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Coca Cola—Be less white

Racism is basing judgement on some one solely on the color of ones skin, which as everyone with an ounce of intelligence knows is wrong. It's wrong when this applies to blacks
and equally wrong when directed to anyone that happens to be white.

Coca Cola, as well as many other corporations in this country, are doing exactly this, but my guess is that they think it will improve their bottom line.

As an individual, all I can do is choose another product, and hopefully it bites them in the ***.
 
If they changed it to try to be a better person then fine. Could you imagine if the NBA told players to be less black how that would go? "Be less ____________ " is wrong no matter what color or ethnicity you are. All these courses do is promote unneeded tension. If companies want to preach people being respectful to each other then great, but race should be left out of it all together. I would wager most white people would rather work with a good black worker than a terrible white worker.
 
bermudasteel said:
Tell me how you'd do that at work? Seriously - I'm interested since obviously the statement has gotten under your skin (no pun intended)...
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Not under my skin. My company isn't telling me to be less white. But, You do agree that you can tell a white person to be less white but, you can't tell a black person to be less black?
 
jitter77 said:
If they changed it to try to be a better person then fine. Could you imagine if the NBA told players to be less black how that would go? "Be less ____________ " is wrong no matter what color or ethnicity you are. All these courses do is promote unneeded tension. If companies want to preach people being respectful to each other then great, but race should be left out of it all together. I would wager most white people would rather work with a good black worker than a terrible white worker.
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I work for a construction co. We have all races of people and you are correct... Color has nothing to do with the quality of each person as a worker or as a human. All the workers are great people and we all get along great regardless of color.
 
Booted said:
Not under my skin. My company isn't telling me to be less white. But, You do agree that you can tell a white person to be less white but, you can't tell a black person to be less black?
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Here's my honest and true answer. Ever since I started working - I have had to 'be less black' in order to climb the corporate ladder. I can fully understand that someone who has never had to 'live this' if you don't understand---it's truly not a fault.

Companies are trying to make their employees 'more aware' of each other by implementing policies like these. Are they pushing the envelope - damn right they are. I talked w/ my wife's white colleague, yesterday, and she's from Georgia. Do you know that she grew up so entitled that she didn't even know what a trailer park was. She admitted that the only Black people she knew were affluent and they were few and far between.

Back to the work environment...did you know that when I was working on Wall St. that the expectation was 'Black males had to have a professional low haircut'. No twists or dreadlocks no afro, etc...how do you think that made us feel??? If one cannot be their authentic self at work - then why are they working there? Why does a haircut matter? Does it affect the brain that is embedded underneath???

These are the new issues that are being brought to the surface in the guise of diversity, inclusion & belonging. I could go on and on but I think you can get my point...
 
bermudasteel said:
Here's my honest and true answer. Ever since I started working - I have had to 'be less black' in order to climb the corporate ladder. I can fully understand that someone who has never had to 'live this' if you don't understand---it's truly not a fault.

Companies are trying to make their employees 'more aware' of each other by implementing policies like these. Are they pushing the envelope - damn right they are. I talked w/ my wife's white colleague, yesterday, and she's from Georgia. Do you know that she grew up so entitled that she didn't even know what a trailer park was. She admitted that the only Black people she knew were affluent and they were few and far between.

Back to the work environment...did you know that when I was working on Wall St. that the expectation was 'Black males had to have a professional low haircut'. No twists or dreadlocks no afro, etc...how do you think that made us feel??? If one cannot be their authentic self at work - then why are they working there? Why does a haircut matter? Does it affect the brain that is embedded underneath???

These are the new issues that are being brought to the surface in the guise of diversity, inclusion & belonging. I could go on and on but I think you can get my point...
Click to expand...
Did you see your white colleagues with professional haircuts or were they allowed long hair and ponytails or manbuns? How about ear gauges of facial piercings? Did white professionals have visible tattoos? Were the whites allowed to dress in casual clothes or was business attire required? You said you could go on and on. I am truly interested in how else you were asked to be less black.
 
Booted said:
Did you see your white colleagues with professional haircuts or were they allowed long hair and ponytails or manbuns? How about ear gauges of facial piercings? Did white professionals have visible tattoos? Were the whites allowed to dress in casual clothes or was business attire required? You said you could go on and on. I am truly interested in how else you were asked to be less black.
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This is a great debate - I appreciate!

Here's my answer - please watch "Soul of a Nation" this week. This should provide all the answers to your queries.
 
******* dumb. This bullshit will never end. Ever. I am doing my best in life to ignore everyone outside of my circle. Just stay out of my lane and I'll stay out of yours.
 
bermudasteel said:
Here's my honest and true answer. Ever since I started working - I have had to 'be less black' in order to climb the corporate ladder. I can fully understand that someone who has never had to 'live this' if you don't understand---it's truly not a fault.

Companies are trying to make their employees 'more aware' of each other by implementing policies like these. Are they pushing the envelope - damn right they are. I talked w/ my wife's white colleague, yesterday, and she's from Georgia. Do you know that she grew up so entitled that she didn't even know what a trailer park was. She admitted that the only Black people she knew were affluent and they were few and far between.

Back to the work environment...did you know that when I was working on Wall St. that the expectation was 'Black males had to have a professional low haircut'. No twists or dreadlocks no afro, etc...how do you think that made us feel??? If one cannot be their authentic self at work - then why are they working there? Why does a haircut matter? Does it affect the brain that is embedded underneath???

These are the new issues that are being brought to the surface in the guise of diversity, inclusion & belonging. I could go on and on but I think you can get my point...
Click to expand...
I don't really know what I think about all of this yet. But I do want to point out what was indicated before...and that is around the issues of appearance.

You seem to indicate that black people are the only race that have had to adhere to a dress code. This simply isn't true.

I work for Big Blue. For decades (like 7 decades) you were expected to wear a blue suit/red tie. You were expected to have short cropped hair. If you were a male and had an earring, forget it. Beards? Nope, not for a long time. Exposed tattoos? Forget it. Man buns, ponytails for men....nope. Women were expected to adhere to a dress code as well. Blouses had to be a certain style.

Dress codes, expectations on appearance has NOT been a race thing. It's been a professional issue in areas like Wall Street, banking, big tech and corporate America.

I object to saying those issues are at all based on race. They were all based upon corporate image. Period.
 
bermudasteel said:
It's called Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging...
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Nonsense. Telling a person to be less white or less black is racism, point blank, period. I was always taught that racism is bad, and I agree wholeheartedly that it is. Why is it that when it comes to issues that of race that we have to marginalize and destroy one race to raise another? Why is it so hard to lift everyone?

If your experiences with racism and discrimination were as awful as you describe, why would you be ok with it happening to anyone else?
 
Tim Steelersfan said:
I don't really know what I think about all of this yet. But I do want to point out what was indicated before...and that is around the issues of appearance.

You seem to indicate that black people are the only race that have had to adhere to a dress code. This simply isn't true.

I work for Big Blue. For decades (like 7 decades) you were expected to wear a blue suit/red tie. You were expected to have short cropped hair. If you were a male and had an earring, forget it. Beards? Nope, not for a long time. Exposed tattoos? Forget it. Man buns, ponytails for men....nope. Women were expected to adhere to a dress code as well. Blouses had to be a certain style.

Dress codes, expectations on appearance has NOT been a race thing. It's been a professional issue in areas like Wall Street, banking, big tech and corporate America.

I object to saying those issues are at all based on race. They were all based upon corporate image. Period.
Click to expand...
When I was a teenager, late 60's, early 70's, I had hair to my shoulders and as much facial hair as I could grow. After surviving college and going to work for a living, the dress code mandated hair above the ears, no facial hair, shirt and tie, and a long medical lab coat. Who knew, they weren't letting me be me? For 5 decades apparently I was oppressed and never knew it.
 
My job has had an unofficial dress code since I entered the profession more than 30 years ago. No chance one of the major law firms - Latham, Watkins, or Quinn, Emmanuel, or Skadden, Arps - would allow a male associate to wear an earring or nose ring or a pony tail or dredlocks. Hell, those firms would not allow an associate to wear a sport coat M-Th. Casual Friday meant sport coat and dress slacks.
 
My first career out of college was retail management. My first day on the job the District Manager was in the store. I introduced myself to him. His response was "Nice to meet you. Do you mind shaving?" That night I shaved my beard. Corporate image.
 
My job now, we just started a kind of sort of dress code. Used to be I could come to work in jeans and a t-shirt, as long as nothing was ripped stained or vulgar. Now, we have these logo’d polo shirts we have to wear, and a hat if we choose to wear a hat. There is no standard on hair or beards, and visible tattoos are fine which is good since I have a sleeve on my left arm. But then, my job isn’t corporate America either.
 
If less white implies more black, and includes permission to use “that word”, I’m quitting my job and applying. Not being able to use “that word” is a lot of pressure on the fairer complexioned among us. Sometimes when I’m rapping, “that word” fits perfectly into the lyrics, but when I let it drop people just stare at me.

If this keeps up, nobody is going to understand Blazing Saddles.
 
Stainless said:
If less white implies more black, and includes permission to use “that word”, I’m quitting my job and applying. Not being able to use “that word” is a lot of pressure on the fairer complexioned among us. Sometimes when I’m rapping, “that word” fits perfectly into the lyrics, but when I let it drop people just stare at me.

If this keeps up, nobody is going to understand Blazing Saddles.
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The sheriff is near!
 
hamster said:
My first career out of college was retail management. My first day on the job the District Manager was in the store. I introduced myself to him. His response was "Nice to meet you. Do you mind shaving?" That night I shaved my beard. Corporate image.
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That was mighty white of you....
 
Does that mean the white employees at Coke don't have to be at work on time anymore?
 
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