Who'da thunk?
Posted by JCOfficer on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Under: Old Timers
KID : "I need a new toothbrush."
ME: "I'll go see if we got any."
(No toothbrushes available; no surprise)
ME: "Sorry, we don't have any."
KID: "Call the "A" side and get me one."
(I call; "A" side has none -- again, no surprise)
ME: "They don't have any either, sorry."
KID: "Call the dorm-next-to-us and see if they got some."
ME: "No, I'm not going to do that right now. We'll see you get you one when the next (expected any minute, late) staff shows up."
KID: "@%&*#! etc etc etc."
I explain why -- impending shift time was not a good time for doing this -- and the (Hispanic) kid goes on with a bit more yadda yadda yadda and then a (Black) peer says I'm not doing what the Hispanic wants because I'm a "RACIST"!
Oh yeah!!? I almost forgot!! But I can NEVER forget years ago, when I was yet a fresh newbie JCO, when a zillion 225'ed phase zero kid told me I was a RACIST because I wouldn't give him a pencil. Now, I can't say for SURE -- it WAS a LONG time ago -- but it kinda seems my response was "No, I'm not giving you a pencil because I'm a racist. I'm not giving you a pencil BECAUSE YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE" or something like that. Could/would NEVER say anything like that nowdays, of course, but way back then for some reason I thought that "telling it like it is" would be the best way to get through to these guys. Nowdays I know better.
Still -- if you haven't guessed already -- at least according to a couple of the kids, and, I know for sure some fellow mis-informed co-workers -- I am a racist. No, wait... maybe not. Maybe I was just doing my job to the best of my ability and got called a name that- probably more so than anything else LEAST describes my outlook on race. To call me a racist is an insult to me, personally, and my generation as a whole. Baby Boomers fought and died to help bring about better racial equality in this Country of ours... and to belittle this effort, painfull as it has been at times, really makes me angry. I just ignored it this morning, but deep in my heart I know what goes around comes around -- and when that kid comes up against a REAL racist I hope he remembers to keep his damn mouth shut.
GRRR.
ME: "I'll go see if we got any."
(No toothbrushes available; no surprise)
ME: "Sorry, we don't have any."
KID: "Call the "A" side and get me one."
(I call; "A" side has none -- again, no surprise)
ME: "They don't have any either, sorry."
KID: "Call the dorm-next-to-us and see if they got some."
ME: "No, I'm not going to do that right now. We'll see you get you one when the next (expected any minute, late) staff shows up."
KID: "@%&*#! etc etc etc."
I explain why -- impending shift time was not a good time for doing this -- and the (Hispanic) kid goes on with a bit more yadda yadda yadda and then a (Black) peer says I'm not doing what the Hispanic wants because I'm a "RACIST"!
Oh yeah!!? I almost forgot!! But I can NEVER forget years ago, when I was yet a fresh newbie JCO, when a zillion 225'ed phase zero kid told me I was a RACIST because I wouldn't give him a pencil. Now, I can't say for SURE -- it WAS a LONG time ago -- but it kinda seems my response was "No, I'm not giving you a pencil because I'm a racist. I'm not giving you a pencil BECAUSE YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE" or something like that. Could/would NEVER say anything like that nowdays, of course, but way back then for some reason I thought that "telling it like it is" would be the best way to get through to these guys. Nowdays I know better.
Still -- if you haven't guessed already -- at least according to a couple of the kids, and, I know for sure some fellow mis-informed co-workers -- I am a racist. No, wait... maybe not. Maybe I was just doing my job to the best of my ability and got called a name that- probably more so than anything else LEAST describes my outlook on race. To call me a racist is an insult to me, personally, and my generation as a whole. Baby Boomers fought and died to help bring about better racial equality in this Country of ours... and to belittle this effort, painfull as it has been at times, really makes me angry. I just ignored it this morning, but deep in my heart I know what goes around comes around -- and when that kid comes up against a REAL racist I hope he remembers to keep his damn mouth shut.
GRRR.
In : Old Timers