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A coworker brought donuts into work the other day and sent out an email to the whole office to let people know the donuts were there for the taking. Nice. Then, she sent an email to me, and me alone, telling me that next time she would be sure to bring in bagels and cream cheese and lox for me. Because, I guess, I'm Jewish?
I've never mentioned having Jewish ancestry to anyone in the office (although it's obvious from my last name), and while I have eaten the occasional bagel with cream cheese, I don't like lox. What could possibly possess her to tell me this? I was so flabbergasted that I just ignored the email. I had no idea how to respond.
Then, yesterday, as we were leaving for the day, she asked me if I liked bagels and cream cheese and lox. I told her I liked bagels but not lox. And then she proceeded to tell me a story. When she was a small child, she was at the house of a Jewish family, and they were eating bagels and cream cheese and lox! She said she didn't like the lox, so they made her an omelet instead, and she thought that was very nice of them. She never forgot those nice Jews. And to this day, she has many Jewish friends! I just sort of nodded, and then left. wtf?
Now, a few more pieces of information. I am in no way whatsoever offended. I mean, if she had asked me if I wanted a gas chamber with my donuts, I would have smiled and nodded just the same. So it's not as if I'm bothered by her stereotyping; I'm just wholly confused as to her motive. She's not flirting with me, that's for sure. She's old enough to be my mother and she's married.
There's one extra piece of information that might be relevant here, which is that I went to school with two of her children and even grew up in the same neighborhood. But as far as I'm aware, she's completely ignorant of this nugget of information. That, or she's done just as good a job as I have at hiding the fact that she knows this connection exists.
So the question is, what do I do about this? Do I contact the Anti-Defamation League, report her to HR, offer to get her traditional Shinto foods because she's married to a Japanese man? Clearly, I have to do something, or it's possible she might try to make conversation with me again, and I just can't have that. Can't have that at all.
I've never mentioned having Jewish ancestry to anyone in the office (although it's obvious from my last name), and while I have eaten the occasional bagel with cream cheese, I don't like lox. What could possibly possess her to tell me this? I was so flabbergasted that I just ignored the email. I had no idea how to respond.
Then, yesterday, as we were leaving for the day, she asked me if I liked bagels and cream cheese and lox. I told her I liked bagels but not lox. And then she proceeded to tell me a story. When she was a small child, she was at the house of a Jewish family, and they were eating bagels and cream cheese and lox! She said she didn't like the lox, so they made her an omelet instead, and she thought that was very nice of them. She never forgot those nice Jews. And to this day, she has many Jewish friends! I just sort of nodded, and then left. wtf?
Now, a few more pieces of information. I am in no way whatsoever offended. I mean, if she had asked me if I wanted a gas chamber with my donuts, I would have smiled and nodded just the same. So it's not as if I'm bothered by her stereotyping; I'm just wholly confused as to her motive. She's not flirting with me, that's for sure. She's old enough to be my mother and she's married.
There's one extra piece of information that might be relevant here, which is that I went to school with two of her children and even grew up in the same neighborhood. But as far as I'm aware, she's completely ignorant of this nugget of information. That, or she's done just as good a job as I have at hiding the fact that she knows this connection exists.
So the question is, what do I do about this? Do I contact the Anti-Defamation League, report her to HR, offer to get her traditional Shinto foods because she's married to a Japanese man? Clearly, I have to do something, or it's possible she might try to make conversation with me again, and I just can't have that. Can't have that at all.
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