I learned something new today!
Apr. 10th, 2022 11:46 pmOh! Fun little work tidbit!
Okay, so, like a lot of workplaces in the US, mine tends to put up Christian-themed decorations around significant Christian holidays. This would bother me somewhat less if they only did it in public spaces, instead of also in the staff hallways and break room, especially with our very international staff.
Anyway, I decided to fight Christian hegemony with inclusion, by wishing for happy/meaningful celebrations of non-Christian holidays on the whiteboards in those same areas. So at the end of March, since I knew I wouldn't be back until April 3rd and the holiday started on the second, I wrote "Ramadan Mubarak!" on both hallway whiteboards, and made it extra big and with the green crescent-and-star and the holiday dates on the downstairs whiteboard.
And today when I was walking past it, I saw that someone had added something in Arabic above my writing on the downstairs whiteboard. I can't read Arabic, but with a quick image search to compare, it looks like someone was chiming in with "Ramadan Kareem" ("may Ramadan be generous to you") ♥
Okay, so, like a lot of workplaces in the US, mine tends to put up Christian-themed decorations around significant Christian holidays. This would bother me somewhat less if they only did it in public spaces, instead of also in the staff hallways and break room, especially with our very international staff.
Anyway, I decided to fight Christian hegemony with inclusion, by wishing for happy/meaningful celebrations of non-Christian holidays on the whiteboards in those same areas. So at the end of March, since I knew I wouldn't be back until April 3rd and the holiday started on the second, I wrote "Ramadan Mubarak!" on both hallway whiteboards, and made it extra big and with the green crescent-and-star and the holiday dates on the downstairs whiteboard.
And today when I was walking past it, I saw that someone had added something in Arabic above my writing on the downstairs whiteboard. I can't read Arabic, but with a quick image search to compare, it looks like someone was chiming in with "Ramadan Kareem" ("may Ramadan be generous to you") ♥