• Sweden Muslim woman who refused handshake at job interview wins case
    38 replies, posted
refuse to blend in... you mean act like a generic swede? and in which universe do interpreters interact with bodily fluids as part of their job. maybe you enjoy it but thats not the meaning of interpreter.
The employer should have had the interview and then mentioned that her unwillingness to shake hand would be a problem for the position she's applying for and explain why. If it even is a problem for the position.
I agree. Most situations can just be resolved with a show of goodwill and communication. That reminds me of a situation my colleague were having 1 year ago. We're working late at night when a couple came for a consultation. That kind of consultation is not done at night, and the issue the couple had could be resolved in the morning. But, my colleague HAD to go and speak in an indignant manner to them. He is right about the issue, but showing them the way out like he did was unbecoming. He didn't explain about the situation to the couple either. The couple was very upset The next day, he got a complaint letter, and called to boss's office. If he would only explain that situation, things would have ended up differently. It' a very simple thing to explain, but that one small neglect cause him his position.
I don’t quite understand how being intolerant of minor stuff like this helps integration or makes the more conservative muslims more progressive, it just makes muslims feel like second-class citizens some more. Same with the burqa ban. I feel like we in the west are expecting people who have only been here for a few decades to be ultra-western within an impossibly short timespan. It takes time.
I agree, we shouldn't discriminate even against savage backward neanderthal religions.
what the christ? Are people so unwilling to take a disagreement they contort it in a way that fits their agenda? "interact with bodily fluids" yes okay that's EXACTLY what I said she'd have to do! Okay! And blending in somehow means acting like a generic follower of a group? It's like people actually think I said she was entirely in the wrong here. I'd like to see you be an interpreter while refusing to accept the ideals of who and what you're interpreting. It creates an implicit bias, there's no guarantee she wouldn't manipulate what she's interpreting. Doesn't mean I don't disagree with her being declined for the job for that reason, but damn. As long as your beliefs don't interfere with your job or anyone around you who is to say it matters what you believe? But if she's unwilling to shake hands with anyone or she get angry if someone pats her on her back unknowingly, or if her beliefs are otherwise more inhibiting to her job, would it be in the wrong to decline her then? Or is that suddenly discrimination? Her placing her hands on her chest to greet people is OK. She's not instantly shunning people that go in for a handshake, so she was probably in the right. If she doesn't let it influence her job in any major way, then yes her to-be employer was definitely in the wrong. Maybe he took what she said wrong, or maybe she said something entirely different in the interview. However, it's incredibly unfair to come a conclusion about who is right and who is wrong without even having the other side of the story (to which the article provides none of). Asking for more information about a situation shouldn't be instantly shamed and contorted into someone saying you're suddenly a racist and discriminatory. All we know of the other end is that they thought she was doing it because of the interviewers gender. Which if she was, would've been discriminatory on her part. We don't know if she even made an attempt to describe her particular belief that it wasn't related to gender, or if she did and the interviewer dismissed it.
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