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Post by smarywills on Nov 14, 2006 11:21:53 GMT -5
What’s the most ignorant question a White coworker/manager has asked you? I’ve heard a variety of crazy questions, such as: • Is that real? (Asked while touching some fabric I was wearing like silk or leather and clearly because a Black person couldn’t be wearing the real deal.) • Why do Black people have different hair textures? (Uh, why do White people have different hair textures?) • Why do Black people use hair grease? (Uh, why do White people use hair products?) • What’s up with Black women and their skin? (When I looked like I was going to jump across my desk and slap her, she added, “I mean, it’s so pretty.”) • What is that? (Asked about a Black woman’s dreadlocs) o Can she wash that? (The follow-up question about dreadlocs) • You don’t live in the ghetto? (Asked after I gave my address to a White person dropping me home after we worked overtime (in DC). I didn’t live in the so-called ghetto, but the idiot didn’t realize we’d have to drive through it to get to my neighborhood! LOL!!) o Am I gonna get robbed? (The follow-up question after I got out of the car, leaving the White person alone) • Do you know any rappers? (Yeah, let me pull Snoop outta my pocket right now!)I’m all for people seeking to enlighten themselves at every opportunity, but come the heck on! How are these appropriate questions to ask a coworker? What ignorant questions have you been asked?S. Mary Wills theblackfactor.blogspot.comThe Black Factor is a useful resource for anyone who is Working While Black. The blog provides strategies for dealing with racially-based problems in the workplace, provides perspectives on workplace racism, and allows visitors to share experiences.
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Post by lusciouslois on Nov 14, 2006 12:45:14 GMT -5
"can you wash that?"-cause I was wearing braids/extensions "how come black people dont wash their hair everyday"-when I laugh at them cause most of them do "how come your hair can be short one day and long the next?"-I tell them it is the grease I use overnight
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Post by Blaque on Nov 14, 2006 13:12:48 GMT -5
Are you half white - Now mind you, I am fair skinned, but anyone with ANY sence can see that I don't look mixed. You mean to tell me that you don't wash your hair everyday??? (I just love the hair questions). Do you know "name of a Black person in a totally different departmen" (like we all know each other. Do you have any hot sauce? (No joke. Becky walked in our department {all black at the time} and asked if we had hot sauce). Rap started in Detroit, didn't it? (How the hell should I know) Blaque, what does "catch a case" mean? The list goes on and on.
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mia
B.E. Member First Class
Posts: 133
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Post by mia on Nov 15, 2006 7:57:28 GMT -5
I was asked if black people got hotter in the sun because we were darker. To this day, I don't understand that question.
I was also asked "is it true what they say about black men?"
White people. Don't cha love em?
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Post by smarywills on Nov 15, 2006 13:13:01 GMT -5
I forgot one: Do Black people get tans? The White person that asked was looking right at the tan line around my wrist, where I had taken off my watch--and I clearly had a tan. What bothered him is that I am dark skinned. It blew his mind that I could tan. I guess he was hoping I had Vitilago around my wrist or some other skin condition!
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Post by Blaque on Nov 15, 2006 13:45:33 GMT -5
A male co-worker asked me if he could feel my hair because he had never felt Black hair before. I said yes because I was taken so off guard. I wish I could do that over again. I think the question about the size of Black men is a classic question. Like we are supposed to know how well endowed every Black man in the world is. I tell you, if people thought before they opened their mouths…
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