22 Comments
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Mark's avatar

Native Americans have the same issue with punctuality.

In a rational world, people who have demonstrated an inability to be punctual should not be employed as doctors and surgeons. Not enabled and provided an excuse.

Such people that promote such nonsense ideas really want the destruction of the West.

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Simon Webb's avatar

Yes, I agree.

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John Light's avatar

Being punctual is a mark of good social awareness and basic respect and consideration for others; as such, it's a major cornerstone of a productive, efficient, and civilised progressive society. Any person or group that appears to have a problem with this basic social requirement should have the common decency to accept that their attitudes aren't compatible with the good of the majority and either learn to conform or, if that really is impossible, leave and find a more suitable alternative environment where they can exist happily without prejudicing the well-being of everyone else. And that's not rocket science; it's simply the way we'd expect any decent, well-mannered, considerate person to behave.

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Teesside Man's avatar

I find this this too, but also with many white people as well - but none the less, yes I accept the point you are making.

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John McC's avatar

Maybe it's genetic, just sayin..

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Teesside Man's avatar

Yes, I think genetics does play some role in the differences between groups of people along with culture too.

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Simon Webb's avatar

I think that it may be an unfortunate combination of genetics and culture.

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Richard Bicker's avatar

Pace Jared Diamond, culture is genetics' response to environment.

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Lawrence's avatar

This so true Simon. Black people take no pride in punctuality and to inform them of the importance of being punctual is deemed by them to be nit-picking and racist. With the usual comments of You're only picking on me because of my colour

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Simon Webb's avatar

Yes, most people have observed this, but feel awkward about discussing it openly.

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Nick Sallnow-Smith's avatar

It strikes me that if this was simply a lack of attention given to what time it is, Black people would often arrive early rather than late. But this doesn't seem to be anyone's experience.

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Simon Webb's avatar

Very true, or they would leave late from work, because they were not keeping track of the time. This does not seem to happen either!

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Ian Dale's avatar

I agree that the document you reference would be incredible if were not so typical of the bureaucracy which eats up the resources that should be going to actual work, or progress, in this case medical training.

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Simon Webb's avatar

It is indeed typical of the kind of thing floating about modern institutions.

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Daniel Comyn's avatar

I lived in Africa for 60 years and can attest to Africsn time.However I have been living in Ireland for the past 3 years, and find that the Irish in general do not stick to arranged time schedules.Like many black Africans, they are very laid back,and friendly, focussing on a happy state of being other than all the troubles of the world.

The Irish historically, were under the boot of the English colonialist for 800 years - no other peoples, have suffered such continuous subjugation - and the Africans by Arab and Atlantic slave trade and colonialism but for a much shorter time. Nevertheless there are parallels.

Then there is the Protestant work ethic that throws the spanner in the works for folk with inherent philosophy that 'time is not of the essence.'

The Far East Asians however, are very disciplined in their work ethics and they are largely Budhists.

Different strokes forr different folks

applies and makes life more interesting, like affording us the 'time' to take in the beauty of the blue skies and other wonderments of nature.

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Michael McGrath's avatar

Inherent laziness?

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Simon Webb's avatar

It would be unwise to dismiss this possibility out of hand...

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Richard Bicker's avatar

The failure of people of low IQ (whites as well as other racial/ethnic groups) to be punctual has particularly dire consequences when applied to the interactions such folks often have with the criminal justice system.

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Nicole Baker's avatar

I'm a black woman and my husband had to shame and pretty much get angry every time I was late because of my lack of discipline and respect for other peoples time. No one has ever corrected me (I've always been the only black person in most settings, so no one ever said anything in a lot of cases.) My husband is also in the military. So now my goal is to get everywhere 15 mins early, I have two young children so now I try to get there 20 mins early. I'd say the culture has led to lack of discipline and respect for others.

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Simon Webb's avatar

It can be difficult to change habits! I have had to work hard to alter my own ways of doing things and it often took me a long while...

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Max Turner's avatar

From my observation of life I have noted that lateness is a product of laziness and indiscipline. I have noted that this trait is not tolerated in white people, hence their success when combined with other qualities.

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Patrik Johansson's avatar

I wonder if a student could bring Mary E. Klotman (MD, Dean, Duke University School of Medicine) to court for Defamation?, as she presumes that 'white' students are 'racists'/behaving/thinking in a 'racist' manner and therefore "discriminates against non-Western and non-white" (Ref. the PDF)?

(The Defamation Law was written for the purpose of giving an innocent citizen legal means to defend itself from false accusations that could ruin his moral reputation/social status.)

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Also, has the university researched — ie. collecting facts, a requirement whenever new rules/policies are to be implemented — its presumption that 'white' students/people Actually feel "superior to People of Color and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions"?

If they (the 'whites') do not feel superior, then the university's Plan ("for dismantling racism") is unnecessary (and probably unwanted among those who do not believe that they think or behave themselves in a 'racist' manner — they would certainly reject this Plan if they felt that they could use their democratic freedom of speech at the [public?, private?] university).

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Regarding "In the workplace, white supremacy culture explicitly and implicitly privileges whiteness":

– Below privileged black woman shows that the 'spirit of time'/zeitgeist have turned. She shows an extraordinary level of self-confidence and superiority over the white audience. (I find her choice of dress for her presentation to be beyond disrespectful; it is disgusting!)

(Video search-term: ashleigh shackelford All White People Are Racist)

If anything is beyond belief, as Mr Webb ends off, it is that this audience sits quietly and attentively listening, because of... interest?, bemusement?, order (command), fear/worry?

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