by Renita P.
Member since:
July 26, 2006

Isn't this reverse discrimination?

May 09, 2009 05:52 PM UTC
views: 0 | comments: 39

I had a demo-sampling job today for a "Mother's Day Event."  My instructions in the kit I received stated to "Greet every Hispanic woman and offer a coupon booklet."  ??? Just Hispanic women? Isn't every other woman entitled to a "Mother's Day Greeting?"  What I found even more odd was that the area where this store is located has a very small Latin/Hispanic population.  In fact, the entire 4 hours I was there, I didn't see anyone who was obviously Hispanic.  I ended up giving out all of my coupons, but only because I was greeting and offering them to EVERYONE - women & men alike.   Oh, and the coupons were written in Spanish first, with English below....  I don't understand why race was brought up at all!

Seems like reverse discrimination to me..... I mean, I could understand if the coupons were for Cinco De Mayo, which IS a Latin celebration, but...

Anyway, that's my mini-rant of the day.

Comments: 39

Donna S. May 9, 2009, 6:03pm UTC
That is very odd and I would have done the same thing..given them to all WOMAN--whatever color they were.....that was an ignorant demo you had to do. Sorry-just my opinion.
Claudia B. May 9, 2009, 6:03pm UTC
In our attempt to be politically correct by reaching out to minorities, we're tipping the balance again by overly focusing on specific groups. We're all created equal in our Creator's eyes.
Renee S. May 9, 2009, 6:09pm UTC
I would definitely say that is reverse discrimination.
It seems odd but my son was born on May 10th and May 10th is always the MExican Mother's day.
This year it just happened to fall on our American Mother's day as well.
Mabe that's why they did it like that.
which was really dumb because it's Mother's day here in America as well.
So every ten years the Mexican and American Mother's day fall on the same day.
Beth G. May 9, 2009, 6:20pm UTC
Yeah I can understand that. It's mother's day for everyone here that's a mother, regardless or race.
Ashley Mitschke May 9, 2009, 6:33pm UTC
Pretty sad. I'd give them to everyone too. Since when are only Mexicans considered mothers? I'm pretty sure if they told me that, I would have walked out.
Megan J. May 9, 2009, 6:48pm UTC
That's really odd. People are just people.
Kat W. May 9, 2009, 6:56pm UTC
Interesting.
timi A. May 9, 2009, 7:18pm UTC
It is strange. I dont know why they did that
Walker Bennett, SF Author May 9, 2009, 7:41pm UTC
Welcome to the U.S.

Here everything is in English and French.
Amanda "middle of nowhere" C. May 9, 2009, 8:18pm UTC
I think the company was probably trying to target the Hispanic population in the area. I didn't know you did product demonstrations? Do you like it? My sister has thought about doing it.
M M. May 9, 2009, 8:23pm UTC
Sad in my opinion.
Leah Christensen May 9, 2009, 8:35pm UTC
Wow! I've never heard of anything like that before. Definitely a form of discrimination.
carolina m May 9, 2009, 9:24pm UTC
this is so true. Just like scholarships, if your any kind of race, but youre white then no, no scolarships for you (i'm russian) but if your hispanic, then you get all the scholarships. Its not fair!!!
DesertDarlene L. May 9, 2009, 9:35pm UTC
It's obvious that they were really trying to reach out to Hispanics. However, they could have had a different approach. Maybe they should have taught you how to say "Happy Mother's Day" in Spanish to women whom you hear speaking Spanish or something. I know that Spanish speakers would appreciate that and maybe remember the product more. Otherwise, to just say to only give discounts to a person who looks to be a particular race is tasteless.
debra g. May 9, 2009, 10:12pm UTC
Have a great gather day!!!!!
Thank you for posting to sparealine.gather.com
Charlotte McClain May 9, 2009, 10:28pm UTC
That is very odd. I'm wondering how you're supposed to tell just by eyeballing. I have know Hispanic women who looked whiter than me and I'm Scotch-Irish, German and Welsh. I think you handled it well. Just because the company does something strange doesn't mean you have to go along with it.

Although, I think teaching you to say Happy Mother's Day in Spanish would have been good too. Not just so Spanish speakers would hear it, but so that you could teach a little Spanish to everyone you encountered.
Steph-in-NE ..... May 10, 2009, 12:24am UTC
not sure yet you had a job to do dont ever feel bad on that
Tammy N. May 10, 2009, 8:01am UTC
Interesting... I would gauge the answer to your question by simply asking the opposite. If you were giving freebies to just "white" women... would it raise eyebrows?
norene t. May 10, 2009, 8:09am UTC
Happy mothers day and thanks for sharing!
Dorothy H. May 10, 2009, 6:24pm UTC
capiltalisms target marketing, maybe?
Renita P. May 10, 2009, 10:09pm UTC
Tammy,
In this case, no, it would not raise eyebrows because 99% of the people that come in to this particular store are white. But, I do not discriminate. I offered to EVERY woman who walked in the door, as well as every man who walked in the door - after all, most of them have wives and/or mothers who could use the coupons too. And I knew I would end up with way too many left over if I didn't offer them to all!
Renita P. May 11, 2009, 3:10pm UTC
Jacqueline, thanks for the info on Cinco De Mayo... I always thought it was celebrated by most Latin people. I live fairly close to Miami, which has largel population of Cuban & Puerto Ricans and the Cinco De Mayo celebrations are pretty big. ?? Maybe it's just another excuse to party! But I agree - I think all people should be treated as people - nationality and skin color don't matter....
Netty B. May 11, 2009, 4:59pm UTC
seems like it to me too...
PN
Steph-in-NE ..... May 12, 2009, 12:00am UTC
Hey stopping by for points nation
kimberly g. May 12, 2009, 6:35am UTC
doesn't sound right to me! sounds wrong!
Rachel W. May 12, 2009, 9:40pm UTC
Oh, don't even get me started on the whole Spanish/English thing!!!
Ellen B. May 12, 2009, 10:28pm UTC
I don't think of it as reverse discrimination, but just a way for hispanic women to feel more included; but I do agree with what someone said above: That teaching people to say happy mother's day in spanish would be more effective than just giving the discounts to hispanic women.
Linda T. May 14, 2009, 8:58am UTC
I can understand having a target group by asking that you make sure that you give them out to Hispanic looking woman but also include other women as well.
PN
Ruth Luce May 15, 2009, 12:15am UTC
Huh, I'd say you must be in Phoenix but you sure wouldn't have had any trouble finding the majority!

PN
Nancy S. May 15, 2009, 2:13pm UTC
Never heard of doing that before. How odd. Points nation.
Jennifer W. May 24, 2009, 12:39pm UTC

Thanks for sharing. Just letting you know your content has reached 25 comments and has been removed from !!Need More Points!!

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