Wednesday, August 15, 2007

training

yesterday at work, one of my managers came to me and asked that i participate in online "diversity training". some sort of online training (obviously protect the company from lawsuits somehow, i'm sure) to learn how to be diverse.

i looked at this guy and said jokingly, "seriously. can i get a pass for this? i think i'm as diverse as it gets". he kind of chuckled and rolled his eyes.

is this some type of politically correct thing we're doing now? i mean, sure, i'm all for diversity, but you can't tell me that some racist with narrow viewpoints will do a thirty-minute online training and do a 360.

plus the fact that it should really only be directed at white employees. of course, they would never go for that...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding why diversity training would only be for white employees, when diversity extends far beyond race. It's about diversity of thought, economic background, gender, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ability, etc. My expereience with that kind of training is that it is supposed to help facilitate better communication and understanding between people who are different from each other and to make people more aware of things that others might find insenistive and rude. And while I too doubt that a 30 minute training would cause any narrow minded person to do a "360," I do believe that any attempts to enligten people are worthy of praise.

Leigh Anne said...

I agree with Anon on this one. I think diversity training should be for everyone.

Just think of some of those neck rolling black women who can be so aggressive towards white people simply because they're white.

I think that definitely requires diversity training. Don't you?

Liz Dwyer said...

Diversity training should be for everyone but how can all the myriad of diversities be covered in a 30 minute session? That's not diversity training. That's "so we are protected from lawsuits" training.

Falone said...

Racial diversity isn't limited to just black and white. And racists and people who think in stereotypes aren't just white people. Just question yourself on how you would feel if you saw a Paki guy wearing traditional garb and carrying a bag into... IDK, a crowded room. Everyone has preconceived notions about everyone. And I agree, a 30-minute video may not make a difference, but it could spark a desire to change, or something.

My one dream: Everyone go to an out-of-state college and dorm with people from totally different backgrounds. It's SOOO hard not to learn from each other. I'm from RI (white central, seriously, nothing but Italians and Irish people), and going to college in Queens, NY... what an eye-opener.

Anonymous said...

At Falone...

"Paki" is considered an offensive term by pakistanis....

dalia said...

your last comment indicates that perhaps you could do with a little diversity training, yourself! lol

Unknown said...

He'd gonna tell the white employees how to behave not to provoke lawsuits, indeed.

But a few decent lectors can indeed teach anybody lessons...

Falone said...

Wow, really... I didn't even know that. I guess I'll stop being lazy and type out Pakistani.

Don't Be Silent DC said...

Everybody could use diversity training. And as piddly as it may sound it's a step in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

Leigh-Anne can use some diversity training herself with that stereotype .

Foofa said...

I would agree that diversity training is across the board. I work primarily with black youth and they could certainly use it! 30 min isn't enough though. That's just a joke.

v said...

It's for everyone...otherwise it would be called "non-black diversity training". And some of us who are black, are some of most racist people in this country.