I Agree With Your Thoughts on Most Levels…

I agree with your thoughts on most levels, but as an employer I think (and the courts agree) that I have a responsibility to other employees and customers to ensure that they are treated fairly and without discrimination or harassment. The only thing that I might have done that was different from what was done to Mr. Rocker is that he would be looking for a new employer.

With an eight year old child you can teach diversity and it’s values, but to a man that is obviously ignorant there is little hope for that lesson to ever be learned except through life’s experiences.

Mr. Rocker needs, as do many of our professional athletes, to grow up and to realize that like it or not as professional athletes they (like politicians and others in the lime light) have a higher set of rules to follow and if they are not willing to do that then they should not play or run for office.

Unfortunately, in most cases these people are human and they cannot be expected to be responsible for their own actions and it is left up to us as their electorates or employers to police them and terminate relationships when necessary.

Growing up in the deep south in a predominantly black community I take a very rigid stance against this form of ignorance (I am Caucasian) and telling people to open their mouths and to express their feelings does nothing but create further division among the racial lines. The truly unfortunate thing about incidents like the one involving Mr. Rocker is that it has a tendency to stereotype all Caucasians as fitting into his category, which to me is alarming.

Sorry for the rambling, but I do take this very seriously and I will do all that I can as an HR professional to ensure that all people have a right to hold their personal beliefs, but as an employer ignorance cannot be tolerated in the work place lest we become enablers of racism.