Hello...
After thinking about this for a while I have to conclude you are right to
include this subject in the learning orgs discussion. My wife has been
talking to me about things like this for quite a while, and I have been
having trouble "getting it". Her comments are: well if you let people do
that, and say nothing, then you don't really care about them. People hurt
others through ignorance sometimes-this gives them a chance to learn.
Those who are overtly malicious need to be shown for what they are
(because they do exist and we have to deal with them sooner or later...
and later is usually harder and bloodier)
Giving people a chance is something we often overlook or deny just because
our cultural models of behavior and thought don't consider the
possibility.
The polite laughter after someone tells an anti semetic joke just reflects
the distance we tend to place between ourselves. It shows how conditional
our interactions are.
Later...
Michael Erickson
--sysengr@atc.boeing.com (Michael Erickson)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>