I need new friends, seriously, this is like the 6th time this year I've either been called a racist, sexist, or some other -ist.
This time it was a throw away comment about how much I detest foreign call centres. Out came the "You Racist!" claws and arguments started (seriously it's always the same chick... I've gotta stop hanging out with her boyfriend before I start considering jail not so bad). I tried to articulate my argument but I wasn't given a chance to fully explain my point of view before I'd been dismissed as a racist scum bag one day short of signing up for the KKK.
So I've gotta get my point of view out before I explode. I as I tried to tell my friends yes, I detest foreign call centres, but it's on a practical level, not a racial one, it's a simple of fact of life. It's hard to freaking understand people with different accents when all you've got is bad quality VOIP lines.
Human interaction is built around multiple skill sets, that's how we evolved, everything from posture, to hand movements, to voice tone, to facial expressions is how we communicate. If you're communicating with a person speaking with a thick accent you can generally get the gist based on other factors, how they are standing, the expression on their face, etc. often without conscious effort, it's just something that happens in your brain.
I can personally attest to this, I use to work in retail in a port city, we would often get people coming into the shop fresh off some boat or ship looking for something, and it wasn't that hard to communicate with them once you could look them in the eye.
However when you start removing other factors and boil it down to just the voice it becomes that much harder, leading to frustration with the person you're trying to communicate with. So when I say foreign call centres are a stupid idea and people with thick accents shouldn't man phones it has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with the fact when you've only got one means of communications you shouldn't complicate it.
Hell I haven't got a good phone voice for dealing with people, I've got a thick broad Australian accent, think Bob Hawke or Paul Hogan, I've got manners, but the fact remains I understand that I wouldn't be very easy to understand on the phone to people without experience with my accent. It was bad enough dealing with people on vent/etc during games as they'd often have to get me to repeat something slower as they couldn't understand a word I said.
I don't take offence to that, I accept it and move on...
So I feel better having typed that up... do you agree with my point of view or do you think I should be fitted for a white hood?
This time it was a throw away comment about how much I detest foreign call centres. Out came the "You Racist!" claws and arguments started (seriously it's always the same chick... I've gotta stop hanging out with her boyfriend before I start considering jail not so bad). I tried to articulate my argument but I wasn't given a chance to fully explain my point of view before I'd been dismissed as a racist scum bag one day short of signing up for the KKK.
So I've gotta get my point of view out before I explode. I as I tried to tell my friends yes, I detest foreign call centres, but it's on a practical level, not a racial one, it's a simple of fact of life. It's hard to freaking understand people with different accents when all you've got is bad quality VOIP lines.
Human interaction is built around multiple skill sets, that's how we evolved, everything from posture, to hand movements, to voice tone, to facial expressions is how we communicate. If you're communicating with a person speaking with a thick accent you can generally get the gist based on other factors, how they are standing, the expression on their face, etc. often without conscious effort, it's just something that happens in your brain.
I can personally attest to this, I use to work in retail in a port city, we would often get people coming into the shop fresh off some boat or ship looking for something, and it wasn't that hard to communicate with them once you could look them in the eye.
However when you start removing other factors and boil it down to just the voice it becomes that much harder, leading to frustration with the person you're trying to communicate with. So when I say foreign call centres are a stupid idea and people with thick accents shouldn't man phones it has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with the fact when you've only got one means of communications you shouldn't complicate it.
Hell I haven't got a good phone voice for dealing with people, I've got a thick broad Australian accent, think Bob Hawke or Paul Hogan, I've got manners, but the fact remains I understand that I wouldn't be very easy to understand on the phone to people without experience with my accent. It was bad enough dealing with people on vent/etc during games as they'd often have to get me to repeat something slower as they couldn't understand a word I said.
I don't take offence to that, I accept it and move on...
So I feel better having typed that up... do you agree with my point of view or do you think I should be fitted for a white hood?
