Lots of people say awful things but it tends to give me extra pause when they aren't just being randomly racist, sexist, or generally horrible but when it is to do with their job, especially when they have the power to really do harm and I start to wonder if the system is quietly quite well populated by other people like them too for them to be so blasé about making the remark.
For example, somebody who worked in housing, who I thought was an all round good person, kindness itself and so on and so forth, (I'm going to have to at least paraphrase what she said here, so brace youselves)
"Why do Indian people have a red dot on their forehead?"
(Stabbing gesture with finger towards imaginary Hindu's forehead.)
"NO you cannot have a council house"
In a Peter Selllers, Goodness Gracious Me accent.
Turned out she was up to a bit of fast and loose on the old social benefits, who lived where and with whom and on what basis malarkey herself.
As is often the case with these charmers. They're usually hypocrites.
Another strange aspect of bigot behaviour that I have tried to make sense of over the years is why the most racist men tend to have wives or partners of the very ethnic group they claim to despise. I've seen it so often.
Some women as well. Very odd.