Good point. It’s the truth.

Thanks Marlowe! Great Advice, I will limit the caffeine consumption. Have a nice day.

Hi Douglas! Nice to meet you!! How about never, as the answer for how many times I have I used either of those terms since my sister and mother currently live in a mobile home community and I have lived in areas that may fit the definition of a “slum” by others!

My family and I have also worked in Mexican colonias with the poorest of the poor while doing mission work and that is simply what they are called by the people living in them. I imagine that there is a different word that Kenyans use to describe their neighborhood, the author of the article (a smart person is how I have heard him described) used slum to help others understand the environment he actually worked in.

My question for you was simply a question of why you find it offensive, nothing more. In response you did nothing but cast an aspersion that I use “trailer trash” and “trailer park” without knowing a thing about me or my history.

You may want to back off on the caffeine intake or whatever else you are on, as it is not serving you well and is causing quite an unpleasant way to communicate with others or it just may be your personality! How about trying to be civil and simply responding, but perhaps you are not interested in explaining anything else?

Listen, I’m not interested in explaining why using “slum” as an adjective to describe a particular area in an African/Black country is wrong from a racial awareness and sensitivity (and really just human decency) perspective, because other smart people (i.e. the author of this article) have already got that covered. I’m here to tell you that I agreed with a similar sentiment from another individual regarding this post!

If you don’t see why attaching words like slum to a particular demographic is a problem, you should probably ask yourself how many times you’ve used “trailer park” “trailer trash” to describe an area in North America generally populated by White people.

Why was it derogatory and offensive? Does Kenya not have slums? If he has worked in a Kenyan slum why would he not say so and call it something else?

I too found the “Kenyan Slums” remark somewhat derogatory and offensive…considering we are speaking of how language and words affect our relationships.

Or, is Joseph just stating factually where the settings are that he has ACTUALLY worked with these individuals. I think it is easy to assume or perceive that someone else is communicating “A” when they are actually communicating “B”, based on the stories we tell ourselves.

In example, I did not perceive anything negative as I realize that all these places have slums, factories, investment banks, etc. I don’t and did not only associate Kenyans with slums or Israelis with investment banks or east Asians with factories.

I have experienced this myself in new management situations where speaking up has all kinds of political implications that I am not used to being sensitive too. I am often not attending to the formal leader’s language and non-verbal communication. Even when the purported purpose is to get feedback to improve decision making, the real reason for a meeting is for us to be told what the decision is by the leader and to voice agreement with it. So I may not be regarded as “violent” but just stupid and cutting my own throat.

I also heard stories about how “American” behavior is interpreted that supports the need for reflection and self-awareness. Russians and many Europeans have this impression of us as being a little mentally defective or goofy because we smile a lot. In Finland my husband got strange looks when he laughed aloud at a cartoon he was reading. Finns don’t laugh in public. So it is not just loud voices and gesturing that can be a barrier.

I think everyone needs to try to be a little more comfortable with cultural styles and to realize they too have a style that may be misinterpreted.
So checking in on how communication is going should be part of how we interact.