DEAR MISS MANNERS: My daughter and I disagree on a very touchy subject. She thinks that it is appropriate to call someone out on something that they have said that is racist or bigoted in any situation. I feel that there is about one time in 20 where it is not appropriate.
I think that if you are at a social event with co-workers and your boss says something in this manner, you should turn and walk away. She says that I am not standing up for others who are different. She thinks it’s worth losing your job over. Who is doing the correct thing in this situation?
GENTLE READER: Gone, thankfully, are the days of saying “that’s just the way he is” as an excuse, or of shrugging about a boss’s being “old school.”
However, Miss Manners is not unsympathetic to people who need the work -- and there is a time and a place to fight one’s battles. But if one is willing to quit a job, it behooves that person to quit in a responsible way that gets the point across, but is also professional.
“I am afraid that we do not see eye-to-eye on several issues, so I think it best that I leave the company. I hope that you will make your next employee -- no matter what their race, religion or sexual orientation -- feel welcome.”