I feel for you, but I don't see enough evidence people aren't hiring you because of racism. You have hinted at the reason from the beginning- you're 31. Fast food joints tend to hire the young and old because they can push them around and schedule them at their whim. They also figure this is a temporary gig for you until you move on to something else. You scapegoating immigrants for "what a joke this country has become" won't get many people sympathizing with your plight. If white people have it bad, who has it good?
I have managerial experience...and when I got despirate and was looking for entry level work..I had a lot of trouble because people thought I would demand too much pay, or that I would only be there for a couple weeks. I think that you might have come closer to experiencing agism than racism..but all things are possible.
Have you tried larger chain fastfood stores? They are usually more fair but it can be harder to get hours(this is from my experience during college).
If you are looking for work in the fast-food buisiness, I have some friends in New Orleans. They say that McDonald's near their house cannot find anyone to work there and they are currently paying 15 dollars and hour plus like a $600 or $700 bonus if you work 5 days a week. I'm not sure if its for real or not, but these people seemed like they knew what they were talking about.
If you spoke like this, I wouldn't hire you either. Try Gamestop and ebgames, they are usually hiring. You should probally try adjusting your attitude a little bit if you really want a company to hire you. First impressions are very important, although I usually have terrible first impressions.
It might be the criminal background. Felonies are hard to shake. Just kidding.... I'd try something like Home Depot or Lowes... lot's of hours and benefits become better over time. Also, if it is a walking distance thing... sometimes they STILL want you to have transportation.
No, I'm older than 19 and I haven't been to this board in a long time until just recently. The point I was trying to make is racism is racism is racism. There is nothing that makes one type of racism "reverse racism". I think a decent argument could be said for the term "reverse racism" having undertones of racism in itself.
It might not totally be racism, but you are experiencing a form of discrimination. However, it's not cool to blame your situation on other races. Believe it or not, there are several minorities in your position who are possibly your age or younger. Micky D's sucks anyways. A place like Starbucks offers better pay and even medical coverage.
Ok . . let me get this straight Their is an advert for a job position a White guy told you .. you got the position the next day a non-white guy said their was no positions available You saw him reading you application Is this the whole crust of the story? Rocket River "TAXI!!!" - Black Man in New York
Its funny how many people have this attitude. A serious question though ... Would you rather be ... a) White with a middle-class to rich family background b) African American with a middle-class to rich family background c) White and poor background d) African American and poor background To me ... a=b>>>>>>c=d It's all about where you come from. Nowadays I don't believe there is enough overt racism in the workplace/society to hold you down, but if you come from a poor background you are at a serious disadvantage because you don't have anywhere NEAR the opportunities of other more well-to-do people (even the middle class). I guess my point is that just because someone is white doesn't make their life easier, just like being white doesnt make your life much harder, but I truly believe that is the case for all races. You are what you make of yourself regardless of race, but if you come from a poor background then you have less tools to make yourself better.
That's a very good point, one that I hadn't thought of. Most of my black friends come from affluent backgrounds; one is at UT, she's outgoing, brilliant, and will be a scientist once she graduates, another of my friends is from Sugarland and goes to Baylor, another is an awesome stage actor AND football player and was offered a scholarship for both from several schools...plays football for OSU...these kids all grew up with affluent families, similar to the affluent white kids I know. Being in Waco right now I can definitely say I've seen the poor sides of both races. Yes they are less educated, and because of that have low-end jobs, but that's because their families probably didn't have the money to send them to college. A lot of kids, especially from Waco, get caught up in dealing because it's the only way they can make money. Whites, blacks, hispanics. I guess it's more of a socio-economic thing than anything. Good point, RMJosh.
Whites can have a hard time in this country just like any other minority group. Why is it people in this board don't believe reverse discrimination exists? I've seen it occur myself and I'm not white or black. Every race gets crapped on by someone of another race all the time...whether they be black, white, Hispanic, etc.,
Mr. Smiley's Manager: I don't think you'd fit in here. Lester Burnham: I have fast food experience. Mr. Smiley's Manager: Yeah, like twenty years ago! Lester Burnham: Well, I'm sure there have been amazing technological advances in the industry, but surely you must have some sort of training program. It seems unfair to presume I won't be able to learn.
I agree with everyone here that classism is much more predominant in today's society than racism. But if you did deal with an experience that was classist/racist, you have to deal with it like everyone else who has a racist experience, you can: 1. complain about it and get ridiculed for being too sensitive or making something up. 2. Nothing Most people in this world do #2. You really can't do anything if someone who has more power to you is a bigot.
I've always thought this was a cop-out useless excuse. When I grew up, I was the minority. Jokes were constantly made at my expense that I couldn't afford good shoes, or only had 1 shirt for every day of the week. Basically, yeah..we had less money then the other people in our neighborhood. So when I went to college on nothing but Student Loans and worked 38+ hours a week, I lost all sympathy for anyone who says they couldn't afford college. I knew people that worked over 40hrs and spent 6-7 years going to college because they had to work so much..but THEY DID IT. Many of us didn't have ANY help from our parents for college. Its not that hard, you just have to actually want to go. After college, hearing some of these same people that made fun of me for being poor, tell me that they couldn't afford college. Thats BS. You cannot afford to NOT go to college.
