I don’t think it is so much as an offensive gift as it is retarded. Really, a newspaper article? Unless it is about me, and even then, I probably wouldn’t be too impressed with it unless there was something else added to it, like a gift certificate or a picture of Benjamin Franklin (if you know what I mean). I find gifts of these types as enjoyable as those printouts you get of what happened the year you were born, including what celebrities you share a b-day with and the lucky numbers for that day.
She must be some friend. My sisters are in love with all things Coach. Personally, when I graduated, my all-time favorite gift was the pen and pencil set, and I still have it. While the pen writes about a little better than my Pilot Precise V5, I’m sure the $100 extra in cost isn’t all reflected in the additional utility. But, like I said, I liked it the best. I use the pencil for crosswords.
I’m not black but I am a lawyer and in the same boat as your attorney + I do happen to be “ethnic.”
If I got some sort of Indians-as-lawyers gift I would
Blink
Suppress a snort of laughter
Smile wanly and thank the person
Then I would go home and call up my Indian boyfriend and we would laugh and laugh and laugh…and then laugh some more. And then possibly my parents, too. And maybe some of my lawschool buddies.
But I wouldn’t be offended although keep in mind your co-worker’s personality might not exactly be the same as mine.
I suggest a nice pen, briefcase, lunch…I think office gifts are best kept to the mundane.
Seeing “offensive” in the title, I was expecting the gift to be a bale of cotton or a watermelon or something like that. (There goes Plan B!)
I personally wouldn’t think the article is offensive, exactly, but it could be considered tacky. It might make the recipient think the giver thinks race is a significant issue, and change her opinion of the giver a bit. I’d go with the safe bet and get something non-racial.
I do live in the U.K. and race is now pretty much a non-problem apart from some idiots like the BNP. We’ve pretty much learned to be sensitive to others. This is backed up by law. Yes, there are racial crimes, but they’re a very small minority.
The bolded section could just as easily be applied to the United States, but this doesn’t mean that race and racism are no longer an issue.
If you think that the BNP is the only locus of racism in the UK, i suggest getting out a little more. And while you’re there, ask an Indian or a Chinese person or an Arab or someone of African descent whether race is now a “non-problem.”
I don’t have to. I work with people of assorted ethnicities, and they all say it’s not really a problem. Sure we all put our foot in it from time to time - but we do that with our own races too - but there really is only one race: the human race.
You know something? Before reading the OP, I thought “If you have to ask, it’s probably too risky to be worth giving.” Not that I think that’s right or anything, but that was my gut response.
And after reading the OP, I still would give the same advice.
Yeek, I sort of feel like an idiot for even asking now! OK, Coach briefcase it is. And it’s not just an article, it’s a framed copy of the article, so it’s not like I could just circulate it in the office for eveyone to read (and I am sort of the office article geek).
Thanks for all of the responses, though. I'm always happy when I can avoid being laughed at or having eyes rolled behind my back!
monstro’s post, sums up nicely my opinion on this. At the same time, though, I think it goes beyond questions of ethnicity, and can be distilled to the simple rule that if you have to ask if a gift would be offensive, for any reason at all, then it’s best to choose another gift.