Discrimination & Bias!!!!

[Anonymous]

[V] This may be a sore subject with some of you, but 'let the truth be told and hypocrits be damned'! A little back ground first. My father emigrated to the US from Jamaica after WWII. The time being what they were (late 40's), my dad couldn't get to realize his dream of being a building arcitech, so he settled for work in the railroad. He worked for the New York Central Railroad in New York City. The only work he could (allowed) get was working in the mail and bag-gage department. He either worked in Grand Central Station, the West Side yards or in their facility in New Jersey. He eventually left that job and worked for the New York Transit (subways) until he retired after 25 years of service. Al-though, he went from conductor to train dispatcher in that time, he had to endure
alot of bias (directly and indirectly [mostly racial]). The same thing happened to my mother when she worked for the hospital system in New York City. Her's was both racial and age, as she got older.[V]

[V]Now, on to my dilemma. Recently, I've come across the same bias in an inci-
dent involving me, my foreman and the manager of our shop, where I work. Al-though I presently can't go into the details behind it, it was noticed by many of my co-workers (white & black). Some of them said to me that this looks like it's racially motivated. Although I've tried not to think in terms of that, the more this issue drags on, the more I'm starting to see it for what it is. Even my union rep-resentative (who is black), is beginning to see it too and is doing his best to fight it, although he says the cards are stacked against me. It seems, after 10
years of service, that some people out there, still think in terms of color as op-pose to intellegence. These comments will probably be traced back to me, but like I said before, "LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN AND THE HYPOCRITS BE DAMNED!!"


gfj-A Real Railroader-A REAL AMERICAN!!

[zardoz]

gfj-

I feel for you, sir. I, too, have been at the receiving end of discrimination.

However, I am not sure what exactly is your dilemma and/or point.

[jchnhtfd]

It's sad. In fact, it's d___nable. But discrimination and bias -- on the basis of just about anything you can think of -- race, colour, creed, sex, sexual orientation, whatever -- is alive and well. All any one of us can do is to detect it in ourselves (we all have some, can't help it -- we're human), and make jolly well sure that we don't act upon any form of bias.

Not much one can do, though, about someone -- particularly in a supervisory position -- who is biased.

Hang in there, good buddy

[brilondon]

Unfortunatly our society still has the same predujice and discrimination these days as before. For the most part it is more or less hidden today but the feelings are still there. I am not one to say that I don't discrimate. I would like to think that I am able to put bias and predjudice aside though and treat all people with the respect and dignity I would like to be treated with. I always try to live by the golden rule. " Treat others as you would have them treat you " Please feel free to rebut this post.

[Anonymous]

Thankfully we've come a long way as far as racism and prejudice. Unfortunately there's still plenty of it these days, it just seems that many people are paranoid of anyone who is the slightest bit different than they are. It angers me when I think of what some people can do to fellow human beings for no justifiable reason.

[JoeKoh]

Sorry to hear about your situation.My wife had the same problem trying to get a job for a long time.Since then she has been hired and has had perfect attendance(except when matt was born) andhas gotten good reviews every year.She is also known by a lot of people out of her building as being friendly and helpful.Now when that is heard throughout a company your doing something right.keep fighting the fight.
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

It's sad to think that, in 2003, there continues to be bias/discrimination on many levels. You have to wonder: when will this tiresome issue just disappear, completely? I suspect the answer to that will be as varied as there are people. One thing I do know is that you can't necessarily annihilate the ignorance some people hold so close to their hearts...but you can pray for them and our society as a whole. As a Christian and as an African-American, I do believe that as a society we have made tremendous strides in this arena, but much work remains to be done. My grandparents as well as my parents tend to marvel at the degree of acceptance my generation enjoys, yet they still shake their heads in doubt from time to time over stories like yours. My advice? Keep your head high, be your absolute best, and try not to be overwhelmed by situations you cannot control. Fight the good fight, mind you; but don't be consumed by the storms that enter the lives of us all--black, white, or any race in between. Ultimately, I believe good will triumph in the end, for all of humanity.

[Anonymous]

Bias is an ugly side of the human experiance, that thankfully the laws in this country will no longer tolerate. Try to keep in mind that bias is not a united states invention, nor a "white" invention, it has been around since the beginning of man kind, in it's more intellectualized name known as ethnocentrism, in which parents attempt to pass along to each succeding generation a set of rationale as to why we are the way we are, to wit 'because it is the right way to be" How many societies do you know of who raise their young with the expectation of "well, we're not as ~good~ as those other folks, our beliefs not as important, but still we are "good enough"? None. It's always more along the lines of "we do things this way because it is THE BEST way of doing things", think back to when you were a kid and mom said don't put coins in your mouth, you don't know where they have been.

I suppose it is predictable (notice I did NOT say "right"))that as these cultures with prefered ways of doing things came into cantact with one another, conflict was the result, and human nature being what it is, the predominant culture prevailed.

Where WE are lucky here in the united states is in the attempt by letter of law to make room for these differences
to co-exist in equality, although (as you are experiancing) it is not always a bump free process. .

I wish you well in your problem's resolution, and would advise you to doccument the problem as best you can, and then seek the assistance of the authorities, thankfully the pool of people willing to tolerate the old ways is growing ever smaller, every day.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SuperChiefFan

It's sad to think that, in 2003, there continues to be bias/discrimination on many levels. You have to wonder: when will this tiresome issue just disappear, completely? I suspect the answer to that will be as varied as there are people..

As you point out, bias/discrimination is the product of ignorance, and as such stamping it out is a tough row to hoe....

As someone who lived in Los Angeles during the '92 riots (and the threatened aftermath riots of the Reginald Denny beating case, and the OJ case in which instruments in the black community were threatening to "take it home to whitey") I can tell you thaty any real solution is going to have to include this country shedding the mindset that minorities cannot be guilty of racial bias, equality is afterall , a two way equalibrium.

Seeing a community preparing to erupt as in the two "aftermath" instances referanced above, with "whitey" the proposed target, and signs reading "Black owned" being tacked up on the storefronts of black owned businesses all through Inglewood and Watts, serves as perhaps the most potent derail I can think of to the true and lasting harmony you identify, yet which remains ever so elusive.

It tells the more ignorant among the whites that "it can't be wrong, the other side is doing it"


Why is it that someone like Shaq can make racial slurrs against an Asian player as he did earlier this year, and there is nothing said about it, yet White folk such as Trent Lott or Howard Dean make innocent comments that get interpreted into worst possible context, then held against them as though they could only have meant them in the worst possible way?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

QUOTE: Originally posted by SuperChiefFan

It's sad to think that, in 2003, there continues to be bias/discrimination on many levels. You have to wonder: when will this tiresome issue just disappear, completely? I suspect the answer to that will be as varied as there are people..

As you point out, bias/discrimination is the product of ignorance, and as such stamping it out is a tough row to hoe....

As someone who lived in Los Angeles during the '92 riots (and the threatened aftermath riots of the Reginald Denny beating case, and the OJ case in which instruments in the black community were threatening to "take it home to whitey") I can tell you thaty any real solution is going to have to include this country shedding the mindset that minorities cannot be guilty of racial bias, equality is afterall , a two way equalibrium.

Seeing a community preparing to erupt as in the two "aftermath" instances referanced above, with "whitey" the proposed target, and signs reading "Black owned" being tacked up on the storefronts of black owned businesses all through Inglewood and Watts, serves as perhaps the most potent derail I can think of to the true and lasting harmony you identify, yet which remains ever so elusive.

It tells the more ignorant among the whites that "it can't be wrong, the other side is doing it"


Why is it that someone like Shaq can make racial slurrs against an Asian player as he did earlier this year, and there is nothing said about it, yet White folk such as Trent Lott or Howard Dean make innocent comments that get interpreted into worst possible context, then held against them as though they could only have meant them in the worst possible way?

Harmony can be achieved only if everyone decides to do away with ills of the past--and, yes, that includes minority groups. I'm optimistic; I believe with the passage of time and the 'dying off' of the old guard as you stated, we will have a better society.

As for Shaq? Consider the source. He doesn't always strike me as the brightest mind on the planet. It would behoove him to think before he speaks.

[Anonymous]

Maybe part of the problem could be solved when we stop thinking of ourselves as hyphenated Americans [African-Americans, Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, Irish-Americans, etc] and just plain old Americans. Racism is a terrible thing but recently, it seems to be brought up to cover any slight some person may feel has been done to them. I have no idea as to how it can be stopped, it has been deeply enrooted in all of us and worst of all, it is taught. I went to pick up my three year old grandson from daycare recently and found him happily playing with a little black boy. Neither of them seemed to care that one was white and one was black and were very happy in each others company. Why can't it be like that for us adults?

[jchnhtfd]

Scottydog -- do you remember the song 'You have to be carefully taught' from South Pacific? It's true, though -- kids don't care. We adults teach them to hate and fear... it's so sad.

It's worth remembering that it seems to be built in to human nature, though, and has to be consciously fought against by all of us. Consider that in almost all languages the word used for the home tribe/country/whatever is 'people' and everyone else is 'them'.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Scottydog

Maybe part of the problem could be solved when we stop thinking of ourselves as hyphenated Americans [African-Americans, Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, Irish-Americans, etc] and just plain old Americans. Racism is a terrible thing but recently, it seems to be brought up to cover any slight some person may feel has been done to them. I have no idea as to how it can be stopped, it has been deeply enrooted in all of us and worst of all, it is taught. I went to pick up my three year old grandson from daycare recently and found him happily playing with a little black boy. Neither of them seemed to care that one was white and one was black and were very happy in each others company. Why can't it be like that for us adults?

[:)] Excellent point!

[sooblue]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gfjwashdc

[V] This may be a sore subject with some of you, but 'let the truth be told and hypocrits be damned'! A little back ground first. . Even my union rep-resentative (who is black), is beginning to see it too and is doing his best to fight it, although he says the cards are stacked against me. It seems, after 10
years of service, that some people out there, still think in terms of color as op-pose to intellegence. These comments will probably be traced back to me, but like I said before, "LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN AND THE HYPOCRITS BE DAMNED!!"


gfj-A Real Railroader-A REAL AMERICAN!!

Hi gfjwashdc,

Discrimination is the only thing that doesn't discriminate between Race, Sex, Religion, wealth, standing or any other thing that divides people into groups.

Discrimination is human nature.
Every one of us have been discriminated against at some point in our lives. I'll go farther and say it's more like a daily thing. We get all hyped up about the more blatent types of discrimination and "drop the race card" for example, but don't think twice about the more subtle forms of discrimination that are just as bad and just as destructive.

Think about this:
If everyone has been discriminated against in some form or another what is the probability that everyone discriminates at one time or another?
Keep in mind that most of the time, because it is human nature, the person who is discriminating doesn't realize that they are. Except perhaps in the more blatent types of discrimination.

We can fight against discrimination and should, but if you want to cure discrimination we have to look within and catch our own discriminating words and actions and thoughts. I'm not holding my breath though. This world is too far gone!

So, I'll do what I can in MY little world. Try not to discriminate against others and offer a helping hand to those who have or are being discriminated against.

gfjwashdc,
I don't know what your experience is but you are not alone.
Just be thankful that you are not a handicaped black woman of Muslim faith living in Israel. I say this in all sincerity just to point out that it could be worse.

Regards, Sooblue

[Anonymous]

I'd like to take this oppertunity to thank everyone who has responded (both good and bad) to this email. I know that this website is for those of us who work for the railroad and are railroad enthusiast. Yet, I felt that this subject is something that needed to be addressed, not only in the rail industry, but as a matter of public awareness. Now, in these recent years, we've seen incidences of work place (and school) violence by peo-ple we deem as nut jobs, but, we need to ask ourselves, what really was the root cause for some one to go to these extremes. Was there underlining factors that led these people to resort to such drastic measures. In the rail industry, there's been a few cases (though never reported nationally), and some of the underlining factors have been bias, harrasment and discrimination by other employees (including mana-gers). Which leads me to the next subject; the hypocritical lenghts these companies (carriers [for all of us union brothers/sisters]) will go to not deal with/hide the facts of discrimination and bias in their own business(es). In the company i work for, we have what they call a 'diversity department'. They are 'suppose to' investigate incidences of these types and recommend a course of action or discipline to rectify the situation. What a joke this department is. When I went through the company's 'mandatory' diver-sity training seminar, I (we) found out how much 'nonsense' it really was. First; we trained separately from the foremen and managers, which some of us thought that was an indignity right from the start. Second; the moderator was speaking in terms of
bigotry and bias amongst blue collar employees like us. When asked by some about bias from our supervision, she was stumped. She couldn't believe that the foremen or
managers would do such things, but there were several of us who proved her wrong.
So now, let's fast foward to my situation which is just like I'm describing it. I'm a current
victem of such bigotry and bias. Although my union representative is backing me tooth
and nail, it feel very much like this 30 'working day' suspension (coming in January), is a done deal. It will not only suffer me, but my estranged wife and son as well, both of whom are disabled, but that doesn't seem to matter to them. So, for all of you rail-roaders out there, have a wonderful holiday season and for those with families, enjoy every moment with them. I know this will pass and the truth will win over the lies, but right now, the lies are winning and I can only pray for a miracle. God Bless You All!!!!


Glenn
A Real Railroader-A Real American!!

[sooblue]

Glenn,
In the first year of Chief Justice Warren Burgers heading of the Supreme
Court the issue of civil rights came before the court. The Supreme Court was asked to rule on desegregation. The Court ruled in favor of desegregation. Those who opposed desegregation did so because they believed that "Negroes" were intellectually inferior and had no right to mingle with "whites".
Warren Burgers opinion was so strong in favor of desegregation that it held sway.
It is said that the court was unanimous in favor of desegregation but that is not true. Those that wanted to vote against couldn't refute the logic of Warren Burger so they had no choice but to vote in favor.
Warren Burger was completely convinced that Black men and women were every bit as intelligent as White men and women. Do you know what convinced him so thoroughly?
The Lawyer who argued for desegregation was so logical, so thorough and so Black!
Chief Justice Warren Burger said, that Lawyer proved to him the intelligence of the black man. He said, anyone who wanted proof of the black mans intelligence only had to listen to his (that Lawyer) arguments.

Unfortunately even though we know the "truth" it doesn't always set us free because some people wouldn't accept the truth if their lives depended on it.
As I said before, discrimination is no respecter of color or creed.
I'm white but have been discriminated against.
You deserve your miracle and I hope you get it. If for what ever reason you lose your case please don't hold it against anyone as that only leads to bitterness or worse.
During this Christmas season I hope you will take the time to experience some simple pleasures with your son. Step back and smell the evergreen. Look into the stable at that new born baby who would grow up and become the most discriminated against person ever. Things will look better.
Sooblue