Almost there, but now i think i might be screwed....

[uw23ted]

So I have passed the physical test, the written, the vision, and the oral boards for the CHP. My B.I. called me last week and we are finishing up the background check so all I have left is the doctors physical, the psych eval, and the poly. I was feeling good until yesterday when something popped up that i had totally forgotten about. now i fear i might be screwed. here is what happened: my b.i. told me to get my personnel file from a job i had when i was 17 (7 years ago.) The packet arrived yesterday and as i read through it i found something that made me sick to my stomach. one day at work, 2 co workers of mine, one white, one black and myself were having a conversation about racial slurs. nothing was directed at anyone, it was just a discussion but another female co worker happened to overhear a "portion" of this conversation. She totally took what was being discussed out of context and told our manager who understandably reamed me for saying what i said even though nothing was directed at anyone. i found out the hard way at 17 that there are somethings that you just dont talk about at work and that is one of them. so, since then I have never done anything like that but i am afraid that i might be dq'd now. i hope my b.i. will realize that i am not some racist punk and that this was just one isolated incident. what do you all think?

[CO_Hopeful]

quote "i found out the hard way at 17 that there are somethings that you just dont talk about at work and that is one of them."

I have 2 opinions on this matter. First is....that was a long time ago, and things like that can be expected at a young age.

Second....the message you just typed says, "somethings you just don't talk about at work". I think that is the wrong answer, and something NOT to say to the BI. I think the correct answer is....there is NEVER a time to be making racial slurs...especially in this day and age. Case in point....our good friend Mark Fehrman. His racial slurs made a huge impact on the trial of the century.

I'm sure the responses will go back and forth on this one, but I think the main gist will be....be honest, and sincere while telling this to your BI...before he finds out himself.

[dano]

You were 17 and you behaved inappropriately?!?! You should be ashamed of yourself! It is all the more disturbing because it is so unnatural for teenage boys to behave this way!!! LOL

Seriously though, in this politically correct world I can understand your fear. However, I do not know how old you are but if this happened many years ago, I wouldn't sweat it too much.

The manager was forced to address the issue, however, you were not sanctioned otherwise. Obviously you must disclose this and explain why it wasn't disclosed earlier. You also must explain the context of the conversation if you can recall it. I’m totally speculating here buy it sounds like you found these epithets funny in and of themselves. In other words, you were laughing at them the way many of us would laugh at 'All in the Family.' Racial slurs are shocking, crude and absurd – in other words, they’re hilarious (in certain contexts) – especially for immature teenagers (the classic movie Blazing Saddles tapped into this phenomenon perhaps better then any other example I could give).

Why not try to contact the manager and have him write a letter? Assuming he felt it was a momentary lapse of judgment, this should do a lot to mitigate the issue.

Good Luck.

[uw23ted]

Hey you are right, but I totally didn't mean it like that. It's not like i am a closet racist and wait until i get home to start trashing minorities. Like I say, I wasn't "making" racial slurs and directing them at anyone, it was merely a discussion of slurs. Let me clarify: of course there is NEVER a time to use racial slurs. However, when you are DISCUSSING them with other minorities, it probably isnt the best idea to do it at work where other people may be offended. Thank you for your comment--I didnt even realize what I posted would sound like that and appreciate you pointing that out and showing me how it COULD sound to someone. I will rephrase that.

[uw23ted]

Dano,

great reply, i totally agree. I am 24 now and that happened when i was 17. I would have preferred to disclose this earlier, but when I contacted that employer, I asked for ANY and ALL written reprimands I received while working there. The lady said she could "only find one" which was for something else which is insignificant (forgetting to clock out.) Since that was 7 years ago, there was no way I could have rememberred all the write ups i had and like I said, I totally forgot about this incident. That is why I freaked when i got the packed and found that the lady did not tell me about the other warning i had. I guess i am pissed and quite a bit anxious because I do not want to be portrayed as a racist liar. I honestly didnt remember this incident and i dont want my bi to think i hid it from him. I think it is best to own up to it now, not try to make an excuse and say yeah i did do that, it was a mistake, and i have not done it since.

[Guy from Virginia]

One question: Was there a question on your application that basically asked if you've ever uttered a racial slur or been reprimanded for it? In a way I am being sarcastic and asking a rhetorical question, and in another way I'm asking a serious question. Your BI shouldn't hold it against you b/c number one you were a 17 yr old kid, and number two if you were never asked about disclosing it and neglected to, then technically you didn't lie or intend to deceive. You get where I'm coming from? Look, none of us are perfect and we've all done dumb things, especially as teenagers, but just as we're expected to have our faults, we're also expected to be human beings and have less than perfect memories. I could see your BI giving you some static if you had been asked about any incidents such as the one you mentioned and you said no, and then it came up. That might be another story, but even then I don't think it is enough to worry you. I'm sure you learned your lesson and no pattern of racism has been established. You stuck your foot in your mouth once and learned an important lesson. As long as you didn't purposefully lie about it then I think you're OK. Chalk it up to bad memory, show genuine regret over the incident and stay honest about it and everything else. Good luck!

[uw23ted]

the only question asked was on a personal hist statement and the question was pretty general, it went something like "have you ever used a racial slur whether or not it was or was not directed at any group or persons?" To this question I said "yes." Unless I am just totally naive, I think the majority of people, no matter what race, have said or used a racial slur at some point in their life.