Racism directed at me!

[FemmeAnime]

Today was a long day. We had only a skeleton crew on today and the DT girl was pretty new the DT (luckily not the till ><) During a quiet spot (the people were constant all day) these east Indian (from India) guys come in and start talking smack. About how white I am and so on. Then they start asking where the "brown" side of town is. Where the domestic abuse side is. So I told him: Your house! Then I told him if he wanted to play this game I could be here all night. I was sick and tired of his racism! And then I stalked off. Tried to make their meal but they were still going...so I told my In-Charge and went to cool off. Came back their meal was ready gave it to them and managed not to smack the stupid out of them. The rest of the day went smoothly, learned I finally have a day-off after over 2 weeks straight of work....

[Pezzle]

Ok.. not to make stereotypes or anything, but is it an East Indian cultural thing to consider us retail slaves lower than low?

I have never had a transaction with one that did not end up in trying to haggle the price, cop a rebate scam, and berating me because I'm a woman and a technician. not -one- transaction.

I'm merely curious and apologies to all the chill guys (like Mista' Mashettiwar, how I miss ya).

[SuperB]

People suck regardless of race or gender unfortunately. I did once have a middle eastern man in the store who appeared to want to play the male superiority card with me (I hate men who do this). I didn't budge: "No I will not heat your coffee up for you in the microwave, it was just made and it's in an airpot because it stays fresher longer, I don't care that you want coffee that's on a burner. If you want it hotter, heat it up your damn self." I also wouldn't give him a discount and he didn't like that. He also didn't like the fact that I owned the store.

[zzapp the witch]

Allah doesn't like men who can't stand on their own two feet. (Something my dad once told me, and he's Muslim).

As far as East Indian men.....only the uneducated ones I guess. I worked around East Indian doctors for years, and while one that I can think of right off the top of my head was a bit of an asshat, I changed his attitude toward me. I'm still not completely sure how I did that as a 14 year old hospital volunteer at the time.....I've seen some, usually kids of the doctors and such, run rampant around town and be complete high and mighty jerks.....

Don't see why you should let anyone give you any shit, racist or otherwise.

[Andara Bledin]

From what I can tell (and this is purely anecdotal) the haggling is a cultural thing.

My CoWorker across the room hates when she gets eastern guys buying things because they always want to dicker over the prices she gives them. She has a great response, tho.

CW = CoWorker
DC = Dickering Customer

CW = This is CoWorker, what can I do for you?
DC = You gave me this quote. Can you give me a better price?
CW = No. That's the price we sell those at. We sell them all the time. That's the price.
DC = That's robbery. I can get them for less over at Competing Company.
CW = That's great. Why are you talking to me, then?
DC = I really want to buy them from you. Can't you give me a better price.
CW = *raises the price by 10%* Ok, I can sell these for 110%.
DC = That's not a better price!
CW = It's better for me. Now, are you going to buy these or not?

The thing is that she gets the orders most of the time. It's very, very rare that they won't cave and send in the order for the price she gave them at the beginning.

^-.-^

[infavorofnaturalselection]

Both shitty treatment of women and haggling are cultural customs in several third world countries.

Trust me it is pretty shitty that in these countries women and children get acid thrown at them by their fathers, husbands. That btw is considered lucky since otherwise the woman, or child could very well wind up dead.

The haggling is part of making a deal and largely due to no organized merchant markets. It's all pretty much family owned or flea market. MSRP is a myth in these cultures. The result of the haggling is that the haggler often winds up paying more while thinking they got a good deal.

Say either no haggle or raise the price. That shuts up the haggling or con them into thinking they are getting a deal.

At flea markets you may get a lower price on marked goods if you engage the merchant in friendly chat and he as part of making a deal says how good the deal is. Example in New Orleans I got several carved wooden statues cheaper then the retail price because I admired them and was talking to the merchant about them for several minutes as well as other subjects. No I wasn't in the way since he wasn't dealing with other customers. Yes it was a deal for me and him since he sold several statues at lower then the sticker price and since he makes them or knows where to get them he knows how much he can shave off yet still make a profit.

The closest haggling comes to in American society is at the corporate level but that has it's own level of sophiscation and makes the third worlders look like rank amatuers.

As for the third world East Indian view of retail workers that comes from the caste society of India which was never gotten rid of by the British but just went underground like the Kali cultists.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I can't make a blanket statement, but I can tell you as a statement of fact that there has not been one single citizen of the Middle East (who is rich and working for the World Bank or the International Moneytary Fund) who has ever treated my wife with respect and/or simple courtesy when they have called her company.

They all have attitudes of:

You broke my furniture and now you're going to pay (mind you that my wife's company fixes the furniture that moving companies break)

You work for me and therefore will give me what I want (not true, shipper hires moving company, moving company breaks furniture, shipper files claim with moving companies insurance firm, insurance firm hires my wife's company - She don't work for you asshole)

No filthy American will be allowed into my home with my wife if I'm not there. (actually was called a "filthy American whore" once)

(on a Monday)
Wife - I can send someone out to you on Tuesday
SC - No! That's my day for [activity]
Wife - Wednesday?
SC - No! I work that day
Wife Thursday?
SC - No! I have a Doctor's Appointment that day
Wife - <sigh> Friday?
SC - Are you stupid? That's [name of holiday]!
Wife - Then we'll have to find something for you next week
SC - THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE!!! I WANT YOU OUT HERE THIS WEEK!

I don't want to talk to you. IS there some man there I can talk to? I don't want a woman defiling my [sacred icon thingie]! (mind you my wife just schedules the jobs and processes the paperwork so it can go to billing...she has her own tech to do the work who is a man)

Now we both have friends who are from the middle east or are of middle eastern descent and we have both seen that the people of that descent have a normal nasty/nice ratio, but none of the nice ones have ever called my wife at work.

M

[MystyGlyttyr]

All I have to say is that I've never met a Middle Eastern man who didn't HATE. MY. GUTS. Within about thirty seconds of meeting me. Look, buddy, I honestly don't give half a crap what you believe, which way you point when you pray, whether you eat the holy cracker at church or whatever. You don't get any leeway on the free obituary, no exceptions, end of story. And for the record, my only male boss will turn you around and point you right back to me because he doesn't know anything and we're both okay with that. He doesn't have to think about it and I get to shoot everyone down at my leisure. So take it or leave it, and by the way, if anything is misspelled, it's YOUR fault and I will not rerun it, don't even try.

(For the record, if you flash them, they freak right the hell out. )

[ArenaBoy]

Remember, people are asses and they could be a 6 headed guy who plays a trombone with green skin. Also remember that for some people it's a matter of cultural differences and the saying of you can take a person out of a place but you can't take the place out of the person. It applies to everyone. These guys though were just racist pricks.

I live near a town called Dearborn in Michigan. Dearborn has the 2nd largest Middle Eastern population in the United States and there is a large generation difference between the young and old. If you get hassled by the older generation of Muslims it is largely due to cultural differences.

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

Racism...such a waste of time and energy.

[Tria]

During a quiet spot (the people were constant all day) these east Indian (from India) guys come in and start talking smack.

Just figure out how to say "You're an Untouchable" in whatever language(Hindi, I think) and point. One of the best ways to deal with assholes of any race or whatever is to learn enough to turn it around.

[Auto]

They all have attitudes of:



No filthy American will be allowed into my home with my wife if I'm not there. (actually was called a "filthy American whore" once)

(on a Monday)
Wife - I can send someone out to you on Tuesday
SC - No! That's my day for [activity]
Wife - Wednesday?
SC - No! I work that day
Wife Thursday?
SC - No! I have a Doctor's Appointment that day
Wife - <sigh> Friday?
SC - Are you stupid? That's [name of holiday]!
Wife - Then we'll have to find something for you next week
SC - THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE!!! I WANT YOU OUT HERE THIS WEEK!

I don't want to talk to you. IS there some man there I can talk to? I don't want a woman defiling my [sacred icon thingie]! (mind you my wife just schedules the jobs and processes the paperwork so it can go to billing...she has her own tech to do the work who is a man)

I've had similar experiences but I don't think that because they're Middle Eastern or Indian or Asian that they're so nasty. It's because where they come from, they're members of the elite who get to treat everyone like that.

And that abuse continues when they encounter a sales clerk or other low-level munchkin here in the US. They don't know any other way to behave and if you object and demand they knock off the abuse, they're shocked by how uppity we are. Then htey get angry.

When I lived in McLean, Virginia (a super, super rich town just across the Potomac from Washington, DC), there were many rich and powerful folks who drove junky cars and wore sloppy clothes. I once saw an Indian woman bump another car in the parking lot of a Safeway. The other driver refused to allow her to leave until the cops came to do the accident report. The Indian woman abused the other driver, an older woman, for making such a big deal about the scratch to such a junky car, for inconveniencing her, for being so disrespectful -- it went on and on. The other driver was polite but firm and refused to give in.

If the bitch expected the cops would sympathize with her plight, she was shocked at how considerate they were to the other driver. You'd never know it from how she dressed and from her car, but it turns out she was an heiress who had made generous donations to various local charities. The bitch couldn't get over how well the cops were treating the other woman -- one even volunteered to run into the Safeway to get her a cup of coffee while his partner filled out the paperwork. It was funny watching the nasty indian woman go from being enraged that the cops weren't kissing her ass to being a total asskisser herself once she picked up that the older woman was someone to be reckoned with. And by then, the older woman didn't want to have anything to do with her.

That shocked me, actually. In the US we don't usually have two completely different ways of treating people that depend on where you are in the pecking order. The Indian woman kissed up and kicked down. Because that's how it is in India. When they kick a little person in the US and find the little guy kicking back, they get all huffy and indignant.

[Becks]

DC = I really want to buy them from you. Can't you give me a better price.
CW = *raises the price by 10%* Ok, I can sell these for 110%.
DC = That's not a better price!
CW = It's better for me. Now, are you going to buy these or not?

That's great!!!!! :wiping a tear from my eye:

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I've had similar experiences but I don't think that because they're Middle Eastern or Indian or Asian that they're so nasty. It's because where they come from, they're members of the elite who get to treat everyone like that.

To an extent...I'd agree with you. However my wife's dealings with the elite don't follow that way of thinking. Of all my wife's dealings we find that the overall average is about 50/50 on nice vs. nasty. Some groups are better than others, others are far far worse. In this case however, out of 14 Middle Eastern clients, 14 were mean, nasty, and down right offensive.

Whereas to contrast we have the Japanese who out of 9 clients, 8 were really polite right off the bat and stayed that way, and the other one was a bit harsh and snippy at first, but then apologized when his furniture was restored and was very happy.

M

[Emrld]

I work in a male dominated field . . .and for a while I was given the little lady treatment . . .you know roll of the eyes and pacify - until it was proven that I actually knew what I was talking about.

I am in Real Estate and have had to deal with some Agents and Mortgage Reps that didn't want to talk to me becuase I was female . . .so on to the phone goes the only Male in the office (also known as Daddy) and he made it clear in no uncertain terms that he fully believes in me and my abilities and I speak for him. Ergo if they are rude to me they are rude to him. Only had one decided they didn't want to work with us under those terms.

The one that gets me is that their is a religion that does not believe in paying interest . . . as in they make payments on a house for the house - not for the use of the money as is widely accepted in many countries. Most of them are polite when you explain that you appreciate their predicament however to keep your business in business you must work off the US Economy system that does charge interest. A few will try to play the race card - I just roll my eyes - I am not going to change my mind just because that "phase / term" gets used.