At least half the time I take Megan to McDonalds, I see something rather disturbing. Usually my follow up thought is "Man, I should post about that." Anything from worlds most angry parents to the absolute rudest teenage workers, swearing up a storm behind the counter, ignoring people waiting to order.
Usually I end up forgetting or not having the motivation by the time I get home. But tonight was disturbing enough to post. There was an elderly black man working the counter. Clearly he was new and had trouble taking orders. A young boy came up and said they forgot the honey with his order. The man didn't quite understanding him and didn't know where the honey was. Finally a younger white worker came over and showed him where it was. As I ordered, I did my best to patiently order and help the guy out. I even jokingly said, "I'll take 2 of those honeys also, now that you know where they are." He chuckled a little. I watched as the next person ordered in absolute disgust that the guy couldn't take her order in under 10 seconds. Getting verbally frustrated that she had to repeat herself twice that she wanted the MIGHTY kids meal, not the normal kids meal. (I didn't even know there was such a thing). I got sick to my stomach as I listened to the exchange get worse, and had to walk away.
Later, when I took Megan to the bathroom, the younger worker that was helping train the older new guy was talking with another worker. The exchange went something like this:
Guy 1: "Why do they have me training that guy?"
Guy 2: "Cause I'm not gonna do it."
Guy 1: "I'm not even black, why don't they get one of the black guys to do it."
Now, I'm not going to pretend McDonalds is a bastion of good morals, or that they hire the most quality people, but seriously wtf? I've seen some crappy things there but this one takes the cake. I felt like saying something, anything, about having a little more respect. I didn't because it obviously wouldn't matter. But is this attitude of the next generation? Is this the type of prejudice my kids will grow up around? Is today's youth full of smart ass kids who think they deserve whatever they want? Does asking these questions make me a crotchety old man?
I like to think I'm accepting of different types of people. I might not be 100% comfortable in every situation I could think of, but I can imagine at least trying. Is respecting people and being tolerant of differences something that is taught by parents? I don't recall my parents teaching me anything in particular about that topic. (sorry Mom!) So how did I come to this conclusion that basic respect of other humans is a standard way of living? Who knows... but I do know two things. One, I will never ever let my kids work at a fast food restaurant. (no offense Keara!) Two, I don't know if I want to just "hope" my kids end up with those basic qualities I deem essential to being a "good" person.
Church anyone?
4 comments:
You may not have a choice, dude. And it would expose them to a bunch of different kinds of people.
I taught you by example, not in an overt "here's how you gotta think and feel" kinda way. Things like that stick deep down in a way that you can't really wrap your arms around.
mom
My only 'hope' here is that someone behind the counter at this type of establishment is less tolerant/cultured/educated/exposed/ etc. and that they do not represent anything close to a majority of today's youth. i'm pretty sure (hoping?) that most kids would be appalled by that behavior. i hope.
(and i apologize to anyone that has ever worked at mcd's that i may have offended)
What are you talking about not overt mom? I specifically remember every Tuesday was "Make fun of a black person" day.
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