I don't want to seem racist but...

CursedSkeptic

I am in a difficult situation. I know race should not really be part of the issue, but there is no escaping the fact that it is. I am in a very small tutorial group in college which consists of me and just three other people, one of who happens to be black. I have no problem with black people and never have, but this girl smells incredibly bad, it is as if she is covered with raw facaes. I want to say something but am afraid I will appear racist. What should I do?

castie

She does not seem to be a friend of yours so there's nothing you can do really except sit away from her as far as possible. Theres no real way that i can see that you say anything to her about this.

MagicMarker

CursedSkeptic wrote: »

I am in a difficult situation. I know race should not really be part of the issue, but there is no escaping the fact that it is. I am in a very small tutorial group in college which consists of me and just three other people, one of who happens to be black. I have no problem with black people and never have, but this girl smells incredibly bad, it is as if she is covered with raw facaes. I want to say something but am afraid I will appear racist. What should I do?

What has being black got to do with her odor?

I wouldn't say anything tbh. It's not like you're with her all day everyday.

inforfun

Would you have told her if she was anything else than black?

IF she really smells it shouldnt matter what colour she is. if it bothers you that much, tell her.
Choose your words carefull though because I guess no one likes to be told they smell like they slept in a septic tank.

tinabyrne5

There is no nice way in telling anyone that they stink but i think in this instance it would be best left unsaid. You can't say BOO anymore and people screem RACIST!
Peg your nose and say nothing!

Gone West

castie wrote: »

She does not seem to be a friend of yours so there's nothing you can do really except sit away from her as far as possible. Theres no real way that i can see that you say anything to her about this.

Better than telling her she smells like gone off mince...

Mr. Presentable

No need to mention her colour. She'd be stinky if she was green. That probably makes you rascist

John Mason

Some of the foreign people in my office got called in by HR and were given a basic course in western hyigene and the use of deoderants and the sucj like

There were loads of complaints, we have no air conditioning, so you can imagine the hum in the summer - ugh

marzic

What has her B.O got to do with the fact that she is black? IMO you would 'seem' racist if you atributed her B.O to the fact that she is black, if you suggested that she is smelly because she is black then that would be racist, IMO. So you really dont need to be bringing her race into it! if there is a student liaison officer or student welfare rep or someone within the college admin that you can get advice from, or ask them to talk to her then that may be a solution. there is a risk in taking it on yourself, and if you do, do not preface your remarks with... "i don't want to seem racist, but..."

engrish?

Get some vicks vapour rub and put it on your top lip.

CursedSkeptic

I would say deffo something if she wasn't black, the main reason I have a problem with telling her is because the particular smell is like something from a jungle or something, and I would feel compelled to mention that fact if I were to tell her...

Homer

CursedSkeptic wrote: »

I would say deffo something if she wasn't black, the main reason I have a problem with telling her is because the particular smell is like something from a jungle or something, and I would feel compelled to mention that fact if I were to tell her...

Grow up... :rolleyes:

galwayguy22

The reason he mentioned the fact that she was black is because he knows that if he did confront her about it, the PC brigade would swoop and he'd be accused of being racist.

Just like half of the above posts, all flashing the race card as soon as you see the word black.

Homer

Slightly off topic but a friend of mine was a line manager in a manufacturing facility about a year ago and was getting complaints from numerous people on the assembly line about one particular girl who apparently had a serious hygiene problem and it was causing a problem for the rest of the staff.
Said friend called the girl to the office at the end of the shift and proceeded to explain that he had received complaints regarding her personal hygiene from numerous other employees and felt it was his duty to mention it to her etc etc...
She then broke down in tears and told my friend that she was being sexually abused at home by a relative and that she thought if she didnt wash it would put him off :eek:

CursedSkeptic

CursedSkeptic wrote: »

I would say deffo something if she wasn't black, the main reason I have a problem with telling her is because the particular smell is like something from a jungle or something, and I would feel compelled to mention that fact if I were to tell her...

WTF??

Is she from the Jungle? Do you know what a Jungle smells like? Is it because she is black that she has this particular smell? like what do black people smell like? Why on earth would you feel compelled to tell her exactly how she smells? Hey you smell like you're from the jungle?????
yeh, I could see why you think she would deem you racist



I'm in SHOCK :eek:

Curvy Vixen

And you've been in how many jungles????????? :mad:

And she has been in how many jungles??????:mad:

You are seeming to be racist or your thread title would be something tactful and heartfelt like 'Smelly person in my class...how do I tell them?' :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Who are the PC brigade? There are ways of telling people that they have a hygiene or cleanliness issue and generally it's discreet and private... and all races have people with hygiene issues. I don't ever remember reading anything that says 'There is this white girl in my class who smells!'

Homer

galwayguy22 wrote: »

The reason he mentioned the fact that she was black is because he knows that if he did confront her about it, the PC brigade would swoop and he'd be accused of being racist.

Just like half of the above posts, all flashing the race card as soon as you see the word black.

No.. I think they might flash the race card after he described her as "smelling like something from the jungle"???

Anna23

I completly understand u OP, where I used to work there were 3 black people, you just couldnt sit beside them, what happened, we approached managment and explained to them that considering the fact that we sit very close together its impossible to actually do our job, we had to bring in air freshners, it was just bad, bad, bad!!!

Anyway managment was informed and they were called in a meeting, and it was all sorted after about 6 or 7 months of waiting around for managment to approcah the issue, as they had to make sure it was all done correctly.

Ah you poor thing.

I would suggest approach her if you dont have a teacher there or a supervisor. But it would be very very hard and u will have to be very careful how you speak to her.

Good luck

galwayguy22

Homer wrote: »

No.. I think they might flash the race card after he described her as "smelling like something from the jungle"???

LOL, yeah...I typed that before I saw his jungle comment.

He's obviously calling her a monkey, and is quite clearly racist now.

Beruthiel

CursedSkeptic wrote: »

I would say deffo something if she wasn't black, the main reason I have a problem with telling her is because the particular smell is like something from a jungle or something, and I would feel compelled to mention that fact if I were to tell her...

Think before you post in this forum.

CursedSkeptic

I have recieved an infraction at boards.ie over that jungle comment, jeeze louise I was just trying to describe it, would it be more tactful to say hey dyke you smell like you just crawled out of an open sewer? The word jungle gets the point accross, and brings up mystical images of her homeland....

marzic

is this a wind-up?

Beruthiel

This thread is done.
B