<div dir="ltr"><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">As librarian who is
biracial and bicultural, I am disheartened to read some of the reactions
in this thread. In my day-to-day life, I am
reminded that I and others, who aren't part of the racial majority
in this state, are often overlooked, downplayed and even ignored. Most of this is unconscious or unintentional, because our culture
is geared towards the majority, which is and has been white. For
the average person who has been so imbued with seeing things via
the dominant culture, it's extremely difficult to realize that
seemingly innocuous comments (i.e., "you speak English
really well" or "what are you?") and actions can be defeating or soul crushing,
particularly if you've been hearing or seeing them for as long as
you can remember. <br>
<br>
Racism isn't always someone screaming racial epithets or
threatening minorities physically or emotionally. For many of us
it's the small stuff, the stuff that may seem innocent or even
earnest, but have a tremendous impact in our lives. <br>
<br>
And as for Max Macias' comment: I'm going to admit I wasn't comfortable with
the hashtags, but I do think he asks a very good question about
how we evaluate vendors who provide services to our users, many of
who are people of color. The problem is: how many library vendors are there who are diverse or consider diversity as part of their
mission and employment? Maybe we should begin asking.<br>
<br>
Just had to add my two cents. Thanks--<br>
<br>
linda ueki absher<br>
<br>
</font><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 10:08 AM, Tony <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tony_greiner@hotmail.com" target="_blank">tony_greiner@hotmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div><div dir="ltr">I wish I could take credit for this, but it is the work of another, who thought it appropriate for the recent discussions:<div><br></div><div>HORROR!</div><div><br><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
Someone's feathers are all in a ruffle!</div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">And it's causing a PC kerfuffle!</div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
Perhaps blood should be spilt,</div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Since there's not enough guilt!</div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
As for me, I'll have wine and a truffle.</div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<br></div><div style="line-height:18px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div>**<a href="mailto:tony_greiner@hotmail.com" target="_blank">tony_greiner@hotmail.com</a>**</div> </div>
</div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>// linda ueki absher //<br><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,'Nimbus Sans L',sans-serif;font-size:13px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:15px;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline!important;float:none">Reference Librarian for the Humanities</span><br>
Portland State University Library // Portland, Oregon<br>absherl@ <a href="http://pdx.edu" target="_blank">pdx.edu</a> // <a href="tel:503.725.4713" value="+15037254713" target="_blank">503.725.4713</a><br><br>
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