Inverse Discrimination? Or, The New Face of America?

Two case samples: McDonald's and Popeye's

Locally, I'm seeing a very disturbing trend that nobody is talking about openly. Is it inverse discrimination or just the new face of America? Discrimination coming from Immigrants? Hmmmmm. Let's take a look.

We always hear about discrimination coming from White People in America and there is plenty of historical evidence to support that as a fact. However, that's not what this post is about.

We have a McDonald's out where I live that has undergone plenty of ownership and management changes over the years. Lately, the ownership has become Latino (Mexican American). Suddenly, the only employees you see in that restaurant are of Mexican or Latino descent. 100% across the board. You walk in and see no (zero) Blacks, Whites, Asians, Arabs, Indians, Africans, etc. (I distinguish Black from African for good reason but that's a different OP). Just 100% Latino/Mexican from the Kitchen to the Register. What's going on here, anomaly?

Different restaurant - same issue. A local Popeye's changes ownership recently and becomes Indian owned. Walk in and boom - 100% Indian Employee population with zero (zip/nada) "other" ethnicity represented from the Kitchen to the Register. All employees are clearly of Indian descent. Another anomaly?

I see this "trend" now taking place in a lot of different local establishments. You walk in a boom, you are struck by the fact that suddenly everybody looks the same. No diversity in the workforce at all. I'm not talking about 3% diversity, or 5% diversity or possibly as much as 15% diversity. I'm talking about walking through the door, looking everywhere possible - every corner, ever nook and cranny and seeing only one (1) type of ethnic background being represented.

This does not merely apply to just Restaurants anymore. I'm seeing this in different types of business models as well. Walked into a Mountain Mikes Pizza recently and there it was - boom: 100% Pakistani descent. Not a single White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, African or other.

The irony? The irony is that all of this Segregation in the Workforce that was bemoaned so much during the run-up to the Civil Rights Movement is talking place in areas where I live that are HIGHLY diverse places in terms of Ethnicity. So, how can these highly diverse places contain such blatant and outright Ethnic Preference in Hiring, which all the Civil Rights Legislation expressly forbids? As a Black Man, when I walk into these places, it is like slap in the face to everything my Ancestors and Family members fought, shed blood and died for in this country.

I've been on this forum talking about this in different forms for a while now. Immigrants who come to the United States of America, having no clue about its History and struggles that took place long before they got here that make their lives inside our boarders even possible as Minorities. To slap that history in the face and ignore the source and origin of your freedoms to have a live in this country is an abomination to the sacrifice that so many people made on behalf of True Justice in this country.

It sickens me to see. Yet, the trend is growing. Immigrants who come here and then engage in Discrimination themselves has got to be one of the sickest things I can fathom. They benefit now from sacrifices that others made to desegregate our society, but then conduct themselves in the most discriminatory ways once they arrive here. Are you kidding me!

Immigrants who fail to integrate and assimilate are one of our nation's problems. Hands down and no question about it. This trend must end. You cannot access to the rights provided to you long ago in this country and then engage in the same behavior that caused the fight for those rights to become necessary in the first place. That's called Total Hypocrisy.

Just a little insight into what's talking places in a growing number of areas in America.

 

I got hired on about 20 years ago at this factory that changed from whites to Pakistan/ India, I never had a problem, neither did they with me.

I got hired on another factory that used to be white owned and switched to blacks , never had a problem.

For some reason people quit and they have to hire someone, people they know.

 

I fully agree. It has to do with the question of people wanting to assimilate, or wanting to be surrounded by people like themselves. While an all white- business would catch hell and be called discriminatory- an all latino one will not. A hundred years ago, Teddy Roosevelt made a very good speech regarding immigration, and I think is it as valid now as it was then:

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

 

I have no problem with family owned business hiring in the family.

I do think that there are a few, very few, businesses out there that actively racially discriminate when hiring. I am not a fan of racial discrimination and I do not discriminate on which race it is okay to discriminate against. I imagine a facility like that is ran by some kind of SJW-racist type. This is a very rare occurrence and more common in 'progressive' cities where you have a lot of SJW types pushing for an anti-oppressive white propaganda.

 

100% in every single case within a 5 mile radius?

I just gave two examples, but I could have extended that out to a much greater radius and the Employee Landscape would look the same. As soon as ownership/management changes... boom, you are starting to see it. I agree with you. There used to be a time years ago when ownership/management would shift and you would see maybe a 50%/50% ratio. 50% would look like the new Owner/Manager and 50% would not. That went on for several years until this whole "Immigration" thing started getting worse. Now, there's not even a hint of pretense anymore. They just go straight (100%) Pakistan, or straight (100%) Mexican, or straight (100%) Indian, or straight 100% Enter_Your_Preferential_Ethnicity_In_The_Blank_Space_Here_ _ _ _ _ _ . They don't even pretend to be inclusive anymore is my point.

If it was wrong when White People did it, then it is wrong when Immigrants come here and do it. That's my broader point.

And, as a Black Man with Family who suffered, were beaten and jailed for their role in tearing down the established segregation paradigm in this country, it is highly disrespectful to those who gave so much including their lives in too many case for the fight against such insidious behavior. To waltz into my country and openly (blatantly) engage in the same kind of discriminatory conduct that you (they) were protected from is astounding to behold.

There are people reading this thread who know exactly what I'm talking about. You walk into these places and boom! You suddenly traveled to India without ever buying an airline ticket in a publicly facing and historically diverse business establishment that used to look like the Community in which you live and that business serves.

Absolutely, unacceptable in a country calling itself "United" States of America. AKA, total hypocritical BS and I am sick of seeing it.

 

I can relate, not as an employee but as a patron of many establishment just as you describe. Our Walmart is better then 60% young DRC migrants the rest are Latino and very few whites.. Other, more specialized businesses like "Roust about" services are entirely made up of Hispanic and they hire ZERO whites! In fact any business owned and operated by Hispanics are 100% Hispanic! Servers at every eatery in town is somewhat all Hispanic with the exception that they speak and understand English, of course!

 

I don't think it's as much a discrimination thing as it is a communication thing! It's pretty obvious when they have to find the one that does all the translation from what you want or need done to the person that's going to do the job..

 

No they are not, because immigrants today are assimilating just as generations before them did.

 

I walk into a chinese buffet and boom all Asians are working there and I don't care.

 

Exactly. You can't call it a foul when it is was de facto law and Whites Only signs were posted everywhere and then come here (legally or not) to practice the same thing. I for one am starting to wonder whether or not some of these establishments are de facto Sanctuary Employers. I know we have Sanctuary Cities, but people have to be making a living somehow. If I walk into a Popeye's for the Butterfly Shrimp and nobody looks like me, or any of my friends who are a highly diverse group of people, or they only look like one (1) of my friends and nobody else - then I've got reason to wonder if that Employer is engaging in what I call Sanctuary Hiring.

What is Sanctuary Hiring? It is quite simple. Hire an Illegal Immigrant to make their presence here appear to be above board. It really is just that simple and it does not require a degree in Rocket Science to understand. They will work for peanuts where someone else might not. It is a form of Indentured Servitude, either way you slice it in my book. I can't name the last time I've had my order delivered to me correctly! I can't name the last time I was allowed to speak my order just once without having to repeat my order 3-4 times before someone got it right and STILL managed to deliver the wrong order!

There are two (2) locals I will never visit again because they simply cannot get my order correct and each of them are 100% this Ethnicity or that Ethnicity. Diversity is gone. 100% gone. I am a Black Man. I know a discriminatory Hiring environment when I see one. I can walk in front door and discern it within 2 milliseconds - if it takes that long to figure it out. It is dead wrong and it needs to stop. I cannot believe this is happening in 2019. It is completely Un-American.

I could have given that speech. I'm clearly in-tune and in alignment with that sentiment. I have nothing more to add or take away from such a speech. It pretty much says everything I'm outlining herein.

 

It depends on where you live I guess. I dont see what the problem is, people hire people they know and trust after some guy quits .

The only place it really occurs is in Unions , heck my cousin got placed on the hire list when he was a baby in Chicago water works department, he finnaly got called in when he was around 32 years old

 

@Primus Epic

Are you sure these aren't temporary workers on a temporary visa? It happens a lot in agriculture because the fruit is seasonal and the locals have full time jobs already and cannot make it on a seasonal job.

 

That's a state thing. Not a union thing. Unions don't have say in hiring into the company. They only have say in hiring within the company.

 

"de facto law" is an oxymoron.

 

All public facing businesses have a duty (a moral obligation) to engage members of the public (also) as potential Employees. Come on. It is just the right thing to do. You see me on this board talking about Morals and Ethics all the time. We'll this is a great example of where and how people could exhibit such qualities as Americans. If you are accepting revenues from the General Public, then you need to assimilate that same General Public into your Employee Cost Structure. I cannot fathom a different approach for a Public Facing Entity that derives its revenues from the General Public. And, I cannot fathom an argument to the contrary that fosters inclusion and assimilation in America with respect to a Public Facing Business Entity.

If we are going to Lead the world then we can't pick and choose areas in which we will Lead. Either we Lead across the board or we don't Lead at all. And, if we are not going to Lead, then we need to stop pretending to be the World's Moral Police when it comes to invading other countries while proclaiming our "Leadership Role" in that same world. We've got to be all in or all out. There's is no half-way Leadership. We either decide to Lead in all things or we decide to disengage and do our own thing - including discriminatory hiring practices. I don't favor the latter for its moral failure as the former raises the stakes and vanquishes hypocrisy.

It is 100% Kandahar in some of these restaurants around where I live. You walk into some of these places and you would swear you were just teleported into the heart of Durango, or Mumbai.

Agreed on the rarity out where you might live. I don't know about that landscape. I know about what's going on here and over here its is getting worse by the year. I've lived here a long time and have seen the trends over the decades. The very same places I used to go to as a child growing up here, which always had diversity in its employee ranks are now completely transformed along ethnic lines one way or another and to a ratio that is exactly 100%. There has been a gradual increase of this kind of thing taking place over here and it is a real "thing." I'm not making it up. I would not post an OP on it if I were not witnessing it myself.

 

You sure I had a friend who was on the waiting list for years at packer land up in green bay also for a union job.

 

How does 100% hiring of people with Indian descent get described as "assimilation" in your experience here in America? I've taken short vacations to Cabo and experienced the exact same employee base that I do in California! That ain't Assimilation. That's Segregation and Discrimination in Employment here in the US, because we have something Mexico does not have - Civil Rights Laws.

 

Probably when I walked in a 7/11 and was working for the Pakistan/ India guys and one of them was buying a 12 pack of beer and told me not to tell anyone..

Of course I didn't

 

Popeye's is now Chinese Food? When did the mega iconic McDonald's go Szechwan style on me? I don't recall when that ever happened. Refresh my memory.

So, its OK, as long as the name of the establishment fits the ethnicity of the owner? Ok, I'll bite. Olive Garden. This name does not fit any ethnicity per se. Yet, it soaks the public imagination with Italian Food proclamations through all its advertising and marketing. Yet, when I walk into an Olive Garden out where I live, it is like walking into the United Nations main assembly. I never have any issue with Olive Garden and its representation of "Italian" Food (Though I might label it Italian American Food, or Westernized Italian Food). It proves that you be more diverse in your hiring while producing a quality product that does cater to a particular "Ethnic Group" now living in America. I'm not saying Olive Garden is 100% authentic Italian Food. I'm saying they use the "Italian Food" hook in their marketing, serve Italian Food (to some degree or another) and then go about the business of engaging in diversity within their workforce. Just say'n.

 

I hired all white men to work and one female because they were available.

 

Hell, you need to come to Phoenix and see the over 200 landscape companies that are 100% Latino owned and 100% Latino staffed. You will never ever ever see a Black, Caucasian, Native American, Asian or Middle Eastern with a leaf blower in the hand in The Valley of the Sun.

 

You know, I did not hammer on Chinese Food Restaurants and Japanese Food Restaurants, but I should have and very easily could have. In fact, those would have been low hanging fruit targets to go after, but I thought those cases were fairly obvious. So, your point is well taken and should be applied also to many of the Asian based business models as well. And, this really goes get to my broader point. The very people who benefited from the Civil Right Legislation (People of Color) tend to engage in some of the most discriminatory conduct as it relates to hiring in their own businesses. This is not always the case, but it is the case in far (far) too many instances.

Now, there are some cases involving pure Demographics where the population statistics dictate who you find running the establishment as an employee. But, I'm referring to where I live which is one of the most diverse places not just in the US, but the entire world. Yet, here we are in one of the most diverse places in the entire world where you go in for Butterfly Shrimp while having a Mumbai experience with every employee you encounter. Meanwhile, you are standing in line with people from all over the Ethnic spectrum. So, you've got all this "Ethnic Money" coming in the front door, but behind the counter you get Mumbai. I just find that wrong on all levels.

If I'm in Mumbai, I expect it. If I'm in the U.S. in a local demographic that is predominantly of people from Mumbai, then I expect it. However, there is something quite wrong with a place having a United Nations kind of demographic where the employee base is of 100% Mumbai origin. It only takes a modicum of common sense to see a problem with that picture.

United Nations type money standing in line. 100% Mumbai behind the counter. That's just plain ole wrong.

 

The moron's ox is an ass. No, literally. I'm not trying to be funny. So, de facto law as an oxymoron would be the equivalent, if you just stop and think it through for a minute. Let is sink it for a while and you'll get it.

 

Were they the only prospects available at the time?

 

That struck a nerve. My Wife and I, were just having that conversation last Friday. Landscaping company contracted here is owned by a Latino and hires ONLY Latinos hands down. We've never encountered a Non-Latino worker doing anything around here through this one particular company. Should have named the landscaping company Latinos R' Us. None else gets to work there and its been years watching employee turnover - yet none of that turnover resulted in Black, White, Asian, African, Arab or anything else under the sun. 100% Latino. 100% of the time. Total lock down on hiring.

The most interesting part is that the area is filled with People from all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds. Yet, if the dude has a blower in his hands, he's going to be Latino. There is just no question about it anymore. It did not use to be that way.

Now, we are seeing Amazon Prime making more and more deliveries. That workforce seems to be all over the place Ethnically speaking. Black, White, Asian, Arab, etc. However, I do not see many Latinos at all delivering for Amazon Prime around here. I can't help but wonder why.....

- Could it be that Amazon Prime's hiring process includes a real I-9 Background Check? Inquiring minds want to know.
- Could it be that Amazon Prime requires a Real Drivers License and does a better job of discovering fake licenses? Again, I'm just asking the question - I don't have the answer.

These questions do presuppose that Illegal Immigrant Workers might be more easily employed at places that do not require stronger back-ground checks on citizenship. If you are going to drive for Amazon Prime, FedEx or UPS, then those companies have a super high Liability concern given they deploy entire Fleets on the highways and streets of America each day - taking on massive potential liability with their drivers. Again, I don't know if this is causation, but I sure do find it interesting that I can't find a single Black Person, White Person, Asian Person, Arab Person or Indian Person working for a Landscaping Company around my parts. That's real. They are all (100%) of Mexican origin ethnically speaking.

We cannot have double standards in the United States when it comes to Discrimination in hiring, retention, promotion and/or disciplinary actions.