I work in a chud-filled workplace in a chud-filled state, with a lot of the bullshit that goes along with it. Today, though, a coworker said something particularly bad like it was no big deal, calling a poorly tied down load on a trailer jury-rigged... except she replaced the jury with a hard-r N word. I thought I misheard her until she repeated it. Call me a lib, but I had no idea how to respond and still don't. Previously I thought she might be alright in this respect since she's really proud of being part native, taking part in some of the traditions of her native side of the family; obviously this doesn't preclude racism against black folks, but still.
Anyway, I don't trust my chud bosses to take it seriously and I don't feel like the coworker in question would listen to whatever I have to say since I'm a white guy in a state with a small black population (we do not have any black coworkers).
I'd appreciate any advice from people on here on how to not be a lib about the situation.
Edit: I should add that I would like to quit and leave the company with one less worker, but I need the money right now until I can find something else.
Thank you all for the advice, looks like I'll just need to find some backbone. This job isn't more important than anti-racism, after all.
Ok let’s go full benefit of the doubt here.
My understanding is that is one particularly archaic way of saying the phrase.
I could see someone, in theory, using it if their family did and they’d never heard another term.
Next time she says it, gently say that’s not really a thing people say anymore. You could play it off like a joke, “the early 1900s called they want their word back”. The goal isn’t to accuse of racism but to let her know it’s a faux pas.
If she still gets indignent and super defensive (or even proud), that’s a bad sign and you’re dealing with something else.