My boss called me the T-word. I made her cry when she got fired. I used to work in hospitality

in a metro known for its obscenely huge tourist population. You know, the city built around the Maus.

I was a manager for the recreational division of the hotel. So one day, my boss, who will call

Mary for the purpose of the story,

comes into the shared manager's office and starts rummaging around for something, and strikes

up a small conversation about work-related minutia with me. It's important to note she's actually

two tiers above me, but was acting as head of department while searching to replace my previous

boss who recently quit. Great guy, by the way, huge loss to the company. As we're talking,

she abruptly stops and says, by the way, you need to shave your beard. You look like a,

and she uses a T word that would imply the kind of person who uses acts of destruction to

incite the conflicts like we've been having in the Middle East.

And I don't employ people who look like they're about to hijack planes.

Ha ha!

Funny joke between colleagues, right?

Nope.

I'm half Indian, and I do look Middle Eastern, and I have been taking this kind of crap

since middle school. Plus, Mary and I do look Middle Eastern, and I have been taking this kind of crap since

middle school. Plus, Mary and I aren't close at all. So I reply, as calmly as I can muster,

Hey, I get that you're trying to be funny, but on my end it comes off as pretty ignorant, so I'd

appreciated if you chilled out with that stuff. To which Mary retorts, oh, I'm ignorant. We'll see how ignorant I am during

your annual review, and proceeds to walk out of the room in a huff. My jaw dropped so low I could

taste the floor. You'd think it was an easy fix, right? Go to HR and all. She's made rude

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