Can't make this up!!

[noharleyyet]

Even though the professor, originally from Zambia, told the Walmart employee that he worked at MSU and showed him his university ID card with the employment status of “Faculty/Professional,” the “CLEAN TOILETS” occupation description was entered into the system.

It's pretty hard to fool the Harvard grads who work the license kiosks at WallyWorld but they met their match with this alert Zambian procrastinating proof reader. ; )

 

[mplane72]

Why does a fishing license need to list one's profession?

 

[COEngineer]

Why does a fishing license need to list one's profession?

Thank you! Can't believe this wasn't the first response.

Seriously. Why?

 

[Elkhunter24]

Why does a fishing license need to list one's profession?

I was thinking the exact same thing! Can anyone from MT explain why you have to put your profession on your license?

 

[1_pointer]

Wonder how much trouble you'd get in for putting false info on that line? Guessing amateur porn star could be ambiguous enough to be defensible...

 

[Nameless Range]

Wonder how much trouble you'd get in for putting false info on that line? Guessing amateur porn star could be ambiguous enough to be defensible...

My info is false, and still has a job I had a few years ago on it. Never noticed till I just checked. I should probably let em know I got my pro card....


What's interesting about this to me is the disparity in what a reasonable response could be. Half of America would look at this and laugh and show their buddies, while another portion would be deeply offended, call their lawyer, and sue someone.

It's far too easy to bring forth lawsuits against another party in this country, and this is a perfect example of that. Injustices are occurring all over, and if we don't prioritize them we'll end up burning up precious capital on petty things like this. Being from Zambia, I'm only assuming this guy is black. Having had black friends in Montana, I can guarantee he has dealt with more bullshit than one person should ever have to. Perhaps he was viewing this through that lense, and got extremely pissed.

Should Wally World apologize and have a serious talk with their employee? Yes. Is someone misstating your profession on a fishing license worthy of a lawsuit? I don't think so. IMO

 

[Sytes]

Fact numerous uno... Pure conjecture to assume it has anything to do with the race of a person.


Example: Former or current student of MSU upset because s/he flushed/ing his/her education down the toilet? Did this, Professor or representation of, fail this student, friend of?
Or
A Wally employee pissy? A bit of perceived class warfare?

Culture and collars had gone together, to him, and he had been deceived into believing that college educations and mastery were the same things. - Jack London

Meh, a professional of MSU is a toilet cleaner anyhow. Pussycat...

 

[Nameless Range]

Fact numerous uno... Pure conjecture to assume it has anything to do with the race of a person.


Example: Former or current student of MSU upset because s/he flushed/ing his/her education down the toilet? Did this, Professor or representation of, fail this student, friend of?
Or
A Wally employee pissy? A bit of perceived class warfare?




Meh, a professional of MSU is a toilet cleaner anyhow. Pussycat...

Totally agree it is conjecture, which is why I was careful to use words like assuming and perhaps. Just a theory. Maybe a worthless one.


Spent a year at MSU before I skipped town in favor of better fishing and beer. With you there.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I have a non-computer using friend that I help with his Montana application annually. He's been everything from a midget wrestler to adult entertainer over the years on his license.
I was with him one year when the warden checked us, and about lost it when he pulled his license out. He's 70ish by the way and doesn't realize there are safe spaces available to get away from folks like me.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I think it is safe to assume that regardless of whether there was malice in the employees actions race played a role, we live in a country where a black Harvard professor was dragged from his home by a police for breaking and entering because a white neighbor assumed that the only reason a black man would be in that neighborhood was for nefarious means.

As white men we don't know what kinda crap this professor deals with, and we don't get to comment on the thickness of his skin until we walk a day in his shoes. It could have been a disgruntled student, but if you had to constantly prove that you were a professor, a position you had worked so hard to achieve and had to constantly prove your station to morons who didn't believe you because your job title and skin color didn't fit into their paradigm of the world wouldn't you feel like it was based on race.

Regardless of the employees intent it's the professors perception of the situation that mattes.

“Race doesn't really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don't have that choice.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

 

[esracerx]

No. It is not safe to assume race played a role in the employees actions. Could race have played a part? Yes. Could it have played a part in the professors response? Absolutely. And justifiably so. It appears he originally wanted that changed, and it was in fact changed. He also wanted an apology in writing. When he didn't get that he decided to sue. The professor is suing for libel, which means by calling him that on his license it somehow damaged his reputation.

None of us were there. Maybe the employee had this guy as a professor? Maybe the professor was acting like a tool and talking down to the employee. We don't know what prompted the employee to put that in there. Maybe he/she does this for every one buying a license? I mean, it's kind of silly to have to put your profession on a fishing license is it not?

Stupid for writing it, but also stupid for suing because he didn't get the written apology.

 

[Opoponax]

I think it is safe to assume that regardless of whether there was malice in the employees actions race played a role, we live in a country where a black Harvard professor was dragged from his home by a police for breaking and entering because a white neighbor assumed that the only reason a black man would be in that neighborhood was for nefarious means.

As white men we don't know that kinda crap this professor deals with, and we don't get to comment on the thickness of his skin until we walk a day in his shoes. It could have been a disgruntled student, but if you had to constantly prove that you were a professor, a position you had worked so hard to achieve and had to constantly prove your station to morons who didn't believe you because your job title and skin color didn't fit into their paradigm of the world wouldn't you feel like it was based on race.

Regardless of the employees intent it's the professors perception of the situation that mattes.

“Race doesn't really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don't have that choice.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

Well said. There's also the matter of not knowing the law(s) in play, how those laws apply to the facts, and what past court rulings on similar matters have been and in what courts those rulings were given.

That's the thing about reading about lawsuits in the press. You can't tell what's really happened unless you spend the time to go read the complaints, responses, and the statutes named therein. I sure as hell don't do that. I just go "huh" and move on. The only thing that gives me an inkling about the nature of this case is that the ACLU is involved. Generally, the ACLU takes cases in the grayest of gray areas and/or when it comes to the conclusion that a statute hasn't been properly tested, or when a set of facts comes along and the application of a statute to those set of facts is in question. And despite popular perception, the ACLU really doesn't have a side. They often take publicly unpopular cases, but they also filed suit against the recent law that disallowed mentally ill people from owning firearms.

As for suits being easy to file, yes, it's easy to file a lawsuit. And it should be. But getting it past a motion for summary judgment and into the negotiating phase (or to trial) and winning is an entirely different matter.

So let's see what happens here. It'll be interesting.

 

[Colberjs]

I'm thinking some people are reading WAY too much into this whole thing. I see no reason to believe that race had anything to do with it. Not saying it didn't or couldn't have but nothing in the article makes that seem like a fact.

But what do I know. I'm just.....

Another white guy without a clue.

I DO know that race had everything to do with that comment. Curious what Big Foot based that assumption on, though. I didn't remember posting a picture of myself with my previous comment.

 

[Colberjs]

Thanks for the new signature, though.

 

[Colberjs]

Oddly enough, nothing is mentioned about race in the article other than his country of origin. He isn't suing over racism. He's suing for libel. So why are people here making it about race?

And how is it libel when he didn't know for a whole year that his license said that? Obviously it had no effect on him or his name until he showed the license to an assistant and the assistant pointed it out in front of students.

 

[noharleyyet]

Well hell, let's have a beer summit...wait, it'd be a Cristal summit now....it'll be GREAT.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The article I read showed a picture of the professor. He is suing for libel which is the print form of defamation, to win he would have to prove damage was caused by the statement. In this case I would speculate that he would sue for mental anguish.

There is no law that says you can't be racist, but the law does say you can't discriminate or defame.

This might clear things up...

https://www.aclumontana.org/en/pres...ainst-walmart-racial-discrimination-and-libel

 

[MiStickSlinger]

I wonder how well an evil white oppressor such as myself would fair in Zambia if I were to complain about the same thing