Harassment, or not?

[QueEx]

<font size="5">Harassment, or not?

</font size><font size="4">

You make the call.

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Do the following five incidents, which occured between Michelle Tolson and James Sparrow at the federal Office of Personnel Management, amount to harassment?

(1) 1995 – Mr. Sparrow called Ms. Tolson a “red bone” and “bitch” and told her that the Union was “not a place for a black woman”;

(2) 2001– Mr. Sparrow sent Ms. Tolson an email stating that “satan doesn’t need [her] prayers.”

(3) 2004 – Mr. Sparrow bumped Ms. Tolson’s chair;

(4) 2005 – Mr. Sparrow referred to an unnamed colleague that he dislikes at an office retreat; and

(5) 2006 – Mr. Sparrow grabbed and bruised Ms. Tolson’s arm when he passed her in the hall.​

This week, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer concluded the events in question were "insufficient to support a hostile (work) environment claim" filed by Tolson. Collyer, in a decision that sounds about right, reasoned that the five incidents were "insufficiently frequent and severe" to support a Title VII claim and that, besides, Tolson did not demonstrate the incidents occured because of her race or gender.

Tolson is African-American, as is Sparrow.

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[thoughtone]

Was U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer African American? The race of the plaintiff and defendant are irrelevant. The decision maker, the judge is relevant because of what experiences she brings to her conclusion. And yes, IMHO it is harassment.

 

[QueEx]

Was U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer African American? The race of the plaintiff and defendant are irrelevant. The decision maker, the judge is relevant because of what experiences she brings to her conclusion. And yes, IMHO it is harassment.

I agree that the race of the judge, because of the baggage that each of us bring with us to various situations, may have some bearing on decisioin making. But, simply because one is white or black may not be a deciding factor in the decision making process. You're assuming that all whites react to the same stimuli similarly and that all blacks react to the same stimuli similarly -- and we know thats just not true.

• Are you saying the result would be different in the case above if the two litigants were white ???
  
  - Why?

• Just curious, which of, or what about, the facts above lead you to the conclusion that there was harassment ???

QueEx

 

[thoughtone]

I agree that the race of the judge, because of the baggage that each of us bring with us to various situations, may have some bearing on decisioin making. But, simply because one is white or black may not be a deciding factor in the decision making process. You're assuming that all whites react to the same stimuli similarly and that all blacks react to the same stimuli similarly -- and we know thats just not true.

• Are you saying the result would be different in the case above if the two litigants were white ???
  
  - Why?

• Just curious, which of, or what about, the facts above lead you to the conclusion that there was harassment ???

QueEx

No but African Americans and European Americans have different experiences, for sure! You cannot tell me that even the most so called conservative African American adult has not been touched negatively by racism at least once in their lives. Many if not most European Americans can general claim that they do not even understand what racism means to an African American. If they did, many of the issues that face this country would not even have occurred.