“You have a couple of mixed kids, where’s their Father? Let me guess… jail?” (cue grown up, racist laughter by a 50-something couple). This is a real conversation during my vacation last week with the kids, as a couple walked by our dinner table. At first, they stopped to say “are these all yours? You know how to prevent this don’t you?” 🙄 And then, upon looking around and seeing my oldest two (my niece and nephew, who as you all know by now, I adopted), they decided to keep the fuckery going, but this time… adding a racist spin, you know… for extra BS. 🚫 It’s NOT OK to let comments like this “go” 🚫 With all the calmness I could muster (and it was hard, I was seeing red on the inside), I eloquently told this stranger how absolutely disgusting they were for first, thinking they could say something about how many kids I have and it be “funny” and second, for being a racist on display for all to see… my family, my children. I cited some facts to this rando and educated him on the importance of not being a racist piece of shit, emotional intelligence and self control. After the lesson, he walked away, shocked, I think, and the called me a fucking bitch. Typical. The predictability of these fools is, at least for me, 10/10! I don’t take it personally, I think you know that. But, what I do take personally are these moments of opportunity… They are filled great responsibility and I’m into practicing what I preach. I could have just “let it go”, smiled and laughed at his gross attempts and being the hurtful kind “funny”. To show off his dominance to the woman he was with. To just put others down… But I can’t. I’m responsible for breaking down the systemic BS in the world of work and this man, I’d wager, is right here on #linkedin. Had I not responded, I’d have shown my daughters and sons the exact opposite of what I talk about every single episode of Not the HR Lady. On what I live, personally, every day. On who I am raising them to be. There is power in our voices. There is power in speaking up. There is power in educating. There is power in being calm. There is power in demonstrating leadership. There is power in all of us. Use your voice. Don’t let comments “go”, whether said to you or overheard… it’s up to all of us to facilitate change and we can’t do that silently. #notthehrlady #nobs #realtalk #leadership #dei #emotionalintelligence #mentalhealth