# Co-Worker accused me of being racist...was he right? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703 "2021-11-02T23:24:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/362 "2021-11-11T15:11:45Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > They treat you as the resident expert on the German post office? Do you talk a lot about Germany? I’ve never seen anyone called out in that way regarding Germany. One of my American colleagues is of Austrian background (both parents born there, but not her, herself I don’t think). If I was stuck on a German phrase at work (which can happen, we do deal with a lot of German vendors) I could see me reaching out to her as a first contact even though I don’t know how good her German is. (as it happens I’ll most likely use my wife who isn’t German but does speak it). ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/363 "2021-11-11T15:11:47Z")
My understanding is that @Isamu lives in Japan, where people are quite racist. I think that argument that he is making is that somehow the fact that Japan has quite the racism issue absolves the US of trying to do do better in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/364 "2021-11-11T15:14:55Z")
As to your last point, nope. Quite the opposite. Have I ever said that? No. I’m just responding with real facts when people post “people don’t say…”. Because people do say… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/365 "2021-11-11T15:41:08Z")
Quite ignoring whether Japan is racist or not, people of European extraction are “other” in Japan, in a way that they aren’t in the US, but in a way that people of Indian extraction ARE in the US. So yeah, @Isamu is being othered, just like that Sikh was being othered. And both are being treated as “forever foreign”. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/366 "2021-11-11T15:43:11Z")
yes I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/367 "2021-11-11T15:45:18Z")
But your conclusion from this is that people being othered in the US should just suck it up, because it could be so much worse if they were in Japan? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/368 "2021-11-11T15:48:55Z")
No, just choose your battles wisely. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/369 "2021-11-11T15:52:21Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I’m just responding with real facts when people post “people don’t say…”. Because people do say… Those saying “people don’t say” appear to me to mean “in the U.S.A.” Perhaps that ought to be spelled out; but you’re assuming the same context, and bringing in an example from a different context entirely. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/370 "2021-11-11T15:53:37Z")
If some Japanese people were having a discussion, and a few of them said that they shouldn’t be othering their good friend Isamu, would you tell them to choose their battles wisely? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/371 "2021-11-11T15:55:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Those saying “people don’t say” appear to me to mean “in the U.S.A.” Perhaps that ought to be spelled out; but you’re assuming the same context, and bringing in an example from a different context entirely. Can’t I think about the world as a place? Do I have to assume that whenever somebody makes a statement here it means (“in America”) . Ive already had this discussion here many years ago. It was stupid and ended in nothing. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703/372 "2021-11-11T15:58:45Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Can’t I think about the world as a place? Do I have to assume that whenever somebody makes a statement here it means (“in America”) I think it makes a whole lot more sense to complain about posters assuming that than it does to assume that because people with German names are othered in Japan therefore people with German names must be othered in the USA; with the implication that therefore the coworker in the OP wasn’t being othered any more than anybody else in the country. If you meant the first, and not the second, then I don’t think that was communicated clearly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-accused-me-of-being-racist-was-he-right/953703.md?page=18)