Letters
Gibson’s Still in the Hot Seat
I notice that your article “Mel
Gibson’s Back: Is He Forgiven?”
( DiversityInc.com–Dec. 8) made no
mention of Mel Gibson’s negligence
in apologizing to women for the
offensive, sexist remarks he made to
the female officer involved in this
incident. Apparently, there was no
significance placed on his insult to
women and to the officer specifically and, thus, no apology was
required. The Latino workers on his
film have been paid and at this
point, the bulk of the profits go to
Gibson. I will be boycotting all of
his work for I am still offended and
believe that his apology was insincere and opportunistic.
Beatrice Ramirez
EEO Director
City of Los Angeles,
Fire Department
On the ‘N-Word’
I greatly appreciate Yoji Cole’s
excellent article “Can Anyone Say the
N-Word?” ( DiversityInc.com–Dec.
13) on who can and cannot use the
“N” word. However, as a white
woman, I think the author is making
it too complicated. The answer is,
“You can, we can’t.” It’s that simple.
Very few white people have a
difficult time understanding why a
woman doesn’t like to be called the
“B” word, especially by a man.
Although sometimes there is some
grumbling about a double standard,
most people seem to “get it” when
women use the word among themselves. We, as white people, seem to
pretty much agree that “Yes, I can
say I’m a bullheaded Polack … but
I’d better not hear you say that
unless your name ends with a ‘ski.’”
So why is the use of the “N” word
any different? It’s not.
To all my white friends and
colleagues I say, “You know why we
can’t use it and they can, now get
over it.” And to my black friends I
say, “Some of us might surprise you
if you do start the conversation with
us. After all, if you’re not hearing
that word come out of our mouths,
maybe it’s because we’re with you
on this one.”
Deborah Orlowski, Ph.D.
Training and Organizational
Development Consultant
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Defending Oprah
I am finding the information I
have been reading on your site and
in the newspapers rather intriguing. For the record, I am a white
Canadian female. I think that
what Oprah is doing for the future
of South Africa is commendable. I
suspect the reason there are so
many naysayers has to do with
jealousy or envy, perhaps because
she didn’t set up the school in
America so the United States can
ultimately take credit for it. Good
for Oprah for following her heart
to do what she has always done! At
the end of the day it is her money
to do what she likes with it and
who are we to tell her how she
should spend it, especially when it
is for the good of humankind.
Bonnie LaPlante
Regina, Sk.
Canada
In Case of Fire
I love this magazine. I have never
been a person who saves magazines
after reading them. However, I have
saved all my DI copies since the
beginning of 2004. I keep them in a
leather magazine holder, as they are
very instrumental in my career as a
diversity consultant. I have instructed my husband to grab them (and
any of my other diversity books) in
the event of any fire evacuation. I
told him not to go back into our
home to retrieve any … However, if
my DiversityInc magazine holders are
within reach … GRAB ’EM! (Smile!)
Thanks to all the editors and
staff members for producing a stellar publication!
Stephanie English
OGM Diversity Consulting
Southfield, Mich.
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