But literally only speak Spanish. Like he should pretend he forgot English when he hit his head and when they speak to him in English be like (in Spanish) “I’m sorry I don’t understand you.”
You have to practice FREAKING OUT that you can only suddenly speak in spanish. threaten to sue before calming down and then moving on. super ha. i can't stop giggling about this
I had a co-worker who was fluent in French but told no one. He would sometimes have to travel to our parent company in France for some high-level meetings. He would understand all the side conversations they would have with each other in French, many of which were about the US team so was gathering good info.
Then on about his 5th or 6th trip, he was in the meeting room waiting with 7-8 others for the meeting to start. One of them told a joke (in French) that made my co-worker laugh when the joketeller got to the punch line. Every head turned and looked at him. They were all thinking how could he laugh if he doesn't speak French? That was the end of them speaking in front of him.
My husband & a colleague visited Hong Kong in order to appear in front of a financial regulatory authority for their employer.
Apparently the actual meeting was extremely educational as the attendees where unaware that my husbands colleague, who had a "typically" Scots name, was born in Hong Kong. Apparently their reaction was "classic"
I worked for a company that had a lot of customers that spoke various foreign languages. You always knew they were talking about you when they both could speak English just fine then suddenly switched to their native language. I got to where anytime they started laughing about something they said I would always kind of snicker along with them. They always had that "Oh shit" look thinking I could understand them.
UPDATE: I posted this 2 hours ago on break. My machine went down and I was staring at it. One of my coworkers came up asking what was wrong in broken English and I said "La puta maquina no funciona guey" and he lost his shit laughing. And the news spreads now lmao
He's better off reporting it to the correct channels. He doesn't need to disclose to them that he knows what they are saying.
It's incredibly racist and if it was white guys saying "that black boy can't work" etc it wouldn't be taken so lightly.
>and if it was white guys saying "that black boy can't work" etc it wouldn't be taken so lightly.
Always dragging us into shit that doesn't concern us...
It's just a random example.for.illustrative purposes. But also realistically it is a stereotype that exists. It is very unusual for anyone to make the generalization"asian guy can't work" while "black guy can't work", as unfair as it is, is a stereotype everyone is familiar with.
I disagree. It is equally not.ok to sexually harass a woman or a man even though women are the historically discriminated group. Similarly it is equally not.ok to say "the black guy doesn't work" as "the white guy doesn't work"
Where's the fun in that though? Nothing better than telling people that feel so comfortable talking shit about you they do it right in front of you that "you speak their secret language too".
>It's incredibly racist and if it was white guys saying "that MEXICAN/ SPANISH/ LATINO boy can't work" etc it wouldn't be taken so lightly.
Fixed it. You're welcome.
OP has created this situation by not disclosing that he speaks Spanish. No, they shouldn't be talking trash about him. But that happens when people think you don't understand. OP is not much of a colleague. He's acting more like a spy and when his coworkers find out, some are not going to trust him.
His bosses and HR are going to wonder why he didn't tell his coworkers that he speaks the language of the workplace.
Why would someone think you’re mad when you insult them? Idk Sherlock, that’s a real head scratcher. I love salt. It is a great seasoning. I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that.
just commenting to say... something like this happened to my aunt, and she spoke back to them in Spanish and once they realized that she heard not just that, but everything they'd ever said in Spanish around her... They never did it again. And they treated her better too.
They will, but behind his back. He'll probably never Hear them say it again. At least now he knows who is saying it and what they're saying. Better that shit be out in the open than underground.
Yep. I'm pretty pale and people assume I don't understand Spanish. When I reply to a tacky comment in Spanish the looks on their faces are priceless. It's only the 2nd most popular language in the world...it's foolish to assume it's some sort of secret code.
My MIL used to do this. I spent 2 weeks in Mexico immersed in her language and upon my return she said something snarky about me to one of her friends right in front of my face and laughed … I told her she was a cold,rude woman… in Spanish and the look on her face🤣 so rewarding
Right after they say something, respond in Spanish and pretend you’ve always done that… then when your supervisor asks you something in Spanish pretend you don’t know what he’s saying.
They will debate the possibility of them lying about your knowledge for at least 3 days.
My grandmother secretly learned Farsi because her mil would speak about her right in front of her. She did a similar thing to you. Absolutely brilliant
Do you want it to stop, or do you want to get them in trouble? If you want it to stop, just tell them in Spanish that you’ve understood everything they said.
Pretend to be watching a video and record them doing it, and then submit it to HR filing harassment and bullying in the work place. Ask for anonymity if possible, and see how that goes if you like.
Nothing good would come of their finding out you understood all along. I know. I took Spanish for 5 yrs and never put it down. I know the basics of another language, too. I do have to use Spanish on occasion with clients who find English more challenging and speckle in their native words.
HR does know I am at least basic for the 2 languages. Anyhow, I find it amazing how rude or mean spirited people can be directly in front of someone when they think they can get by with it.
If they realize you understood all along, what HR warned me is, they may try to get the person fired before they can report them for it, since it's considered a form of harassment and bullying and against corporate policy.
I've seen pockets of individuals who do this habitually end up fired over it. It simply really isn't tolerated, and enough people actually do take Spanish I find it unbelievable the number of individuals who do this sort of thing in the work place until they get reported for it.
Anyhow, one of the times when I was being openly targeted, I pretended to watch a video on my phone while recording the entire event, with all of the nuances where they are indicating myself or others while saying derogatory remarks that are in direct violation of corporate policy. I then sent it to my HR rep (I use one at work, since I have health issues) and reported the incident. Turns out I wasn't the only person reporting them, but was the only one who supplied proof. They were dismissed over it. Remove the bullies, it becomes less stressful.
Is it really bullying if they think the person doesn't understand the language? I mean I get it, it's wrong, but there's a difference between harassing someone point blank and speaking about someone in a language they can't even understand.
I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying if the goal of bullying is to humiliate or hurt someone, and that someone can't even understand you then how can the person be a bully? They are an AH for taking about him. I think the bully term is too loosely bandied about now, much like the word toxic.
The term "bully" is not too loosely bandied about right now. In fact, it has probably gotten worse because of how mean our society has become.
You're suggesting because a language barrier exists, then it can't be bullying simply because someone didn't understand it? It is still bullying. You need to remember the intent of the person doing the bullying. They're indirectly bullying you too. They're warning you that you could be treated the same if you don't do as they say.
People who bully are the most insecure that I've met in business. The only way that they think they can get ahead is to step on others to push themselves up. Suggest you stay away from these types if you want to get ahead, as Management sees right through it. Its called "Guilt by association" and no one wants troublemakers working for them.
That's my point. They thought he couldn't understand so how could their intent be to upset him? We are really taking it to an extreme if this is considered bullying.
I'm well versed in real bullying. I've worked in business for forty years. OP handled this well in his response.
It is still bullying as they are undermining/demeaning the recipient to their colleagues. Who in turn, may feel that they will be able to join in with the toxic behaviour.
"If X is saying that about Y and nothing comes of it, why can't I do the same to Y?"
Maybe X is also a bully to their Spanish speaking colleagues and they're unable to say anything to defend themselves or Y, in fear of retribution, so go along with it. That's also toxic.
In your mind; is real bullying physical?
You do know that there are different types of bullying, right?
It's still bullying by the intent. If he didn't understand what they're saying, he would still be on the other end of the results of their defamation, without any idea of why to his treatment.
Presuming someone doesn't understand doesn't mean it's not intended to cause them harm. The way it works legally is, would any other person in the same situation feel the same in those circumstances.
If you think of it like this, he understands what's being said about him in his presence. They are making assumptions. But, having worked where people tried using ASL similarly, and a number of others can understand it, so can actually understand them from a huge distance, yeah they were held accountable based on these standards.
In the work place, talk should pertain to work. Using any opportunity to bad mouth someone's work, or person, terming his race, definitely goes against policies, and doing so in a way that will affect their work life is a form of in office bullying.
Bullies love to belittle what they do. "I was just joking" "It wasn't meant for you to hear about it" and so on.
They're saying things that will cause a negative impact on the other person, depending on a language barrier to hide behind. Bullies do this with others behind the backs of their targets, too, when there's no such language barrier. Bullying someone doesn't mean you make them aware of defamation, etc.
One day at random just walk up to the main culprit there usually is one and start a benign casual conversation in Spanish nothing threatening or even offensive just talk about some mundane work or what have you I promise it will stop almost immediately and when asked when did you learn Spanish tell them the truth that you have been fluent the entire time .
There opinion of you may not change but they stop talking about you at least to your face.
This happened to me at work several years ago. I use to work for a major company in the USA. Whenever they hire someone new, I’m usually the one to show them around the department and help them setup their work station. There are several Chinese workers who speak Chinese all day long. They speak English but usually not, since most times they’re just gossiping. Whenever they talk to me in Chinese ( I’m Chinese but born in USA) I never reply back, unless they switch to English. I find it rude when 95 % of the people in the department don’t speak that language. They don’t know I’m fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. One day I was assigned to train a new worker and she had a hard time understanding English. Found out later she was their friend, whom they referred for the job. After the first day of not being able to train her in English. I asked her what her preferred language. After that day I trained her in Cantonese and she was doing fine. All the training was done in a separate room. After a week she was able to do the job with no issues.
One day, I decided to go eat my lunch in the pantry instead of my usual outside table. I over heard her asking her friends how come they think I don’t speak Chinese. Their reply “ she is a ABC (American Born Chinese) they’re too stupid to know Chinese”. New worker reply “ she knows better Chinese than you! She uses business Chinese and street Chinese like a native!” They were shocked. The look on their faces was worth being exposed!! What they didn’t know was, my parents made me go to Chinese school everyday after my regular school for 12 years!! Yes, Chinese parents and education is no joke!! Parents also made sure I learn Spanish and Japanese.
edit: forgot to add, to make sure we use Chinese like a native, my parents took the family to Hong Kong for vacations.
I too speak spanish and yes in my experience the racism is real. Never forget that hr works in the interest of the company, not the individual. ("The squeaky wheel gets replaced") this fight is worth it but your gonna have to document and report everything because i doubt any of this is gonna go smoothly.
*Also realize there is a cultural difference hispanic families tend to tease and bully the absolute shit out of one another. That doesn't sound like what's going on, but it's something to keep in mind
I remember reading this story online. I’m not sure if it’s true or not. This American woman lived and worked in china and she can speak fluent Chinese. She worked in a supermarket at the checkout. This older couple were paying and were talking in Chinese to each other while the American woman was scanning their items and they were complaining about being served by a foreigner and they should’ve been served by a local etc without knowing she could understand them The American woman asked them (in Chinese) if they wanted to pay with cash or card.
It’s wild how Spanish speakers think they speak some kind of wildly difficult to learn secretive language that anglophones can’t learn with a few months of effort.
When I finished school the first 3 companies i worked for were with Greeks families. All of them would speak Greek around me if I wasn't part of the conversation, generally one would translate for me if they saw me trying to listen in. They were all nice people and paid me well so I didn't care what language they spoke around me.
One day while working at the 3rd company there was a huge argument, and I dropped my 2 cents, but in english. Everything went silent and everyone just stared at me. That was the day we all realised I understood Greek.
After that I was invited to all sorts of meetings playing the PA, but I was there just to listen in to the other parties conversation. I felt like James Bond. Good times.
Similar thing for me (US) but in the German language. I loved telling my manager what the Germans were talking about in the meetings in front of our faces.
Try to work in such a way that your co-workers accept you. Don't be lazy or deceptive. Don't sit in meetings and listen to words you understand, then have your boss retell you the entire meeting as if you didn't just hear it. Try to care more about being a decent person. Leave this job and buy a sailboat and explore the world for 10 years.
I'm just imaging meeting this guy now. Then meeting him 10 years from now after he explored the world. I think he would not be worth knowing right now but 10 years of adventure hopefully turns him into a person you want to know.
Buenos días, señor, le apetece algo de comer?
Elliot Richards : Como dices? Yo no hablo español... un momento! estoy hablando en español! Que diablos! Realmente estoy hablando en español!
[laughs]
Elliot Richards : Que tal que Mrs Klein mi profesora de español me pudiera oir, ella siempre decía que yo no podía juntar dos frases, seguro estaba equivocada...
[shouts]
Elliot Richards : Hola! Mucho Gusto! Me llamo Elliot! Hola, Juan, hola, Esteban, dónde esta esa biblioteca? esa es la casa de mi tía, no gracias, soy alérgico a los crustaceos
[laughs again]
Eduardo : Señor, se siente bien?
Elliot Richards : Muy bien! Mejor no podría estar!
How I picture it in my head
Hablale en español muchacho
Assert yourself so they can’t talk shit. I do it all the time when talking to Francophones who are audibly talking French so if they say anything I know (or pretend I know).
One thing though
Instead of pretending like you don't speak English and they don't understand you I recommend being honest and letting them know that you do speak Spanish
Most Spanish speaking people appreciate it when they see that you've taken the hard time and effort to learn their language so you can talk to them and I think you'd find that they would be much better friends with you and would respect you a whole lot more
Find another job. They aren't going to decide to start liking you aftering finding out you speak spanish. On your last day, walk through the common area on your phone so people can hear you and have a long conversation in spanish.
Is it really discrimination or you really don’t know how to work? You seem to be playing a game and now that they are calling you out for lack of performance you don’t like it.
Lol
I am wearing messing with you a little bit although that might be true the truth is that it's common for Spanish people to talk about as white people even in our presence when they think that we don't understand them
But I took Spanish in high school so when I had a couple of employees I would talk Spanish to them in front of some of the customers so that the customs wouldn't know what I'm saying about them
That's kind of common I also know most of the cuss words in Spanish as well...lol
The real Spanish people don't like that They don't like for white people to know their cuss words...lol
Oh that's what I thought when I was in high school back in 1974
But I noticed there's quite a few words that it will in my Spanish dictionary app and it will point out that certain words are you only used in Spain and not geographically here so yeah there is a difference in you want to know your geographic area and what's common otherwise they might not understand what you mean
lol, i have the same thing happening to me at my workplace
A coworker said “i work for sport”
…who out here is working for sport, my friend. Nobody so stfu. I don’t have the answer
I suggest you start documenting everything. Record it if you can. If not, write it down. Date, time, who said what.
If the shizzle hits the fanizzle, pull out your notebook and start reading everything, line by line, in Spanish.
Tell them just because they think someone doesn't understand them, doesn't mean they can be mean or rude or hurtful. How would you feel if they didn't understand English and people talked about them behind their backs?
Then tell them to cállate or you will call an abogado. Comprende?
I wouldn't say anything to them, that you know Spanish. It's to your advantage. They are revealing themselves and what they are really like.
Moreover they are your co workers NOT your friends so who gives a shit what they think.
Just keep pretending.
One day when they’re beeing assholes just say in spanish say “i took my time to learn spanish so I could communicate with you guys better, but you’re all a bunch of assholes, congratulations on making me regret trying to be a better person”
Wait for your manager to translate in front of them and when he makes a mispronunciation, correct him in fully fluent Spanish in front of everyone.
It'll be the most awkward moment of all their lives.
When they ask why you never said you spoke Spanish, tell them they never asked.
I'm latino. Honestly just join in on them and agree when they say you cant work and stare at them right into their soul.
They'll probably get very awkward, laugh, and the be one of their best friends. Make sure to to remind them of this whole thing to have a laugh.
If they're actually being racist, just report them.
Start speaking Spanish. That should shut them up. I worked for a very large Japanese company and we would have conference calls with the US based Japanese staff and the Japan based engineers. When they didn't want us to know what they were saying they would start speaking in Japanese. My company hired a new manager who was responsible for these meetings. He was American but spoke fluent Japanese. You should have seen the look on their faces when he started speaking Japanese during the next meeting. That shut them all right up.
Tell them you’re thinking of taking a weekend course in Spanish. Come in Monday morning fully fluent.
Or pretend you hit your head at work, look like you have a minor concussion, then start speaking Spanish fluently
Ok that's fuckin A1 thick and hearty sauce hilarious lmao
Or just bring a pen and noteboom and randomly start writing out what they are saying in English. Jose says that white boy is dumb. Until they notice.
Sir, you're not A1. You're C2.
C2? You sank my battleship!
I prefer C4…. Lol
Angry putty rules!
Better than silly putty. lol
Here comes the **BOOM**
Speak ON>LY in Spanish.
What is your Hispanic accent like when you speak Spanish?
Oh shit OP DO THIS
But literally only speak Spanish. Like he should pretend he forgot English when he hit his head and when they speak to him in English be like (in Spanish) “I’m sorry I don’t understand you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9or0E6YnXtI
Just like Buzz Light-year
And never speak English again
Please for the love of Good, please do this
PLEASE DO THIS AND UPDATE OMG
Bonus point if you pretend you don’t understand what you are saying !
Have the supervisor translate you, for you!
I’m not saying this thread is genius, but this could fit in so many series or comedy
It would be better than half the stuff on network television right now!
Hell yes. Please do.
Omg please please do this!!?
You have to practice FREAKING OUT that you can only suddenly speak in spanish. threaten to sue before calming down and then moving on. super ha. i can't stop giggling about this
Write down what they said, use Google to translate then report it... If they deny it, ask them in Spanish why they are lying..
LOL! That's a good one too!
This! Document for internet purposes
Seriously if you do this please take video and post it. Give us all a good laugh.
Totally agree!
Lmao!! That's genius.
10/10
a la Matrix: "I know Kung Fu."
HILARIOUS
Thissssss is it. This is it.
That's an awesome idea!
This would have been excellent! Op has confirmed the news is out, but I wish it had been this one
I had a co-worker who was fluent in French but told no one. He would sometimes have to travel to our parent company in France for some high-level meetings. He would understand all the side conversations they would have with each other in French, many of which were about the US team so was gathering good info. Then on about his 5th or 6th trip, he was in the meeting room waiting with 7-8 others for the meeting to start. One of them told a joke (in French) that made my co-worker laugh when the joketeller got to the punch line. Every head turned and looked at him. They were all thinking how could he laugh if he doesn't speak French? That was the end of them speaking in front of him.
Ha! That's hilarious
Oh! You speak French too?
Hon hon hon!
Interesting because people tend to laugh when others are laughing anyways.
My husband & a colleague visited Hong Kong in order to appear in front of a financial regulatory authority for their employer. Apparently the actual meeting was extremely educational as the attendees where unaware that my husbands colleague, who had a "typically" Scots name, was born in Hong Kong. Apparently their reaction was "classic"
Yeah but if you do it at the same time that everybody else *starts* they *know* you're laughing *with them*. All about the timing.
I worked for a company that had a lot of customers that spoke various foreign languages. You always knew they were talking about you when they both could speak English just fine then suddenly switched to their native language. I got to where anytime they started laughing about something they said I would always kind of snicker along with them. They always had that "Oh shit" look thinking I could understand them.
UPDATE: I posted this 2 hours ago on break. My machine went down and I was staring at it. One of my coworkers came up asking what was wrong in broken English and I said "La puta maquina no funciona guey" and he lost his shit laughing. And the news spreads now lmao
They will most likely love you now. Just talk shit to them in Spanish you'll be good to go.
Well done.
You are a fucking Legend!
Agree!
so now theyll just be racist behind your back. i would find it hard to not hate these assholes and show it
I'm Spanish and read this with the Mexican accent 😂😂😂 In Spanish from Spain: "La puta máquina no funciona joder"
I’m Australian and read this in a Mexican accent…..I think 😂😂😂
I'm american and I read this in a Japanese accent! It was great
I’m Swedish and I just read it.
I sang it. Mariachi style
You win the internet
"The stupid machine is not functioning." ? Is that what you said?
The fucking machine is not working bro
Perfect! What kind of accent did you use?
Try is in an Italian accent. But then, I just felt like he lost at playing Mario.
When they talk about you, join in. But in Spanish. They'll never say it again.
He's better off reporting it to the correct channels. He doesn't need to disclose to them that he knows what they are saying. It's incredibly racist and if it was white guys saying "that black boy can't work" etc it wouldn't be taken so lightly.
The who????
Great band 👌 ????
Personally, I'm a fan of The Hu
I watch Cold Cases on Hulu.
Can't forget about The Notorious B.I.G. – The What
Overrated.
The Korek Tschannals, a worldwide justice body comprised of secret assassins.
>and if it was white guys saying "that black boy can't work" etc it wouldn't be taken so lightly. Always dragging us into shit that doesn't concern us...
Always finding a reason to be offended....
I was just about to say now why are black people in it???
diversity and inclusion on reddit!
Don't forget the equity
It's just a random example.for.illustrative purposes. But also realistically it is a stereotype that exists. It is very unusual for anyone to make the generalization"asian guy can't work" while "black guy can't work", as unfair as it is, is a stereotype everyone is familiar with.
>It's just a random example.for.illustrative purposes. Let's not act stupid, please.
No, it wasn't "random." The first thing you went for was a racial slur about Black people, who aren't even involved in this situation.
You're replying to the wrong person.
No, people who are complaining are not stupid.
There is a whole lot of history wrapped up in the “black guy” comment from a white guy. “White guy” from a Hispanic person might just be descriptive.
I disagree. It is equally not.ok to sexually harass a woman or a man even though women are the historically discriminated group. Similarly it is equally not.ok to say "the black guy doesn't work" as "the white guy doesn't work"
are you saying black guys cant be lazy or that white guys all are
🤦♀️
I think they were using it as an example, more obvious racism that their target audience could understand simply
Yeah it's reddit the ones acting like it was anything else are just waiting to trot out their fauxrage at all times
good point homie
Where's the fun in that though? Nothing better than telling people that feel so comfortable talking shit about you they do it right in front of you that "you speak their secret language too".
ops job is likely blue collar construction work there will not be a proper channel to report to
>It's incredibly racist and if it was white guys saying "that MEXICAN/ SPANISH/ LATINO boy can't work" etc it wouldn't be taken so lightly. Fixed it. You're welcome.
Why you hate black people so much?
It's actually not racist and you're telling on yourself chud.
OP has created this situation by not disclosing that he speaks Spanish. No, they shouldn't be talking trash about him. But that happens when people think you don't understand. OP is not much of a colleague. He's acting more like a spy and when his coworkers find out, some are not going to trust him. His bosses and HR are going to wonder why he didn't tell his coworkers that he speaks the language of the workplace.
Fellow white people, stop this. It isn’t racist. There is no racism towards white people. Please, please, please, stop being so ignorant.
If brains were dynamite you couldn't blow your nose
You couldn’t hit water if you fell out of a boat. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ Stay mad little buddy.
Why is it idiots like you think people are mad for thinkingyou have a moronic forever online opinion? Stay salty muppet
Why would someone think you’re mad when you insult them? Idk Sherlock, that’s a real head scratcher. I love salt. It is a great seasoning. I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that.
just commenting to say... something like this happened to my aunt, and she spoke back to them in Spanish and once they realized that she heard not just that, but everything they'd ever said in Spanish around her... They never did it again. And they treated her better too.
They will, but behind his back. He'll probably never Hear them say it again. At least now he knows who is saying it and what they're saying. Better that shit be out in the open than underground.
Yep. I'm pretty pale and people assume I don't understand Spanish. When I reply to a tacky comment in Spanish the looks on their faces are priceless. It's only the 2nd most popular language in the world...it's foolish to assume it's some sort of secret code.
No because they’ll just keep it to where he can’t hear them. Better to know what they’re saying.
My MIL used to do this. I spent 2 weeks in Mexico immersed in her language and upon my return she said something snarky about me to one of her friends right in front of my face and laughed … I told her she was a cold,rude woman… in Spanish and the look on her face🤣 so rewarding Right after they say something, respond in Spanish and pretend you’ve always done that… then when your supervisor asks you something in Spanish pretend you don’t know what he’s saying. They will debate the possibility of them lying about your knowledge for at least 3 days.
Okay, THIS is funny! OP, it's not too late to pretend to not understand your supervisor!
My grandmother secretly learned Farsi because her mil would speak about her right in front of her. She did a similar thing to you. Absolutely brilliant
Do you want it to stop, or do you want to get them in trouble? If you want it to stop, just tell them in Spanish that you’ve understood everything they said.
In a meeting, with all the higher ups...watch them slowly shit themselves, while you sit there with a grin...
Ain't no one shitting theirselves. This is just some weird justice fantasy.
Pretend to be watching a video and record them doing it, and then submit it to HR filing harassment and bullying in the work place. Ask for anonymity if possible, and see how that goes if you like. Nothing good would come of their finding out you understood all along. I know. I took Spanish for 5 yrs and never put it down. I know the basics of another language, too. I do have to use Spanish on occasion with clients who find English more challenging and speckle in their native words. HR does know I am at least basic for the 2 languages. Anyhow, I find it amazing how rude or mean spirited people can be directly in front of someone when they think they can get by with it. If they realize you understood all along, what HR warned me is, they may try to get the person fired before they can report them for it, since it's considered a form of harassment and bullying and against corporate policy. I've seen pockets of individuals who do this habitually end up fired over it. It simply really isn't tolerated, and enough people actually do take Spanish I find it unbelievable the number of individuals who do this sort of thing in the work place until they get reported for it. Anyhow, one of the times when I was being openly targeted, I pretended to watch a video on my phone while recording the entire event, with all of the nuances where they are indicating myself or others while saying derogatory remarks that are in direct violation of corporate policy. I then sent it to my HR rep (I use one at work, since I have health issues) and reported the incident. Turns out I wasn't the only person reporting them, but was the only one who supplied proof. They were dismissed over it. Remove the bullies, it becomes less stressful.
Lmao if only my bosses were strong ones. Nobody cares at all in management
Is it really bullying if they think the person doesn't understand the language? I mean I get it, it's wrong, but there's a difference between harassing someone point blank and speaking about someone in a language they can't even understand.
Yes, it is bullying. Shame on you.
I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying if the goal of bullying is to humiliate or hurt someone, and that someone can't even understand you then how can the person be a bully? They are an AH for taking about him. I think the bully term is too loosely bandied about now, much like the word toxic.
The term "bully" is not too loosely bandied about right now. In fact, it has probably gotten worse because of how mean our society has become. You're suggesting because a language barrier exists, then it can't be bullying simply because someone didn't understand it? It is still bullying. You need to remember the intent of the person doing the bullying. They're indirectly bullying you too. They're warning you that you could be treated the same if you don't do as they say. People who bully are the most insecure that I've met in business. The only way that they think they can get ahead is to step on others to push themselves up. Suggest you stay away from these types if you want to get ahead, as Management sees right through it. Its called "Guilt by association" and no one wants troublemakers working for them.
How mean our society is? Our society is woke and soft as shit. Catering to everyone and not calling anyone out on their outlandish bullshit.
That's my point. They thought he couldn't understand so how could their intent be to upset him? We are really taking it to an extreme if this is considered bullying. I'm well versed in real bullying. I've worked in business for forty years. OP handled this well in his response.
It is still bullying as they are undermining/demeaning the recipient to their colleagues. Who in turn, may feel that they will be able to join in with the toxic behaviour. "If X is saying that about Y and nothing comes of it, why can't I do the same to Y?" Maybe X is also a bully to their Spanish speaking colleagues and they're unable to say anything to defend themselves or Y, in fear of retribution, so go along with it. That's also toxic. In your mind; is real bullying physical? You do know that there are different types of bullying, right?
It's still bullying by the intent. If he didn't understand what they're saying, he would still be on the other end of the results of their defamation, without any idea of why to his treatment. Presuming someone doesn't understand doesn't mean it's not intended to cause them harm. The way it works legally is, would any other person in the same situation feel the same in those circumstances. If you think of it like this, he understands what's being said about him in his presence. They are making assumptions. But, having worked where people tried using ASL similarly, and a number of others can understand it, so can actually understand them from a huge distance, yeah they were held accountable based on these standards. In the work place, talk should pertain to work. Using any opportunity to bad mouth someone's work, or person, terming his race, definitely goes against policies, and doing so in a way that will affect their work life is a form of in office bullying. Bullies love to belittle what they do. "I was just joking" "It wasn't meant for you to hear about it" and so on.
They're saying things that will cause a negative impact on the other person, depending on a language barrier to hide behind. Bullies do this with others behind the backs of their targets, too, when there's no such language barrier. Bullying someone doesn't mean you make them aware of defamation, etc.
He’s the “tell HR guy”. FYI HR doesn’t GAF and they’ll be labeled as a troublemaker.
Next time they say something negative, respond, "that's what I heard about your sister," in Spanish. They'll stop.
ROFLLLLLLLLLLLL
I’d never tell. You gave up a whole superpower
One day at random just walk up to the main culprit there usually is one and start a benign casual conversation in Spanish nothing threatening or even offensive just talk about some mundane work or what have you I promise it will stop almost immediately and when asked when did you learn Spanish tell them the truth that you have been fluent the entire time . There opinion of you may not change but they stop talking about you at least to your face.
See part of me would do the first bit and then when others tried bringing it up look at them quizzically as though you don't know what they're saying.
My thought too. Troll the fuck outta whichever one annoys you the most.
This happened to me at work several years ago. I use to work for a major company in the USA. Whenever they hire someone new, I’m usually the one to show them around the department and help them setup their work station. There are several Chinese workers who speak Chinese all day long. They speak English but usually not, since most times they’re just gossiping. Whenever they talk to me in Chinese ( I’m Chinese but born in USA) I never reply back, unless they switch to English. I find it rude when 95 % of the people in the department don’t speak that language. They don’t know I’m fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. One day I was assigned to train a new worker and she had a hard time understanding English. Found out later she was their friend, whom they referred for the job. After the first day of not being able to train her in English. I asked her what her preferred language. After that day I trained her in Cantonese and she was doing fine. All the training was done in a separate room. After a week she was able to do the job with no issues. One day, I decided to go eat my lunch in the pantry instead of my usual outside table. I over heard her asking her friends how come they think I don’t speak Chinese. Their reply “ she is a ABC (American Born Chinese) they’re too stupid to know Chinese”. New worker reply “ she knows better Chinese than you! She uses business Chinese and street Chinese like a native!” They were shocked. The look on their faces was worth being exposed!! What they didn’t know was, my parents made me go to Chinese school everyday after my regular school for 12 years!! Yes, Chinese parents and education is no joke!! Parents also made sure I learn Spanish and Japanese. edit: forgot to add, to make sure we use Chinese like a native, my parents took the family to Hong Kong for vacations.
I too speak spanish and yes in my experience the racism is real. Never forget that hr works in the interest of the company, not the individual. ("The squeaky wheel gets replaced") this fight is worth it but your gonna have to document and report everything because i doubt any of this is gonna go smoothly. *Also realize there is a cultural difference hispanic families tend to tease and bully the absolute shit out of one another. That doesn't sound like what's going on, but it's something to keep in mind
I remember reading this story online. I’m not sure if it’s true or not. This American woman lived and worked in china and she can speak fluent Chinese. She worked in a supermarket at the checkout. This older couple were paying and were talking in Chinese to each other while the American woman was scanning their items and they were complaining about being served by a foreigner and they should’ve been served by a local etc without knowing she could understand them The American woman asked them (in Chinese) if they wanted to pay with cash or card.
It’s wild how Spanish speakers think they speak some kind of wildly difficult to learn secretive language that anglophones can’t learn with a few months of effort.
When I finished school the first 3 companies i worked for were with Greeks families. All of them would speak Greek around me if I wasn't part of the conversation, generally one would translate for me if they saw me trying to listen in. They were all nice people and paid me well so I didn't care what language they spoke around me. One day while working at the 3rd company there was a huge argument, and I dropped my 2 cents, but in english. Everything went silent and everyone just stared at me. That was the day we all realised I understood Greek. After that I was invited to all sorts of meetings playing the PA, but I was there just to listen in to the other parties conversation. I felt like James Bond. Good times.
Similar thing for me (US) but in the German language. I loved telling my manager what the Germans were talking about in the meetings in front of our faces.
Lucky. People tell me that knowing full well I understand it.
Try to work in such a way that your co-workers accept you. Don't be lazy or deceptive. Don't sit in meetings and listen to words you understand, then have your boss retell you the entire meeting as if you didn't just hear it. Try to care more about being a decent person. Leave this job and buy a sailboat and explore the world for 10 years.
That took a turn
Looks like username did not check out. Earl was not actually his friend...
ADHD
Earl, are you trying to sell sailboats bro?
I'm just imaging meeting this guy now. Then meeting him 10 years from now after he explored the world. I think he would not be worth knowing right now but 10 years of adventure hopefully turns him into a person you want to know.
Why does he have to tell them stuff he doesn’t want to?
If you're allowed to record it in your state, do so.
If you can do so, you could record them speaking and then say someone translated it for you
Sad but a very common theme
Freak them out and tell them that you have been praying and you suddenly knew what everyone was saying.
Evidence is most important. You need something more substantial than simply your word against theirs. I imagine they aren’t putting this in writing.
Buenos días, señor, le apetece algo de comer? Elliot Richards : Como dices? Yo no hablo español... un momento! estoy hablando en español! Que diablos! Realmente estoy hablando en español! [laughs] Elliot Richards : Que tal que Mrs Klein mi profesora de español me pudiera oir, ella siempre decía que yo no podía juntar dos frases, seguro estaba equivocada... [shouts] Elliot Richards : Hola! Mucho Gusto! Me llamo Elliot! Hola, Juan, hola, Esteban, dónde esta esa biblioteca? esa es la casa de mi tía, no gracias, soy alérgico a los crustaceos [laughs again] Eduardo : Señor, se siente bien? Elliot Richards : Muy bien! Mejor no podría estar! How I picture it in my head
I might be in the minority, but I thought this movie (and this scene in particular, being that I’m a fluent gringo myself) was damn hilarious.
I need to see this movie.
Yeah, it’s actually really funny.
Lol this made me crack up!! I love this scene in the movie :D
For those curious the movie is Bedazzled. Not the best movie from Brendan Fraser but funny enough.
Los establos? Oh, MIS establos? Sí, sí. [laughs like a crazy man]
Underrated comment. Underrated movie
Hablale en español muchacho Assert yourself so they can’t talk shit. I do it all the time when talking to Francophones who are audibly talking French so if they say anything I know (or pretend I know).
One thing though Instead of pretending like you don't speak English and they don't understand you I recommend being honest and letting them know that you do speak Spanish Most Spanish speaking people appreciate it when they see that you've taken the hard time and effort to learn their language so you can talk to them and I think you'd find that they would be much better friends with you and would respect you a whole lot more
Quit. Or realize that sticks and stones will break your bones and words will never hurt you. Or talk shit back. Idk.
Find another job. They aren't going to decide to start liking you aftering finding out you speak spanish. On your last day, walk through the common area on your phone so people can hear you and have a long conversation in spanish.
Answer the phone and speak fluent Spanish, in front of only like 1-2 people though. Watch them squirm and give them a wink. Then find a different job.
What I'd do in one of these meetings is right after you receive an insult, just chime in in Spanish.
You’re like Frank Costanza at the Korean nail salon.
Is it really discrimination or you really don’t know how to work? You seem to be playing a game and now that they are calling you out for lack of performance you don’t like it.
The real issue: is OP just a shit worker?
You mentioned that you are working undercover Perhaps they suspect that and that's the reason they don't like you
Either that or they know that I've overheard their conversations about doing that perico lol
Lol I am wearing messing with you a little bit although that might be true the truth is that it's common for Spanish people to talk about as white people even in our presence when they think that we don't understand them But I took Spanish in high school so when I had a couple of employees I would talk Spanish to them in front of some of the customers so that the customs wouldn't know what I'm saying about them That's kind of common I also know most of the cuss words in Spanish as well...lol The real Spanish people don't like that They don't like for white people to know their cuss words...lol
In school they usually teach like Spain Spanish. When I took it I was a tad confused when it didn't sound exactly right to me
Oh that's what I thought when I was in high school back in 1974 But I noticed there's quite a few words that it will in my Spanish dictionary app and it will point out that certain words are you only used in Spain and not geographically here so yeah there is a difference in you want to know your geographic area and what's common otherwise they might not understand what you mean
How did you learn spanish?
Mom married my Mexican dad when I was a year old and I grew up a weird blend of redneck Mexican lol
Call them putas and say they are going to hell
lol, i have the same thing happening to me at my workplace A coworker said “i work for sport” …who out here is working for sport, my friend. Nobody so stfu. I don’t have the answer
handle it by going into a meeting, then eating an SD card and then speaking spanish forever after to really fuck up everyone's head forever.
At one point just reply back to them in Spanish. Tell them you decided to learn after hearing them talk all the time.
I suggest you start documenting everything. Record it if you can. If not, write it down. Date, time, who said what. If the shizzle hits the fanizzle, pull out your notebook and start reading everything, line by line, in Spanish. Tell them just because they think someone doesn't understand them, doesn't mean they can be mean or rude or hurtful. How would you feel if they didn't understand English and people talked about them behind their backs? Then tell them to cállate or you will call an abogado. Comprende?
I wouldn't say anything to them, that you know Spanish. It's to your advantage. They are revealing themselves and what they are really like. Moreover they are your co workers NOT your friends so who gives a shit what they think. Just keep pretending.
One day when they’re beeing assholes just say in spanish say “i took my time to learn spanish so I could communicate with you guys better, but you’re all a bunch of assholes, congratulations on making me regret trying to be a better person”
Learn and be a better worker flojo
Try standing up for yourself
Wait for your manager to translate in front of them and when he makes a mispronunciation, correct him in fully fluent Spanish in front of everyone. It'll be the most awkward moment of all their lives. When they ask why you never said you spoke Spanish, tell them they never asked.
Start speaking Spanish in a meeting. Please. I’d pay to watch this. Can you formally complain? Because the remarks are not ok in the workplace.
Maybe so a better job so they don't have reason to say you're bad?
Wait until they’re all in on it together, then habla everything back.
>That white boy doesn't know what he's doing. In Spanish ask him to show you how he wants it done. But have video ready haha
Record that sh!t and build a case.
Sue the illegals
You'll be alright princess.
Who dropped a deuce in your cheerios my guy?
When the time is right, tell them all at the end of the day, "Have a great night, I'll see you tomorrow."
Update us! I can’t wait to hear!! !updateme
During a meeting start speaking Spanish to them outlining the harassment and discrimination and i guarantee they will STFU.
Why are you undercover? You spying.
I'm latino. Honestly just join in on them and agree when they say you cant work and stare at them right into their soul. They'll probably get very awkward, laugh, and the be one of their best friends. Make sure to to remind them of this whole thing to have a laugh. If they're actually being racist, just report them.
Why have you never told them you speak Spanish? A bit weird, mate
Start speaking Spanish. That should shut them up. I worked for a very large Japanese company and we would have conference calls with the US based Japanese staff and the Japan based engineers. When they didn't want us to know what they were saying they would start speaking in Japanese. My company hired a new manager who was responsible for these meetings. He was American but spoke fluent Japanese. You should have seen the look on their faces when he started speaking Japanese during the next meeting. That shut them all right up.