Stop Being a Bitch
Posted by Deutlich on November 25th, 2008 | Filed under: UncategorizedIt goes without saying that in some areas there are distinct ethnicities that work at fast food places like McDonald’s.
Since I’m a Virginian, I’ll stick with what I know. In southeastern Virginia, it’s almost always caucasian people. In northern Virginia, it’s almost always Latinos. In DC, it kinda runs the gambit.
One of the Mickey Ds I came across had a mixture of blacks and Latinos schlepping away in an environment most of us would rather not have to work in. The lady who took my order quite obviously spoke English as a second language.
As I placed my order, I could tell immediately that I was talking too fast and needed to slow down. I’m all right with this, I am German after all. I know what it’s like to not have English as your first language. To me, the woman actually spoke really damn well – all things considered.
The next customer to step to the register was a whole other story. She neither payed attention to the situation nor cared that her haste was making it difficult for the employee to discern her order.
And it pissed me the fuck off.
You could see that the language barrier was bugging the customer. It was also very clear that she had quite a lot more money than the employee. You could tell just by looking at her clothes.
Her annoyance kept peeking through in the most obnoxious way and I almost told her off. I had to seriously take a breath to avoid a situation that probably wouldn’t have changed her irrational behavior anyway. If anything, I would’ve just ticked her off and made her to feel like she was right.
There is a certain level of disgust that I feel in a situation like this. I think people with privileged lives should really stop sticking their nose in the air at those who they think are lesser people. Money can disappear in a second and you sure as shit can’t take it to the grave.
I guess the point is that I don’t think people should mistreat others because they have an accent.
Especially not in America.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I agree. People should be treated with respect, regardless of their accents.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Judges ruling – if I get weak in the knees when a girl speaks in a southern accent does that count as treating her different for her accent?
November 25th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I hear ya there – I have seen people yelling at the person who is struggling to learn to speak English… not right….
November 25th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Totally freakin’ true.
I worked in a restaurant and this Caucasian customer yelled at the Latin cashier for…get this…ringing up an iced tea instead of a hot tea. We gave him back the difference but Mr. Jackass still went on and on about how we should hire people who can speak English.
She broke down, grabbed her stuff and quit on the spot. We got her back and one of the workers made sure to let the guy know he was an ass.
This country is full of immigrants! Get used to it. So what if it takes an extra few seconds to place an order! It’s not like it’s a life or death situation and you’re in the E.R. needing immediate medical assistance!
November 25th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I couldn’t agree more . . . There’s a typical situation that infuriates me: a person who is clearly trying to assimilate, but having some difficulties. That person faced with someone who has a misplaced sense of entitlement or “holier than thou” syndrome. Ugh. Get over yourself already!
November 25th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Mishi – Precisely.
Narm – if it does? I’m equally guilty because I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE southern accents. Love.
Akilah – that really hurts my heart. how would that jackass feel if the roles were reversed?!
Kathryn – please AND thank you
November 25th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I have to say, I’ve been shocked on numerous occasions by the attitudes toward immigrants. I cringe every time people go on their rants about “YOU’RE IN MY COUNTRY, SPEAK MY LANGUAGE!”. They clearly have never tried living elsewhere. They clearly have never had to struggle to communicate. They clearly have never had someone make their lives more difficult for no other reason than not wanting to help someone who’s different.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:43 am
And I hope my saying “this country is full of immigrants” didn’t come off as rude. My family is from different places so I in no way meant any harm by that. But America is made of people from all over the world. Even the people who feel so superior aren’t “originally” from this country! Their ancestors weren’t native to America! When will someone invent the Anit-Asshole pill? Seriously! I can’t believe the insanely ignorant masses populating the U.S. with our mixed up history. Sheesh!!
November 25th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I meant Anti-Asshole pill.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:53 am
This post is so great! We were all immigrants once (or our parents, or grandparents, or somewhere in our lineage!)
November 25th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
omg that makes me so mad! my dad is from the philippines and he worked at kmart for over 20 years. the stories i accidentally heard growing up make my stomach turn. people can be so ignorant, arrogant and rude.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I think the people that are usually rude in situations like those are the ones that have never had to be in a customer service role. I worked retail while in college and I know from experience how hard it can be to please the customer. And so as of today I have always been patient and understanding of the people trying to help me from a customer service aspect.
That being said, you should have smacked her upside her head.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
It just boggles my mind that people can, for whatever reason and in whatever situation, be so rude to another human being who did absolutely nothing to harm them. I hate watching things like that happen.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I cannot agree more with you. The first few years of school, I was treated as different because I was the only English-speaking girl in an entirely French school, so I had difficulties the first few years understanding the language. Then I moved to Halifax, and I was the girl with the thick French accent that people liked to make fun of. It made me feel awful, because I was labeled as different/inferior just because I sounded “funny” to everyone and had a bit of a problem with the language. Now, though, I’ve completely shed my French accent (unless I’m drunk) becuase I’ve been here so long. But as a result, I’m more sensitive about language barriers, especially in my office. I cringe and usually speak out when people make fun of other (particularly Middle Eastern) accents as a means to tear people down or treat them as inferiors. There’s just no reason for it, at all. Who knew language could be used as an excuse for classism.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
That bitchy woman can consider herself an immigrant, since somewhere down the line someone in her family emigrated to America. Seriously? That woman had a stick up her ass.
They can’t have it both ways — they complain about illegals not working and paying taxes, but when they do go out and get a legit job, contributing to our taxes and society in general, then they want to give them shit for not speaking perfect English? It’s ridiculous.
Sometimes Americans disgust me.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Most people want to be better than someone else, so that was that customer’s moment. It’s unfortunate.
Years ago, at a high end grocery story back in NJ, I was taking the family groceries to the car. This African-American teen who had been working at the store forever was collecting carts.
Some stuck up goes by and basically shoves her empty cart in his direction and walks always without even acknowledging. The guy and I made eye-contact and just shook our heads.
You have to wonder what’s going on in someone’s life that she can’t even offer the most basic respect to another human being.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
ignorant people suck. ignorant people with money should be left on a deserted island.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I used to work at McDonald’s when I was in high school. It’s a humiliating experience anyway and to have people treat you like shit on top of it is just dehumanizing. Some rich bitch yelled at me and called me stupid because her fries weren’t hot enough.
People suck.
Seriously.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
a lot of people in america need to learn basic manners and respect for all individuals . . . especially for people they never even met.
. . . and i quote Amy Poehler from Baby Mama, “bitch, I don’t know your life!”
November 25th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Let me first say, I completely agree. There is no reason to ever treat the people who are WAITING on you poorly, regardless of their accent. We all need to be a little more accepting, especially in America, a country born on immigration. That said, I do, ashamedly have a confession to make:
I’m in an MBA program. An MBA program where we do A LOT of presentations. An MBA program where we have a high number of international students. I sincerely applaud their efforts, I cannot even imagine trying to work on a graduate degree where the material is all presented in a foreign language; especially one as difficult and intense as English.
However, I feel the proficiency level of English some of the students have is not acceptable for our program. It’s really, really, difficult to sit through 40 five minute presentations and only understand a quarter of them. It also means that the native English speakers don’t need to work as hard to earn an A, the majority of our classmates are international and the professors can’t fail all of them, so the curve is incredible. I’m actually glad I didn’t have to pay for my degree, because honestly? I worked harder as an undergrad.
I know this isn’t really what your post was about, but it’s what it brought to mind for me.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Mmm. I love accents….
Oh, and if a snotty bitch is in a hurry to get her Egg McMuffin, than shouldn’t she do whatever she can to make things easier and quicker? Like not being such a snotty bitch?
November 25th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
my grand mother had the kkk burn crosses in her front yard when she lived in virginia as a child just because he family had recently immigrated from greece.
we all were immigrants once.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I hate when people are rude to service workers, period. Having had to schlep tacos for 4 years of my life, I know it’s not easy when people treat you lke crap all day, and you have to go home and deal with what they did to you. I hated it. There were times I cried. I always go out of my way to be nice to people, that is not an easy job! Dealing with assholes all day takes a lot out of you!
November 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Should we all treat each other with respect? Yes.
Will we all treat each other with respect? Probably not.
As much as everyone who has commented and has read this post agree with you, there are that many more people who think they are better than others based on how much money they have, how light their skin is, where they grew up, etc. We can only hope that one day all this crap stops and we respect each other for who they are.
November 25th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Because America is so staggeringly English-centric people don’t realize that learning English is HARD. Speaking two languages is HARD. Working in a country where you don’t speak the language takes serious balls.
I’d like to see how they’d fare working a Mickey D’s in South America.
Even in English-centric America, people still have more than enough opportunities to see the world through the eyes of a foreigner. Some just never choose to.
November 25th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
This happens all the time in LA. One time i punched a guy in the groin for being rude.
Ok I didn’t but i wanted too. I just ran away.
November 25th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
True that. The language barrier especially seems to annoy people. Ever since I failed miserably at trying to learn Spanish and Italian, I feel like I’m in no place to judge those who have trouble learning a new language. I truly believe that if immigrants want to succeed here, they need to be fluent in English, but I don’t think that they should ever be made to feel lesser because they haven’t done it yet.
November 25th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I remember a story a couple years ago that the editor for Better Homes, or Glamour, or Vanity Fair, or SOME kind of magazine like that, said in an article something to the extent of “You should take French classes in high school. The only time you’ll ever need Spanish is if you talk to the gardener.” SHE SAID THAT IN AN ARTICLE. Needless to say, people flipped out and she was forced to apologize. Not to mention she was talking about living in California, where you’ll almost NEVER need any French, but may need Spanish on a regular basis.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
ooooh that burns my toast, grinds my gears, pisses me right the fack off!
okay, I’ve calmed down now.
Whoops, mad again!
How didn’t you smack her?
November 25th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
As an FOB (fresh off the boat, apparently) immigrant I can relate completely to this post. I’ve had people talk to me like I’m a fucking retard just because I have a bit of an accent. Pisses me the hell off. The only way I found to deal with these idiots is to think to myself “Do you speak two languages? Didn’t think so. Let’s see you go to a foreign country and work and go to school and see how you do.”
November 25th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Remind me to tell you a story about this next time I see you.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
i couldn’t agree more. ignorant people are ridiculous. and not in a good way.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Obviously, like the other readers, I am sick and tired of rudeness towards service employees. I’ll add to it that, as a Black woman, I am more than at. the. end. of. my. rope. with white folks (and white women in particular) who don’t seem to get that we aren’t back in the nineteenth century and feel utterly entitled to humiliate and shame Black and Brown folks at will.
I want to disagree, though, with the sentiment that we “are all immigrants.” Black folks are not descended from immigrants, largely (other than, of course, more recent arrivals), and this does make a difference in the social and political dynamics. Trust, too, that it messes with your head in a whole different way when people tell you that you don’t speak English properly, when you were born right here in America and raised by folks who were descended from folks who were descended from folks who have been here for a very long time. You say that money can disappear in a minute, which is of course true, but white privilege? That never goes away.
Just my two cents…
November 25th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I agree! The truth is we never know when it might be one of us who has to work a job we might not want to work to make ends meet. I cant imagine how hard it is for people who have a language barrier to work with customers who dont appreciate the work they do. All it takes is a few minutes and some patience.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Is ‘redneck’ an ethnicity? ‘Cause that’s who works in our McDonalds (here near the WVA border)… and they don’t understand me either… and granted, I wasn’t born in America… but I was born in the UK… where they speak English… and I don’t have an accent anymore… so, you’d think… wouldn’t ya?
November 25th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
You’re damn right, girl. Nobody ever became a higher person by stepping on somebody else.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:17 am
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. You know, when something like that happens, I personally feel guilty because I am a white English speaker and other white English speakers treat non-white, non-English speakers like SHIT. To make up for it, I often go out of my way to be EXTRA nice to non-white, non-English speakers just so no one thinks all white English-speaking Americans are assholes. Just have a little freaking RESPECT, people!
November 26th, 2008 at 2:22 am
As I think I’ve told you before, I actually study discrimination. It is funny how people think it is appalling to judge someone based on the colour of their skin yet are perfectly comfortable judging them on their language of origin. Bah.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I don’t even have an accent (nor do I speak any other language other than English), and yet if I don’t understand someone’s order (which happens frequently because people talk fast, mumble, don’t order right, or all of the above), the customer spells it out like they are annoyed and clearly think I’m a stupid foreigner. So yes, there are people here beyond snotty and extremely racist still.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I had a similar situation in a McDonalds before(well, kinda…)
http://listentoleon.net/index.php/2005/05/11/shut-cho-ignorant-ass-up/
That lady in your story is a jackass. People deserve to be treated with dignity and basic respect, no matter where they are on the success ladder.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Well said and I agree!
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I think your all right ! I live on the Canadian side of the us / can border and when I cross over to shop I see that happen all the time. You all should just come to Canada, you don’t have to see much of that here. Great article.