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Original poster

DH's had a rock thrown at him at work today!!!!

82 replies

QueenOfQuotes · 22/08/2005 23:38

Great - first full day on the job on his own (TV Licensing Officer) and the last house he visited at 8.50pn an elderly black man re-opened the door after DH had already gone back up the path and shut the gate, grabbed a rock/brick (he didn't hang around to see exactly what it was) and threw it.

Thankfully missed him, but landed in the road with quite a thud apparently - and this was in a supposedly 'average' area of town .

OP posts:
Original poster
QueenOfQuotes · 23/08/2005 20:07

As someone else has said it was used not only to tell regular MN'ers who know me that it wasn't a racist attack, and also used as a descriptive word - no-where did I use a derogatory description.

And it certainly wasn't a 'stereotype' - he was an old black man, not a young black man wearing a hoodie!

OP posts:
Dior · 23/08/2005 20:12

Message withdrawn

Original poster
QueenOfQuotes · 23/08/2005 20:13

You may as well have done first comment you made

"What's his colour got to do with it"

OP posts:
happymerryberries · 23/08/2005 20:15

fwiw, i read it you wanted, ie that it was not a white on black racist attack.

and also you could argue that even saying a 'man' was also unnecessary . since the gender wasn't important either. i saw it as a simple description , nothing more.

SoupDragon · 23/08/2005 20:18

Or his age.

bubble99 · 23/08/2005 20:18

If I had had a rock thrown at me by an elderly Spanish lady, I would probably have recounted that she was Spanish.

SoupDragon · 23/08/2005 20:20

It's simply a description isn't it?? I'm trying to remember a story where it took someone ages to track down a particular person in an office simply because, trying to be PC, no one described her as being black - she was the only black person in the office and this would have identified her immediately.

Original poster
QueenOfQuotes · 23/08/2005 20:21

ok let me try again

"Last night at work, the man to whom I am married had a large solid object thrown at him by a member of the human race - thankfully it missed him"

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 23/08/2005 20:22

Is "large" not sizeist?

chicagomum · 23/08/2005 20:22

haven't been online for a week as have had my sister staying with us sorry to her about this QofQ i remember you posting a little while back abotu you and your dh looking for jobs, hope you and yours are all doing ok and very glad he wasn't hurt

SoupDragon · 23/08/2005 20:22

And should it not be "the person to whom I am married" ?

Original poster
QueenOfQuotes · 23/08/2005 20:23

can you be sizist about an inanimate object???

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 23/08/2005 20:23

And being thankful that it missed him is ridiculing the poor hand/eye co-ordination of the thrower.

Original poster
QueenOfQuotes · 23/08/2005 20:24

"Last night at work, the person to whom I am married had a solid object thrown at him by a member of the human race - thankfully it missed"

better?

BTW - he's fine today - I'm still shaking like a leaf about it (especially as he's out at work now........which means I really should get the washing up done ) - but he was laughing about it on the phone with a fellow colleague today!

OP posts:
sis · 23/08/2005 20:24

QoQ, I am so sorry about this - I know that getting a job was not easy for your dh and for something like this to happen on his first day is awful.

Dior, the 'black' bit stuck out for me too - and I think you were right to question it especially as you didn't know that QoQ's husband is black. BTW, I am not saying that people who are from, or are married to someone who is from an ethnic minority is incapable of being rascist. Again, I am not saying that QoQ is rascist or that her original description was rascist but, like Blu, I am glad someone picked up on it and questioned it.

happymerryberries · 23/08/2005 20:27

how can you say 'thankflly' it missed. the 'thrower could have his/her/its ability doubted, as be seriously scarred mentally!

bubble99 · 23/08/2005 20:40

I've heard the best one yet. 'Failure' is now known as 'Deferred Success.'

Dior. This whole area is a minefield. A person who tells a story featuring the nationality of a protaganist is deemed 'racist.' Even if the teller and tellee are both causcasian. Is a tale recounted, which features the ethnicity of a person involved, more offensive if it is inter-ethnic ie. not featuring two caucasians, for example.

Is colour of skin deemed to hold more 'weight' than nationality? Which is more offensive, and why?

I am from Scottish descent and had a stereotypical 'Scottish' maiden name. I put up with tired old jokes about stereotypical characteristics for years. Could I/should I have been more offended if my skin was aso a different colour?

Hulababy · 23/08/2005 20:51

Out of curiousity, when reading the first post what bit stood out for them?

In the case of this story the bit that hit out at me was QoQ's Dh having a brick thrown at them whilst they were at work. Nothing more.

I do wonder sometimes if we are all PC gone mad!

In my job I have to decribe men (I don't have to decscribe women at all as not relevant, I do hear about them though) and hear description of all sorts of people. Skin colour, race, age, hair colour, gender, clothes style & colour, height, you name it - all of it is described. And you know what? I don't make judgements based on that info - I listen to the whole story and take my judgement from that.

I personally see nothing wrong with descibing someone from their appearance. IMO that is NOT racist or judgemental. It is simply stating a fact.

Being racist is to discrimate against someone because of their race/colour/whatever - not describing someone. Why would someone be offended by being described accurately?

Hulababy · 23/08/2005 20:52

Glad to hear your DH is okay after this incident QoQ

bubble99 · 23/08/2005 20:57

Hulababy. Love that name Someone is looking for you.

Hulababy · 23/08/2005 20:58

Youm ean Yorkiegirl's thread looking for my address - found out, thanks

Original poster
QueenOfQuotes · 23/08/2005 21:01

Hula - I often wonder what some people who are ultra PC would do if faced with having to describe one of 3 boys, 6ft tall, brown eyes, wearing jeans and hoodies, big noses, sticky out ears (just for good measure ) gap between the 2 front teeth etc etc. - so basically 'indentical' ..........apart from the fact that one was of Asian appearance, one was Black and one was White.

OP posts:
Blu · 23/08/2005 21:10

Of course describing peope if you need to describe them for purposes of identification, for e.g, is not a problem. no one has said it is. And no-one has called anyone racist on this thread either.

QoQ explained that the description was actually relevant, anyway, end of story

Throwing in gratuitous descriptions MIGHT sometimes create an unnecessary connection between race and behaviour.

That's all.

Hulababy · 23/08/2005 21:12

But surely that is just highlighting race as being the only contentious aspect of a decription? What about gender? Or age? Where does it end?

Blu · 23/08/2005 21:15

Old people, women etc are not typically categorised by age or gender linked to criminal acts like chucking bricks. black people are.

Dior only asked. And she took great care to add lost of qualifying messages, and specifically NOT use the 'r' word!

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