Today in a meeting someone made a remark which they thought was funny. A particular word that was said triggered an association in this person’s mind with criminals of a particular ethnic origin, and they chose to share this thought with us. Aside from the rudeness of interrupting the discussion, there were 3 people of that ethnicity in the room.
After the meeting I decided to let the person know I didn’t think it was an appropriate remark, and that it may have offended people. He was quite surprised and it genuinely hadn’t occurred to him that his joke could offend. Approaching him was not something I found easy, but I’m pleased I did, as it did cause him to think about it.
In a happy moment of synchronicity, the quote on the right hand side is
“Wisdom consists not so much in knowing what to do in the ultimate as knowing what to do next.”
- Herbert Hoover
