You never know what an assistant will be like, especially when you don't pick them out yourself. There are different types of people that go for assistant type jobs. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying there is anything wrong with being an assistant. It is a pretty important job. Some people who go for this type of job do it because they know the CEO of the company and he/she hires the person for the assistant job because they want to help them out. Others take a job as an assistant so they can get in with a company that they want to move up in. My assistant falls into the first category--she is a friend of family of the CEO.
Please understand, I love my assistant, Matilda. She is sweet, cares about our clients, tries to do a great job on all her assignments but sometimes I wonder what she is thinking.
As today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and my office is closed, I asked Matilda to make a flier to send out to our clients. Later, the same day I asked her to prepare it, I went to Matilda's desk to see if she had finished the flier. She was just getting a graphic to add to the flier to complete it. In my mind I figured she would add a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Instead, she had gone into clip art and typed, 'black people.' My jaw dropped and I felt like the civil rights movement went back in time.
I asked her why she was in clip art rather than getting a picture from the internet. Her response, 'I have seen two black people in my life. They all look the same to me. I thought I could just find one that looks like him.'
I about fainted. Yes, the state I currently live in is not very culturally diverse, I have never heard a comment like that. I grew up in a state that was pretty well mixed with different cultures and people and had many friends of various races and backgrounds. Hearing that comment made me feel as though we had moved back to a less tolerant day.
Matilda finally put a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the flier and after a discussion I thought I would never have to have with my assistant, the situation was resolved...but not without me being reminded that despite the years that have passed, ignorance towards others unfortunately still exists.
Please understand, I love my assistant, Matilda. She is sweet, cares about our clients, tries to do a great job on all her assignments but sometimes I wonder what she is thinking.
As today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and my office is closed, I asked Matilda to make a flier to send out to our clients. Later, the same day I asked her to prepare it, I went to Matilda's desk to see if she had finished the flier. She was just getting a graphic to add to the flier to complete it. In my mind I figured she would add a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Instead, she had gone into clip art and typed, 'black people.' My jaw dropped and I felt like the civil rights movement went back in time.
I asked her why she was in clip art rather than getting a picture from the internet. Her response, 'I have seen two black people in my life. They all look the same to me. I thought I could just find one that looks like him.'
I about fainted. Yes, the state I currently live in is not very culturally diverse, I have never heard a comment like that. I grew up in a state that was pretty well mixed with different cultures and people and had many friends of various races and backgrounds. Hearing that comment made me feel as though we had moved back to a less tolerant day.
Matilda finally put a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the flier and after a discussion I thought I would never have to have with my assistant, the situation was resolved...but not without me being reminded that despite the years that have passed, ignorance towards others unfortunately still exists.
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