Part Four: The Colorline Complex

On the flip side, I also have absolutely no judgment against candidates of color who choose to swallow their pride, dignity, and honor when facing the source of evil that is in control of their bread and butter. Only you, the candidate, know exactly what financial situation you return home to every day. So, the decision you make for yourself and your family—you need to be the one who is okay with it. You need to be able to sleep with it. May you rest well with the choice you make and fight hard in the oncoming storm.

Once you've evaluated the line of your moral code, I find that choosing to act as the racist's naively ignorant fool is only potentially effective when the interview panel consists of more than one member. In this makeup, there is a tiny chance that the remaining panel members are completely oblivious to any offensive language or subtleties, and thus, they will still be evaluating your responses and any corresponding defensive body language. Consequently, at this stage of my life, my lack of patience with discrimination and bigotry has me defending my dignity and honor regardless of the cost. So, when confronted with an insecure interviewer—especially the gaslighters—I have found that the most powerful and professional response is deliberate, active, intensely frozen silence.

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and so is silence. 

 

- Excerpt from Racism, Discrimination and Prejudice in Interviews