What the heck is with people?? Is it just my work that demented??

Question

I made a comment because we have 4 office that it's crazy that we all have different holidays off.... like today we get done early at 2:00, NY 3:00, Canada 12:00 and NC 12:00- makes no sense!!! I also mention that I was insulted that they only offered the African American girl off Martin Luther King Day!! Because you know I don’t have any civil rights! Anyways the people I was talking to are white and said well, we don’t have any “of those” here, who cares about that holiday…. We should have Presidents’ Day off because George Washington did more for us then Martin Luther King.
What the hell is wrong with Americans?

Answer 1

i ask myself that question every day. I believe that at one point, things like that had meaning, however, things people do these days, and the way that one treats another, has no meaning.

Answer 2

Not to insult, but one should remember; Civil Rights are a legal question when one is confronted by the action of a government, not a corporate organization. The times you mention are obviously different time zones and not clearly stated at that. From your rough description it appears that you are discussing personal days off, and in some places, Martin Luther King day is not a state-sponsored holiday. The value of who did what for whom is more of a question for other groups, just ask any American Indian about the tragedy of Columbus day. I would also point out whithout intended cruelty that corporations are not required by law to celebrate any holodays its just that business is often slow on those days and would be actually costly for the company to pay people for being in an office on a day when no money would come in (the other side of 'corporate welfare--a joke).
Sometime one just needs to go with the flow, and if indeed you do notice practices that violate anti-discrimination laws, you should contact your local wage and hour board of if needed, your local police. I would start with wage and hour and if your state has one, its civil rights commission. While civil rights are not a corporate thing, they are a legal thing and constitutionally certain legally- defined personal and property rights cannot be given up or surrendered, even through contract.
And as for what is wrong with americans: you describe a condition that is endemic world-wide in corporate culture.
Here in my home state of Ohio, USA a female executive was ordered to get coffee for the board meeting by her new corporate executives: gentlemen from Germany. When she instructed her male secretary to oblige on the coffee, the board chairman said he's ordered Her to do it.
She sued for sexual harrassment and won. US laws and customs, corporate and otherwise, are different from other countries, and in this country, US laws apply first.
I can understand the frustration, but sometimes one must simply adapt and tolerate: I am white, I am a 5th gen. US citizen (and proud of it) male, and wiccan. I take Halloween or all hallows eve as my personal holiday-I already get my birthday automatically. I work in a hospital with many blacks, africans and muslims, many of whom (most) are undereducated by our standards and would, and have been , upset when they learn I am a Wiccan. To them it is the same as witchcraft in thier own homeland. I tell them to get over it, your not in your end of Kansas any more toto.

Answer 3

We'er too caught up with work and don't like taking days off or giving people days off in fear of losing money it's become quite a sickness I mean How many people do you know where work is there lives and not a place they go to for 8 hours a day. We take work to seriously and rarely focus on more important things Like Family or Just Having Time to oursleves.

That last part of the question about the comments your co-workers made Is really racsist and you should pointed that out to them. instead of coming on here asking whats worng with americans If I were you I would be trying to find another place of employment becuase a business that operates like that Must be Very Stressfull to Work for.

Answer 4

The ACLU is what is wrong with America.

Answer 5

GREAT question!