasm]

As a white male, everything has been handed to me on a silver platter...

I've never had to change my behavior to fit in, never had to work ungodly hours doing the worst jobs, on the worst possible shifts. I've never seen other people promoted over me, even when I thought I was a better candidate. I've gotten every job that I've ever applied for... just send in my "I'm a white male" picture and, voila... I've never had to take orders from a dolt, I've never been bullied or marginalized or insulted or disrespected... I've never had to feel like an outsider...

Thanks, Dad, for not hooking up with one of the African ladies during your 20 years there... and for firing some Y chromosomes at just the right time.

[/sarcasm]

I can't say that you're wrong and that you're not facing blatant discrimination based on being not a "white American" but I will also say that (a) there can be many reasons for being passed over or ignored and (b) that it's easy to find persecution, and use it as a crutch, if you look for it.

My brother in law is white. He works in a factory with thousands of employees. Every race, sexual orientation, sex, and age is represented.

He frequently says white male is at the bottom of the heap when it comes to protecting against discrimination.

Anyway, your post made me think of him.

Discrimination exists. It's just not the reason for every evil in the work place.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

You may think that I'm medditerian or something but I'm actually very pale and white in appearence and if I loose my scarf I'd look just like any white american minus the accent. But I thought it is a constitutional right to practice your religion. well. enough of that.I'm East-European origin and have settle accent, not bad. Some foriengers mistaken me for American sometimes. And I'm proficient with writing and speaking English.

I appreciate ppl who not too quick to juadge because you will never think the way minority thinks unless you've been a minority.

What is a "settle accent"? Your post is full of spelling and grammar errors, to the point where I'm not sure I completely understand what you're trying to say. Your ability to communicate well in English WILL have an impact on future promotions, once you've been working long enough to be qualified for one. Since you've only been working as a nurse for a few months, you probably have a couple of years before you'll be qualified for any sort of promotion -- the good news is that you can vastly improve your ability to write well in English in that time!

I don't understand why loosening your scarf would make you look just like any white American. Is tying your scarf tightly part of your religion?

Americans do have a constitutional right to practice their religion. Is some government body telling you that you cannot worship as you choose? Have the police barricaded the doors and locked you out of your place of worship? Are your priests or rabbis or ministers or elders been arrested for leading your congregation? You don't have a constitutional right to be free from the negative opinions of others, although their constitutional rights to express such negative opinions are very limited.

Rest assured, you are not proficient in writing English, although I'm not judging you because you're certainly better with English than I am with ANY other language. One would think you would at the very least be able to spell the name of your state of residence. Improving your abilities to communicate with spoken and written English will only make you more promotable when the time comes.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Those correcting her posts are really annoying.She already said she is ESL.Geez,leave her alone. You are not the spelling police. She passed nursing school. She is a licensed nurse,not an English teacher.

One of the OP's complaints was that she was passed over for promotion, and she has surmised that the reason is discrimination because of her religion, race, country of origin or whatever. The posters correcting her posts are pointing out that her failure to clearly communicate in written English may well be a factor -- an even bigger factor than any alleged discrimination. Spell check is a valid resource toward learning to communicate clearly in English. Pointing that out is a service to the OP.

[mclennan, BSN, RN]

Hey OP. I am a member of one of the smallest and most-oppressed minority groups in this country, with a GLARINGLY OBVIOUS last name just to add to the fun.

All I can say is, when I was your age (your profile lists you as 25), I was REAL ANGRY too, and thought ANY TIME ANYONE disagreed with me, didn't like me or didn't give me opportunities I felt entitled to, I blamed "discrimination" too.

Lighten up. When you get older you'll get it. And go ahead and get mad, I did too when older wiser people tried to school me!