I had at least one request to keep folks posted on what happened there.  The latest is this: The council meeting was yesterday. In attendance was another member from my division of the organization. She's a very hip 60 or so, a real wise woman who has worked there for more than 25 years. I trust her totally and have confided in her previously about some of the junk that I've been going through at the office. So after the meeting I asked her and the director of the council (also the diversity director of the entire org) if I could have a moment of their time, and we talked about the bigot in my department. Wise Woman knows that I'm in an adversarial position with my supervisor. Diversity Director didn't know that, but as we discussed it and I mentioned that Bigot has been called out by our mutual supervisor at least once before over her hate speech, Wise Woman said she thought that I *should* take it to the supervisor and that she'd likely be receptive. Both Wise Woman and Diversity Director said they'd advocate for me if it comes to that, and that also this could be a jumping off place for a general reminder to be sent out to the org about the rules regarding non-tolerance of displays of bigotry.  Not so much pointing fingers at one person...just letting everyone know that saying nasty things is NOT cool within our organizational culture...especially since the population Ms. Bigot was talking about happen to be part of our PATIENT population, and we've been making extra efforts to reach out to them in order to provide better care, and that's why we have bilingual nurses in the first place (remember, this all started when a nurse paged a patient on the overhead in Spanish...Wise Woman remembers that page and said it warmed her heart too).

So that's it.  Thunderstorm is coming up so I'd better post this and shut 'er down for a little while. It should blow over before game time.

P.S., storm having blown by...my sincerest apologies to everyone who commented on my previous post on this subject.  I did mean to respond to all of you, but sometimes things totally get away from me, and it's been one of those times.

Hmph.  I'm still supposed to be getting something done around here, but with only a few minutes until game time I give up for now.  At least I took a shower.  Meanwhile, I started thinking about something I've been meaning to post since at least last week.

I mentioned the Diversity Resource Council in my previous post. I'm very proud to have been accepted to serve a two-year term on this committee because the whole kit and caboodle associated with that word has been a long-time passion of mine, ever since way back in 1973 or thereabouts when I became aware that a high school classmate was being tormented for coming out of the closet...ever since I joined the real workforce in 1982 and witnessed coworkers mistreat an employee from India as well as an African-American employee (I took both of them aside privately and offered them encouragement and support)...ever since a coworker at another job in my central NY days spat an epithet in response to my tearful disclosure that I was upset that day because I had just learned that a guy I had known since nursery school had died of AIDS...and certainly ever since the my tires were punctured at a job here in NC because I was dating a black man *and* I was dismissed from that same job shortly afterwards on a flimsy excuse.  It's stuff like that that has fueled my passion to stamp out bigotry and prejudice as much as possible, and that's why I volunteered when a spot came open on the DRC for someone from my particular part of the organization.

Which brings me to the quandary I am currently in. Our organization specifically PROHIBITS displays of bigotry, and I wholeheartedly concur with that rule. Trouble is, there is a problem with a coworker in my little work group (not the one who has caused all the trouble) involving such displays, and I've mentioned it to the Diversity Coordinator (who also heads the DRC), who has told me to go to that person's supervisor, but I really can't, seeing as how we have the same supervisor, who has been giving me grief for awhile now and formally has me in the "hot seat" until further notice.  I *could* take it up a level and perhaps I will.  Heaven knows that the very top (Human Resources) has been less than overwhelmingly receptive to other issues that I've gone to them about in the past.  I do plan to speak to the Diversity Coordinator after the meeting this Friday, because what the bigoted coworker said really pissed me off, but I had to remain silent in the face of the current directive that I speak only if spoken to in my work area, as well as the general issues with my supervisor.  This particular coworker has said blatant things before, though, and was reprimanded by our supervisor at least once. She's retiring in October and, as she put it after that reprimand, "What are they gonna do, fire me?", after which she went on a tirade against political correctness, taking prayer out of schools, and how her daddy fought in World War II and her son is in Iraq, bliggedy-bliggedy-blah. All of which had little to do with the fact that she insulted a minority coworker to her face and then, an hour or so after the reprimand, said the same thing again, then came upstairs and gloated about the fact that no one called her on it this time, by golly!

That was a few months ago, though, and I didn't see it in person. What she said this time wasn't directed at another coworker but was pretty hateful.  You see, we have a heavily underserved patient population and a growing number of Spanish-speaking patients, or at least those that are more fluent in Spanish than English. To that end, we have made efforts to accommodate them in the interests of delivering better medical care. One of our floor nurses is Cuban-American and is totally bilingual. So what happened was this: That nurse paged a patient on the overhead in Spanish.  I was sitting there thinking to myself how nice it is that we go the extra mile for all our patients, when here comes a loud voice from the next cubicle, directed at another coworker, but definitely for all to hear: "And here I thought I was in AMERICA...seems somehow I've ended up in MEXICO!"  Followed by a loud, angry cackle.  I just wanted to go over there and bitch-slap her but remained in my seat, feeling my blood pressure go up and up and up...

Anyway, thanks to anyone who reads this vent.  That kind of stuff makes me want to scream and is a huge reason why I'm on the DRC.  I just hope I can make the right decision as to whether or not to "tell on her."