So I'm working at The Bar the other day. And two women come in and want to buy a particular t-shirt, which is displayed on the wall. And on this display, this particular t-shirt is listed as being $25 plus tax. With me so far? Okay. Enough set-up. Let me just give you the dialogue now, as it pretty much explains it all.
WOMAN: "So, can you give me a deal on it?"
JESTER: "Sure! (points to display sign with price) Twenty five dollars plus tax!"
WOMAN: "So we can't Jew you?"
JESTER: "Excuse me?"
WOMAN: "We can't Jew you down?"
JESTER: "Um, no."
And the sale proceeded, with me fuming internally.
Now, some of you may wonder why I did not confront her on this. I wanted to, I really did. But I truly love The Bar and the people who own/run it, and I did not want to do anything that might make them look bad. That being said, I did talk to Boss Man later that afternoon, as I was truly fuming.
He thought I handled it well, and was the "bigger man." I agree. However, he also said that if something like that happened in the future, I would be well within my rights, and not doing anything bad to the business, if I told the customer, "I'm going to have to get someone else to serve you, as I cannot do so any more."
What I WANTED to say was, "Well, no. But you can get the asshole racist discount, where we double the price for people like you. And by the way, my name is Simon Rosenthal. Nice to meet you."
Fucking idiots.
For those who don't live in the U.S., there are people who use phrases like "they jewed us," "jew them down," etc. The first means they cheated you...the second one means you talked someone down in price. The connotation of both and other similar phrases are quite clear, i.e., that Jews are cheap people, and so if you cheat someone or talk them down to a better price, you are acting like a Jew.
I do not follow the Jewish religion, but I am from a Jewish family, and I find such comments highly offensive. But it is not just because of my heritage that I find this offensive. If someone used a phrase denigrating to another group, I would have been just as offended.
I know what you are thinking. "Jester, you SO should have told that woman off." Easy to say. Tempting to do. But once I calmed down, I realized my boss was someone right, that I was the better person. But no, I don't think I will keep so silent the next time something like that happens. Silence, after all, condones to an extent what the person is saying. But I will say something politely and calmly, NOT what I was thinking at the time of this incident. Because THAT would have been neither professional NOR on a higher moral ground than what the woman said to me.
Shit still pisses me off, though. Fucking idiot. I hate stupid people.
WOMAN: "So, can you give me a deal on it?"
JESTER: "Sure! (points to display sign with price) Twenty five dollars plus tax!"
WOMAN: "So we can't Jew you?"
JESTER: "Excuse me?"
WOMAN: "We can't Jew you down?"
JESTER: "Um, no."
And the sale proceeded, with me fuming internally.
Now, some of you may wonder why I did not confront her on this. I wanted to, I really did. But I truly love The Bar and the people who own/run it, and I did not want to do anything that might make them look bad. That being said, I did talk to Boss Man later that afternoon, as I was truly fuming.
He thought I handled it well, and was the "bigger man." I agree. However, he also said that if something like that happened in the future, I would be well within my rights, and not doing anything bad to the business, if I told the customer, "I'm going to have to get someone else to serve you, as I cannot do so any more."
What I WANTED to say was, "Well, no. But you can get the asshole racist discount, where we double the price for people like you. And by the way, my name is Simon Rosenthal. Nice to meet you."
Fucking idiots.
For those who don't live in the U.S., there are people who use phrases like "they jewed us," "jew them down," etc. The first means they cheated you...the second one means you talked someone down in price. The connotation of both and other similar phrases are quite clear, i.e., that Jews are cheap people, and so if you cheat someone or talk them down to a better price, you are acting like a Jew.
I do not follow the Jewish religion, but I am from a Jewish family, and I find such comments highly offensive. But it is not just because of my heritage that I find this offensive. If someone used a phrase denigrating to another group, I would have been just as offended.
I know what you are thinking. "Jester, you SO should have told that woman off." Easy to say. Tempting to do. But once I calmed down, I realized my boss was someone right, that I was the better person. But no, I don't think I will keep so silent the next time something like that happens. Silence, after all, condones to an extent what the person is saying. But I will say something politely and calmly, NOT what I was thinking at the time of this incident. Because THAT would have been neither professional NOR on a higher moral ground than what the woman said to me.
Shit still pisses me off, though. Fucking idiot. I hate stupid people.
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