'It seemed harmless:' What I did by doing nothing

We're living in exciting times. The United States has elected its first African-American president and now there is much anticipation at the prospect of the third female and first ever Latina Supreme Court justice. It might appear that Americans have accepted diversity as a national standard. But not so fast.No major event ever happens without a few jokes and comments that have at least a hint of racism to them. It isn't just late-night talk show hosts, either.

If the comments aren't culturally motivated, they may be geared toward the elderly, specific religious groups, sexual orientations-the list is extensive. Equally disturbing are the subtle ways in which people engage in stereotyping others without even being aware of it.

Several years ago, while working for a large law firm in the Southwest, I sat with co-workers in the break room. Someone told a dumb joke, the kind of joke that just makes the listener groan. It wasn't a funny joke, but a couple of people at the table chuckled.

I said nothing.

Most of us just sat there. It seemed harmless. It wasn't an out-and-out racist joke, but it contained an innuendo. The teller of the joke had never demonstrated any racial bias, so no one reminded her that it really wasn't in good taste.

That moment of indecisiveness earned everyone at the table a free trip to the Human Resources Director's office and a lecture. We weren't strangers to such matters. Mandatory ethics training was an annual occurrence for the firm's employees. The trip to the HR office was a humiliating reminder of what happens when we take a break from awareness.

Kimberly Roppolo, assistant professor of English at the University of Oklahom and national director of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, recognizes this type of unmindful behavior.

In an essay titled "Symbolic Racism, History, and Reality: The Real Problem with Indian Mascots," she says: "The average American engages in this behavior without ever being aware of it, much less realizing that it is racism."

Reading that might have made me feel better about my faux pas, except that she follows up with a summation of the consequences: "It is our conceptualization of people that dictates our behavior toward them."

It would stand to reason, then, that if we fall into the habit of tolerating off-hand remarks, we may set ourselves up to do things we thought we'd never do. My willingness to accept the joke had hurt the feelings of another co-worker who overheard it and noticed our collective reaction to it.

There are people who hear this story and react by saying that the need to be politically correct has all but destroyed their First Amendment rights.

The number of opinions rendered by our judicial system on the subject are too numerous to mention. Even if we studied these cases, would it be possible to interpret their impact on our personal behavior? One thing is clear: the First Amendment does not give anyone the right to harm another person.

There is a quote that has been used by lawyers for decades to demonstrate where the right to free speech ends and personal responsibility begins. It goes something like this: freedom of speech does not convey the right to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

Of course, yelling "Fire!" is most likely a deliberate act. Sitting quietly by while someone tells a joke or makes a wise crack that tests the limits of good judgment may or may not be deliberate.

Other times, it isn't what someone says; it's imagery. I know I can't settle debates over whether Victoria's Secret ads objectify women or whether ads for Mac make PC users look like old fogies.

One thing I do know - only because I've studied it - is by blithely assuming there isn't harm in the iconization of specific cultures can result in a perception that is warped. Do we really want to be that person who assumes that all African-American men love to play basketball? Or that all Native Americans have drinking problems? Do we struggle with what we should say to someone from a religion we know nothing about?

Well, that's the great thing about being in school. We can learn about other cultures and religions and find opportunities to interact with people from those cultures.

Too bad I hadn't done that prior to the break room incident. It could have saved me from embarrassment, but more importantly, I would not have hurt a co-worker's feelings.