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Oh my--wth?
The following comes from Mike Chalmers of The News Journal --
The Delaware Department of Transportation designed its recent "Diversity Spotlight" newsletter to be an "in-your-face" effort to fight workplace discrimination.
But some DelDOT workers, minority-rights advocates and a diversity expert said the newsletter itself was offensive because it spelled out the slurs, insults and stereotypes that co-workers should never say to each other.
The newsletter, which Secretary Carolann Wicks distributed two weeks ago to most of the agency's 2,600 workers, covered "workplace faux pas" involving homosexual, black, Asian, white, Hispanic and elderly workers.
The section titled "The N word," for example, actually spells out the word, then says, "It is never, ever acceptable to use this word in any context."
The newsletter also says it's wrong to ask a black co-worker, "Should we order fried chicken or watermelon for you?"
Click here to read the actual memo from the Delaware Department of Transportation
The section on Hispanic co-workers lists several ethnic slurs and says workers should not ask, "Can you help me out with my landscaping?" It tells workers to avoid specific slang terms for homosexuals and not tell older co-workers, "You know Wal-Mart is hiring."
DelDOT spokesman Darrel Cole initially defended the newsletter.
"Is it in your face? Absolutely. Is it pretty bold? Yeah, it is," Cole said. "But the general thought is that you have to shock people to get their attention. The overwhelming response was 'Wow, this is saying what we've been feeling.' "
Wicks said she originally thought the two-page newsletter -- written by a staffer -- was a good idea.
"I needed to be painfully clear what's intolerable," she said.
But Wicks said she had second thoughts after The News Journal began asking questions about the newsletter and hearing that it had offended some DelDOT workers.
"I personally apologize if any of the words offended people, and I know that they have," Wicks said.
Wicks sent the newsletter by e-mail, posted it to the agency's intranet and had it handed out to workers without computer access.
Click here to read more of this story from Mike Chalmers from The News Journal
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