Speak English!
There have been changes to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.
For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a safety standard that says those who work with chemicals in the workplace have the right to know how that can affect their health.
Simple enough.
Good law.
Except they're changing it a bit to make it more of a global law.
Now, chemicals will have pictures on the labels so that those who do not speak the language can also identify the hazards.
Simple again.
Should be easy to convey.
Except it's not.
"Why don't these people learn how to speak English?" Someone yelled angrily from the back row of one of my training classes.
"Why should they if they live in China?" I asked.
"But if they're here!" He yelled out. "They should speak English!"
"It's global," I said, rather calmly. "That means around the world. Do you remember the globe?"
Of course, that pissed off half of the attendees.
"But don't you think we should throw out everyone who doesn't speak English?" Another guy asked. "Shouldn't we throw them out of our country?"
I wasn't about to get into a debate about immigration, but it sort of caught me off-guard.
There was one non-white guy in the room.
"Yeah! Get 'em all out of here!!" Someone else yelled from the other back corner.
I chuckled.
"They haven't granted me the power to toss out all of the people who don't look like you guys," I said. "I'm just here to tell you about the changes to this specific law."
"It's more political correct bullshit," someone else mumbled.
I thought about the many trips I've taken to New York City where races of people ride the same subway car and walk the same streets. Every single country appears to be represented. There are many different languages being spoken. There doesn't seem to be such blind rage.
I went back into the mode of explaining the law. We went through the pictures one by one.
"My own country and I have to be asked if I want to be spoken to in English or Spanish," some guy said to me at the break.
"Don't you think that's wrong?"
It was a one-on-one conversation.
It was a direct question.
"You should press the button for English and pretend no one else exists," I said.
I had smiled as I attacked his short-sighted view of the world and you know what happened?
He laughed.
"That's what I do," he said. "That's exactly what I do."
Good for him.
For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a safety standard that says those who work with chemicals in the workplace have the right to know how that can affect their health.
Simple enough.
Good law.
Except they're changing it a bit to make it more of a global law.
Now, chemicals will have pictures on the labels so that those who do not speak the language can also identify the hazards.
Simple again.
Should be easy to convey.
Except it's not.
"Why don't these people learn how to speak English?" Someone yelled angrily from the back row of one of my training classes.
"Why should they if they live in China?" I asked.
"But if they're here!" He yelled out. "They should speak English!"
"It's global," I said, rather calmly. "That means around the world. Do you remember the globe?"
Of course, that pissed off half of the attendees.
"But don't you think we should throw out everyone who doesn't speak English?" Another guy asked. "Shouldn't we throw them out of our country?"
I wasn't about to get into a debate about immigration, but it sort of caught me off-guard.
There was one non-white guy in the room.
"Yeah! Get 'em all out of here!!" Someone else yelled from the other back corner.
I chuckled.
"They haven't granted me the power to toss out all of the people who don't look like you guys," I said. "I'm just here to tell you about the changes to this specific law."
"It's more political correct bullshit," someone else mumbled.
I thought about the many trips I've taken to New York City where races of people ride the same subway car and walk the same streets. Every single country appears to be represented. There are many different languages being spoken. There doesn't seem to be such blind rage.
I went back into the mode of explaining the law. We went through the pictures one by one.
"My own country and I have to be asked if I want to be spoken to in English or Spanish," some guy said to me at the break.
"Don't you think that's wrong?"
It was a one-on-one conversation.
It was a direct question.
"You should press the button for English and pretend no one else exists," I said.
I had smiled as I attacked his short-sighted view of the world and you know what happened?
He laughed.
"That's what I do," he said. "That's exactly what I do."
Good for him.
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