I've known some of those he's talking about for over 10 years. And I don’t believe him. But I agree to look into his allegations. As it turns out, there was a shred of truth in what he said. Seems that one man showed up at morning meditation wearing clothing that might identify him as member of a certain group. Some of the language he used during the meeting also indicated his bias.
When confronted about his behavior, the man said he was only joking, having fun. However, his behavior wasn't funny at all. It offended some who were there. And, as a consequence, we told him to apologize to the house at last night's meeting.
However, when I told the client who'd complained to me about the consequences, he blew up. He was extremely angry about the man's behavior. He was irate and asked if that was all that was going to happen to him for the remark that he'd made.
So I asked what he wanted me to do. Discharge the man? Put him on the streets? Call his parole officer? After all, there are only so many things we can do in these situations. And if a man is willing to make amends, change his behavior, and apologize, what more can we ask? TLC is about changing behavior.
Yet, nothing would please this client. And his level of anger made me wonder about his own attitudes to those of other racial and cultural groups.
One thing we've always done at TLC is assure that everyone feels safe and accepted.
And while we can't control hearts and minds, we do have some control over how clients behave.
