my evangelical christian co-worker is extremely "racist" towards Hispanics

booker-t

I am getting so tired of my co-worker who is a "evangelical christian" constantly making racist slurs towards Hispanic people. I just don't get it and it is making me very uncomfortable because I wonder what he says about "black" people behind my back. Everyday he makes comments such as "Mexicans" are dumb and stupid, "Mexicans all can't speak good English", "Mexicans have 50 million babies" and "Mexicans are all on welfare". At first I just thought maybe he was joking but it has been 2 years now and he is getting worse. I get mad and I am not Hispanic but I work around alot of Hispanics and there is no problem. I just don't know what is wrong with my co-worker. The funny thing about it is he is Hispanic and he feels this gives him a liscense to bad mouth Latino people. The other day he talked so bad about Hispanics saying "All those Mexicans worshipping the Pope and child abusers in the Catholic Church" I am at a lost on how to handle this situation. Since I am not Hispanic should I just keep my mouth shut or should I complain to the supervisor? He brings his bible everyday to work and is always talking about church.

Mum

Does your company have many Hispanic customers or clients? Do the customers or clients hear what you guys are saying sometimes?

I believe what you're experiencing with your co-worker is all too common. I've been through this before, too. What I would point out to your co-worker is that the things he complains about are not exclusive to any group or ethnicity. There are people who say similar things about eastern Europeans, Appalachian Americans ("hillbillies"), African Americans, and other ethnic groups.

I usually tell people that everyone is an individual, and it is not right to "paint everyone with the same brush" because they belong to a particular group.

HarryMac

The funny thing about it is he is Hispanic and he feels this gives him a liscense to bad mouth Latino people.

----

Maybe it does. I've met a few people that hate their own cultures, talk crap about it, don't have any friends in it (practically). Maybe I'm wrong but I kind of think that they can get away with more.

Two women in particularly come to mind... one Korean... one from India... both speak 'without accents', both surrounded by white people, in white neighbourhoods, both talk about how racist their culture is.

Are they wrong? Is it like bitching about ones own family... so it's ok? Is it like an Englishman complaining about the UK in a way that I really don't have a right to do?

When I was a teenager my mom said to me ... 'even if people know their kids are little brats doesn't mean that they want to hear it from somebody else'.

TotallyADD

Being racist is the rot of the soul and it stinks. It is becoming all to common for alot of evengelical christian who suffer with this sickness. Totally ADD

unstopableravens

i would ask him his thoughts on 2 corintains 5:17

Vidiot

A number of flavors of evangelical Christianity have a tendency to foster supremacism in their adherents.

JeffT

"Hispanic" is a catch-all word to describe an enormous number of people with some sort of ethnic connection to Spain. Within that group there is a vast cultural distinction between people from Spain, people from Mexico, people from Peru etc. They have differing values, accents, food, and perspective. They also frequently dislike getting lumped in with the other groups of "Hispanic" people. My wife used to work with a woman born in Spain. She thought of herself as European not Hispanic. I worked with a young woman who's family was from Cuba, and identified herself as Cuban not Hispanic. Both of them were known for occassional rants about Mexicans.

Years ago "Hill Street Blues" did a great show about one of the officers getting the "Hispanic officer of the year" award. They had a big party to give them award, with a Mariachi banc, tables full of Mexican food etc. After they gave him the award he pointed out that he was from Columbia and this was not his food or his music, and ended with a comment to the effect of "we may all look the same to you white people, but we aren't" and walked out.

PS, why identify your co-worker as a Christian? Are you attempting to paint all evangelicals with the same brush?

wolfman85

why identify your co-worker as a Christian? Are you attempting to paint all evangelicals with the same brush?

JeffT, That's not the issue here because it is the same person who has proclaimed himself as Christian .

Booker -T what you describe definitely could be described as a hostile work environment and you have every right to complain .

QueenWitch

Legally, he is creating an uncomfortable work enviroment for you. Try telling him directly that his racist remarks make you uncomfortable. If he doesn't stop, take it to your superior or follow your job's human resources guidelines for this sort of thing. Same issue if he was making sexual or sexist remarks.

JeffT

You're right, its not the issue. I don't think it should have been brought up. Would these kind of comment be OK if he was an atheist?

my evangelical christian co-worker is extremely "racist" towards Hispanics

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