4 ms·

Donald Trump said Mexican immigrants are rapists. If my coworker supports Trump, do they agree with this? I'm Mexican, do they think I'm a rapist? I know a frie

by notJim 6y ago

Donald Trump said Mexican immigrants are rapists. If my coworker supports Trump, do they agree with this? I'm Mexican, do they think I'm a rapist? I know a friend who is a DREAMer, i.e., they are undocumented. Are they a rapist? How does my coworker's belief that Mexican immigrants are rapists affect their ability to work with other people? Should I have to wonder these things about someone I'm on a project with?

iclosem 6y ago
He said that for sure? That Mexican immigrants are rapists? Or that some of them are rapists?
- notJim 6y ago
  His remarks are open to interpretation. Note however that he said that "They're not sending their best". One could interpret that to mean that he believes Mexicans as a whole are a fine group of people, but that those who immigrate from Mexico to the US represent a "worse" subgroup of the total group. Charitably, I think this could be characterized as meaning somewhere from "many Mexican immigrants are rapists" to "a higher-than-normal proportion of Mexican immigrants are rapists". In fact we know that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than the non-immigrant population. And setting aside the close-reading and the statistics, we should not be naive about his intention, which is to characterize Mexican immigrants as dangerous criminals. Again, should I have to wonder if my coworker believes this about me or my family?
  - DuskStar 6y ago
    > In fact we know that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than the non-immigrant population. Are you looking at illegal immigrants here, or just legal immigrants? Because it seems like this would be trivially false for illegal immigrants.
dimgl 6y ago
You're posting quite a lot of anti-Trump comments with some pretty wild accusations. Maybe it's time to stop flame-baiting politics on Hacker News? Also, the answer to your questions are predominantly no.
- notJim 6y ago
  This is a thread where people are discussing politics, in which I am earnestly participating. Are you saying I'm not allowed to share my politics or ask questions on here? I thought we were concerned about free expression here. If you'd like to address my questions more specifically, I would be happy to read your response. But attempting to shut down my questions because you disagree with the direction you think they're heading is exactly what I thought we were opposed to.
mnm1 6y ago
I think it's safe to assume that your coworker may have these beliefs. It's even highly likely since these are the core beliefs of the person and platform they voted for. Should you wonder about such things? Absolutely. I've worked with worse people though, no doubt, likely actual rapists. It's just a fact of life. Stay away from them and don't talk to them outside of work. Hell, that goes for people who don't think you're a rapist or murderer, but ten times over for those who do. It's possible, but dangerous, to make friends at work.

by notJim 6y ago

iclosem 6y ago

He said that for sure? That Mexican immigrants are rapists? Or that some of them are rapists?

notJim 6y ago
His remarks are open to interpretation. Note however that he said that "They're not sending their best". One could interpret that to mean that he believes Mexicans as a whole are a fine group of people, but that those who immigrate from Mexico to the US represent a "worse" subgroup of the total group. Charitably, I think this could be characterized as meaning somewhere from "many Mexican immigrants are rapists" to "a higher-than-normal proportion of Mexican immigrants are rapists". In fact we know that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than the non-immigrant population. And setting aside the close-reading and the statistics, we should not be naive about his intention, which is to characterize Mexican immigrants as dangerous criminals. Again, should I have to wonder if my coworker believes this about me or my family?
- DuskStar 6y ago
  > In fact we know that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than the non-immigrant population. Are you looking at illegal immigrants here, or just legal immigrants? Because it seems like this would be trivially false for illegal immigrants.

dimgl 6y ago

You're posting quite a lot of anti-Trump comments with some pretty wild accusations. Maybe it's time to stop flame-baiting politics on Hacker News? Also, the answer to your questions are predominantly no.

notJim 6y ago
This is a thread where people are discussing politics, in which I am earnestly participating. Are you saying I'm not allowed to share my politics or ask questions on here? I thought we were concerned about free expression here. If you'd like to address my questions more specifically, I would be happy to read your response. But attempting to shut down my questions because you disagree with the direction you think they're heading is exactly what I thought we were opposed to.

mnm1 6y ago

I think it's safe to assume that your coworker may have these beliefs. It's even highly likely since these are the core beliefs of the person and platform they voted for. Should you wonder about such things? Absolutely. I've worked with worse people though, no doubt, likely actual rapists. It's just a fact of life. Stay away from them and don't talk to them outside of work. Hell, that goes for people who don't think you're a rapist or murderer, but ten times over for those who do. It's possible, but dangerous, to make friends at work.