Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression
An incident that comes to mind is a past experience while working at a family fun center. A group of Amish families came to ride go-karts and bumper boats. I could hear many customers making rude comments about their beliefs that were offensive to the Amish families. These comments consisted of being able to drive go-karts but unwilling to drive cars. There were also comments made regarding their personal appearance and hygiene. Due to the comments being made by several customers, these families were unable to enjoy their time at this family fun center. Due to their background and beliefs they did not have the same experience as other families did in this given situation. At the time I was employed at this job I was a recent high school graduate. Even for being young I still recognized the comments to be offensive and rude. I felt so bad for these families and spoke to a manager about the situation. The manager was then able to remove the rude customers so these families could enjoy their time there. In order for this to be a more equitable situation, the customers who were being rude would need to have a better understanding of the culture and beliefs of the Amish families.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Angie,
ReplyDeleteGood for you for talking to the management about what took place! You did the right thing. One I wish more people would follow. I'm glad the rude people were asked to leave. Even though I'm sure the day was already ruined for those insulted, at least it sent a message that it was unacceptable. Sometimes I think management doesn't want to upset the apple cart and they ignore these things, but then I feel they are basically condoning what is being said and done.
Angie,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you took action on the negative behaviors of other customers. I also think that it says a lot about the fun center's management because they were willing to lose money in order to protect the rights of others. I agree with Molly (above) that the family's day was probably affected by the negativity but I think that their ability to ignore the others shows that they are not going to let anyone tear them down.
Angie,
ReplyDeleteGood for you!!! There are a lot of people who would have pretended they didn't hear the comments but you took a wonderful step to make sure those families had a great day!