Maybe just name the elephant in the room?

Not that I have anything against elephants.

I did.

I wrote an email to the VP who is responsible for the area.  In the Canadian division, there is protection for those who are glbt.  In the US corp, there is not.  Initial response was to research (which is fair). I have a meeting to discuss next week. 

(Not being an American football fan I didn't realize until someone I knew who is gay advised me of it. They would not name it for fear of reprisal.)

I'm wondering what others think though, should the room be changed?

ps...i'm so not good at football i didn't realize they are named after football players (not coaches).

I'm trying to get alternate viewpoints (kinda like Qwerty's alternate take on the grandmother story).  I'm talking with the vp next week, and would like to be prepared for what he might throw at me.

I figure that a workplace can and really should be proactive in terms of removing things that may be offensive to particular groups even if someone doesn't complain directly.  Fear of reprisal by someone who works for the company or has contact with the company is a sign that something is wrong. 

If you're offended or even harmed by something at work it can be very hard to speak up depending on your circumstances and the workplace environment.  There's no harm - and lots of good - in management being proactive and making the decision assuming that management wants a workplace that does not discriminate.  Changing the name of a room should be small potatoes in my opinion.  It sets the tone for what management will condone (ie. we really do think about these things and consider the best interests of our workers).  And makes it clearer (possibly?) that the door will be open for people who may need to speak up about other issues in the future. 

Just my opinion.  Sometimes the tiny stuff sets the stage for the bigger stuff.

TL

Post was edited

My guess is that they might ask if anyone made a formal complaint.  And if it hasn't been a big problem they might want to let it drop.  

Something else that might be said is that things are getting way too politically correct.  I mean the guy was just a football player and the names are just for fun.  Why should this be made into a big deal?

Clearly those are both just guesses.

Hope this helps in some small way. 

TL

My question is why do we have to honour ignoramuses - are there not enough genuinely inspiring people in this world whose name could go above the door.

Which, of course, is why I am pro numbers - last time I checked, no number had managed to say anything stupid probably because numbers have no tongues.

Sorry, Pinga I can't come up with an appropriate answer for the opposing argument supporting putting such a name on public display.

LB

Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.

Martina Navratilova, Tennis champion and Gay Activist

7 ate 9

cannibalism is pretty offensive

LOL witch!   We can always 'count' on you! 

I agree with LB I don't see a need to idolize people by naming a room after them. I know it will happen and I have to admit I would bet that everyone who is on the top of the door has offended someone during their life. I think a room is a room you don't have to like the person it is named after but you may have to have a meeting in it.

Pinga - I honour you for your advocacy on this issue - many would dismiss it as unimportant.

Naming is often fraught with challenges I think.  There may always be someone who will object, on some basis, as I think musicsooths mentioned above.  

Many Americans LOVE their football ... there's sometimes a certain reverance to it ... a feverish worship of 'heroes' ... may be sticking my neck out saying that, as I recognize it's indeed an overgeneralization!   So you may find resistance to changing this name on that basis.    US Presidents ... did they include them all?  Nixon too?  Those who promoted slavery?  Those who denied women some rights?  I would guesshope there is some discernment process going on somewhere up the line.

I might focus on how the room names reflect or publicly display the ethos/values of the company - to both employees & customers.  If the rooms were named some time ago, perhaps further info has come to light about the honorees, or perhaps we are now more enlightened, and need to revisit the naming policy.   

Old names tend to stick tho, in my experience ... "we're meeting where?  where's that?  oh ya - used to be the xyz room!"  

If it doesn't get changed ... well, it will be a talking point to educate others ... when you go to a meeting in that room, chatter before the meeting starts .... "so here we are in the xyz room ... so interesting that I recently learned about xyz getting fired from CBS a while back for ..."  A little groundswell may grow ...

good points, carolla.

So for me, I am generally virtual.  It is those who are in the city who have to deal with it, but good point, even when in a virtual space, when the call starts, I can say________.

MusicSooths....for some, it is extremely hard to be in that room.  It is more than someone being someone you may not have voted for, or disagreed on a policy with. It is about someone who denies their very being.

VirtuAL and VirtuOUS pinga  ;-) 

The counter argument will most likely be:

"We are honouring this man because of his football prowess.  Politics are irrelevant when it comes to football, and we should be able to celebrate his athletic acheivements regardless of what his politics were."

Alternatively, it may be, depending on how long ago this person played:

"While we may agree with you about his prejudices, they were normal at that time, and we shouldn't measure him by today's standards.  Besides... (insert argument #1)"

If I was gay or a Mohawk, or for that matter a gay Mohawk, I would refuse to meet in that room.

_{Are you sure saying "sneaking up on people" is meant as a put-down? Seems to me it could be quite the compliment.}

Jay, I am going to be up front here. There are posters on the board who are vision impaired in some ways and when you type in such small letters , you are doing a huge disfavour to them. I just wanted you to be aware.

Oh, and by the way how did your leadership in worship a couple of Sundays ago, go well. I have been wondering. 

Ok, so update ----

It went relatively well, in fact.

A review was exercised of all the meeting rooms in the facility (which is fairly large), by the diversity and engagement director.  In addition, there was a review of other corporations policies regarding naming rooms after folks.

All in all, it seemed like that it opened eyes to a barrier to participation and that action will follow.

Not bad...

Congratulations, Pinga!

As Margaret Meade said Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Yes, it included a discussion regarding some rooms after First Nations tribes, as well.

Anyhow, the one part is that desire to "not politicize it".

I get it, that sometimes the backlash can be bad....but a long drawn out process can be seen as no action.

We shall see.

Greetings!

Way to go, Pinga, you have done a good thing here . . . I am impressed with and thankful for your perceptiveness, courage, action, and follow-through.

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

Great news.  Glad I was wrong :)

I still think plain out numbers are best no offense could possibly be taken there.

In our church we will not be naming rooms after people our rooms are named for what they are used for like or where they are located.Youth room, west room, Healing touch Room, Fireside room , southwest room and upstairs foyer.

Thank you for your honesty. It's clear you have a very compassionate heart. I certainly see your point, that they'd be missing out (mostly on my great posts). Therefore, I will change my posting style. Instead of using small letters at the bottom I will find another way to close.

(Perhaps using brackets.)

Er... crazyheart... who are you asking?

She's asking you I think jae ...

Great to hear the update Pinga!  Well done.

Oh, well, if she's asking me, it went great thanks. We have a really good worship service at our church. Lots of music and prayer. Often we use powerpoint and DVD. I really believe God was using me well there to pray, sing (like an angel) give morning announcements, etc.

Great, now you can explain  to people who might not get their funding that the money was "better" spent on this PC-nik chatfest....

Nice, Neal...

Please understand that folks who are feeling attacked are not the best employees...  good ethics make good business sense.

Feedback received for director of diversity was that some corporations have created policies where one cannot name a room after a person.

In the building I work in (headquarters of a major Canadian bank) the rooms are all named for the floor they're on, followed by a letter of the alphabet. For example, 3J, 8A, that kind of thing. Perhaps that's the best way to go.

The letter D and the number 5 were mean to me as a child; I refuse to work in any room with those as part of the designation.......

*chuckle* Yes, that is unfortunate. You must have hated those days when Sesame Street was "brought to you today by the letter D and the number 5."

Very true: Talking birds and puppets in trash cans also were very disturbing.

'Offensive' is in the eye of the beer-holder beholder, though.  Given the assertions and opinions on this and other religious sites and forums that atheists lack morals, I'd wonder how people with both those views and Jae's steadfast committment to his principles would view meeting in a room named after an atheist, especially say, if the subject was related to some legal/moral issue and the UCC?

I knew a meeting room at the Ottawa law firm my father worked at had been named after him when he died in 1972, but this thread just now prompted me to call to see if it still existed.  To my surprise, it does (on the 27th floor) and - unsolicited... "it won't be changing". 

So are there WCers who think my father lacked morals because he was an atheist who'd refuse to meet in that room?  Just curious.

I can certainly see if the issue was dealing with the "homophobic"person in the OP himself, but this is simply a room named after this person; to imbue an inanimate object or space with the "ability" to offend is, in reality, a self-imposed state. Simply put, you CHOOSE to be so offended by this room that you also CHOOSE to let it affect your work performance...

Well, of course, I don't choose anything of the sort...  but people on this forum and many other religious people CHOOSE to believe that atheists lack morals, and thus could CHOOSE to be offended - very much the point, thanks.  Or they CHOOSE not to educate themselves that an unfounded myth of 'atheistic immorality' is simply hateful and untrue.  But note that in the OP's case as well, it is also simply a room named after some person. 

So, are there WCers who think my father lacked morals because he was an atheist who'd refuse to meet in that room?  Just curious.

Not this one.

Unless your father had a history of robbing from the poor to give to the rich, torturing living creatures, destroying the environment or generally spreading hatred in his path - which considering the fine upstanding young man his son has become I will assume he didn't - but if he did then I would not be meeting in such a room or patronizing such a firm.

LB - then again, I refuse to meet in Ottawa for the same reasons

Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith.    

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
 

Oh, I only dream of meeting in high power business rooms for conferences, meetings and the like. I'm a humble food service employee. When I reach the stage, perhaps two years from now, when I'm doing things like meeting in office rooms, I'll answer your question then.

Just for the record, I believe atheists are capable of doing great good in this world, on a horizontal plane.

Ahhh, LB...    You always impress.  Thanks for your kind response.  I do want to say that he likely better at work and far from perfect (duh!) at home.  He was very strict in petty, meaningless ways to us as we were growing up. He could not be even remotely considered an ideal husband or father for most of his life and my middle brother - whom he picked on most - never forgave him that.  The torture quip is meant partly to address this, but also... he'd kill small animals by hitting them on the head with a shovel - wait a minute! - after he'd retired and moved near to Perth on Highway 7 and cars would hit them and not even slow down.  He really hated that and indeed he did go out to end their suffering.

But retiring and building that place - he built a chicken coop and lived alone in it as the log house went up - changed him dramatically.  For the last 4 or 5 years, he transformed into one the sweetest, most pleasant and most laid back men I've ever had the pleasure to know and it was always immensely enjoyable visiting my parents there with my girlfriend when we lived in Toronto.  But I digress.

Again, thank you, LB... and I loved your Ottawa point.  One day, I'd like to meet you.  I have no plans to go east - too close to Ottawa, don'cha know - but if you ever plan getting out to Alberta, please let me know... errr... if it's reciprocal in any way. ... Graceless?  Pfffffft!