# Diplomatic way to say "Excuse me, may I speak to a White person?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006 "2009-11-02T01:35:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/61 "2009-11-05T00:21:35Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Or has someone _already_ replied that those folks are just trying to make a living and it isn’t their fault we cannot understand them. How is it the fault of anyone else? If someone works in a job where they have to interact with the public, then they should be able to communicate effectively with that public. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/62 "2009-11-05T00:23:38Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Como say what ? :rolleyes: I never know if people 'round here don’t get jokes, or if I’m the one who’s missing the joke. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/63 "2009-11-05T00:30:39Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Yeah, and is she hot? > > I guess not as you wouldn’t be complaining about her lack of english skills otherwise (or at least I wouldn’t). Of course not! I would be going to another tutor and learning whatever language it is that \*she \*speaks! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/64 "2009-11-05T00:32:05Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I never know if people 'round here don’t get jokes, or if I’m the one who’s missing the joke. Some of both. It happens to us all 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/65 "2009-11-05T00:32:24Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > How is it the fault of anyone else? If someone works in a job where they have to interact with the public, then they should be able to communicate effectively with that public. That would include **you** in a foreign country, ja?🙂 All I’m saying (“Is give peace chance” - sorry, things like that just pop into my head sometimes!) we need to put ourselves in _their_ place and realize they are at least _trying_, and how much do you think _they_ make as compared to our minimum wage? And where did I write it was the “fault of anyone else”? It just _is_ that’s all, and even though it aggravates the shit out of us, we _have to deal with it!_ Q ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/66 "2009-11-05T01:36:00Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I never know if people 'round here don’t get jokes, or if I’m the one who’s missing the joke. I’m not sure what the joke is meant to be. Something that’s said in jest that’s racist isn’t less racist because its said in jest. Something that’s poorly phrased and racist isn’t less racist because it’s poorly phrased. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/67 "2009-11-05T01:41:49Z")
It wasn’t _meant_ to be **racist**! _However_ it may have been understood or misunderstood. End of story. Q ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/68 "2009-11-05T01:48:45Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > I’m not sure what the joke is meant to be. Something that’s said in jest that’s racist isn’t less racist because its said in jest. Something that’s poorly phrased and racist isn’t less racist because it’s poorly phrased. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Someone said this: [QUOTE=Cat Whisperer] The other side of the coin is that if your job requires you to be able to communicate clearly in English, if you can’t do that, you shouldn’t have that job. Somehow we have developed into a couple of nations where this very basic fact has been turned into racism. [/QUOTE] And I responded with this: > [@](#): > > Sounds like something a racist would say. Which was a joke. What are you claiming is racist here? What Cat said, or my response? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/69 "2009-11-05T02:03:30Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Or has someone _already_ replied that those folks are just trying to make a living and it isn’t their fault we cannot understand them. > > Again, **hh** was making a joke, and yes, it _is_ tough dealing with someone who doesn’t speak perfect English, but things are as they are and we have to work around them sometimes. > > My wife and I have both had to deal with “out-sourced” tech help, and although it’s frustrating (and time-consuming) we “deal with it”. > > I wonder how people in the so-called “Third World” countries feel about our private contractors who don’t speak _their_ language fluently? > > And yes, I know many of them speak English. > > Again, sorry if this has been discussed, but we need to see the other side of the coin too. > > Q You’re right, it’s not their fault. It the fault of the cheap-ass company that chose to hire them. But the end effect is the same: We consumers end up having to deal with them (and them with us). Having to call support means something is _already_ wrong; we shouldn’t have to deal with incomprehensible accents on top of it all. It has nothing to do with their Third World status (or lack thereof) or their race. It is their inability to do their job (communicate with customers to assist them) that pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/70 "2009-11-05T03:38:01Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Of course not! Hot Asian chicks. Who cares what language they speak! Giggity! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/71 "2009-11-05T06:06:59Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > That would include **you** in a foreign country, ja?🙂 Well yes, of course! I would never get angry _at_ a person if I couldn’t understand them. I would get frustrated and try to speak to someone else. I just resent the idea that if I can’t understand someone then it’s somehow based on racism or something that I am at fault for. (Please note, I am \*not \*saying that’s anything you’ve said, but I’ve gotten that impression from some other posts in this thread, and at other times when the topic is brought up.) ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/72 "2009-11-05T20:03:41Z")
I found when doing a marathon series of problems with Dish Network that the South Asians didn’t understand my idiom and accent. I could understand them perfectly. I came from the Northwest corner of the Southeast. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/73 "2009-11-05T22:42:34Z")
I work in Sydney and had to call a company in Chicago on business. After around ten minutes on the phone I was still completely unable to penetrate the accent and asked to speak to someone else. Who had an equally impenetrable accent, only with more resonance in their voice so it was even harder to understand. My request to speak to someone with a different accent - I believe I used the phrase “do you have any Canadians there?” - was received poorly. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/74 "2009-11-05T22:54:59Z")
> [@BigNik](#): > > I work in Sydney and had to call a company in Chicago on business. After around ten minutes on the phone I was still completely unable to penetrate the accent and asked to speak to someone else. > > Who had an equally impenetrable accent, only with more resonance in their voice so it was even harder to understand. > > My request to speak to someone with a different accent - I believe I used the phrase “do you have any Canadians there?” - was received poorly. What did they sound like? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/75 "2009-11-05T22:57:40Z")
While working for (then USAir) in the early 90’s, I was based in Frankfurt, Germany as a customer service rep. Part of my job was to help our German customers on the phone, being that I am bilingual. Folks, do y’all realize how many different dialects (the worst one for _me_ to understand was “Platt” (sp?)-that accent spoken near Düsseldorf/Mönchengladbach - and of course, Bavarian, my own native accent!:)) there are in Germany? When we moved to the US, I kept the language of course, but resorted to speaking “Hoch-Deutsch” (literally translated as “high-German”, or that type of German spoken with _no_ accent.) My point? The shoe was definetely on the other foot! It was MY job to understand _them_, not the other way around! Thanks Q PS: And to our German friends: If I got any of the above wrong, feel free to correct me!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/76 "2009-11-05T23:02:26Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > What did they sound like? A thick, urban-American accent. I was getting maybe a word in five. For the record, I also had to watch _the Wire_ with the subtitles on. ---
**Author:** ![St.Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@St.Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Anger)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/77 "2009-11-05T23:11:43Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Reported. I’m getting tired of this. Well, it’s been 18 hours, looks like your little tell-on-you fell on deaf ears. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/78 "2009-11-05T23:27:47Z")
> [@St.Anger](#): > > Well, it’s been 18 hours, looks like your little tell-on-you fell on deaf ears. What are you? Twelve? Thirteen? ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006/79 "2009-11-06T01:20:15Z")
\ You’ve had your fun. That’s enough. Closed. \ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomatic-way-to-say-excuse-me-may-i-speak-to-a-white-person/516006.md?page=3)