Someone followed an employee of the company across the hall into work this morning and was stealing their stereo equipment, dvd player, etc.  The employee caught the guy and scared him off, and he ran out at the same time their receptionist (a woman who is usually the first in the office), was coming up the stairs.  They passed each other.  So this is pretty scary because all of this happened at 8:30am, when lots of people were in the building.  I guess just no one was really at their office yet.  Our office was more populated because we have a bunch of folks who come in early and a bunch of workaholics.  So I was relating this story to one of my bosses and another coworker and my boss said, “Oh, I saw him getting water at the water fountain this morning when I went to the bathroom.  He was another Mexican.”  So I was shocked and said, “what, how can you say that?  What do you mean ‘another Mexican’?” and he said that it was a Mexican that (allegedly) stole his lunch a few months ago.  I was shocked and laid into him for being racist.  He also said this within earshot of someone who we are interviewing for a position.  They are a caucasian, but it doesn’t seem like the best image to put forward, not to mention the fact that if someone who was a minority didn’t get hired and heard about comments like that, they could sue our ass.  I was horrified and just finally walked off from the conversation.  He saw me in the hall and backpedaled and was like, “I wasn’t being racist, he was a Mexican.  It’s what he was, a Mexican.”  Oh, please, you weren’t being racist?!  Let’s not even touch on the fact that you don’t know that he was Mexican, he could have been from anywhere, including our very own US of A!  At least now I know why we’ve got 15 white guys, 1 Indian and only 3 women working here.  Wouldn’t want to sully our pure as snow Aryan image around here.  The other thing is he said this right in front of a guy who adopted a child of mixed-race heritage.  I’m sure if he got called on it, he’d say, “Oh, I didn’t mean that kid.”  Argh!  I am always amazed at people’s stupidity and always clueless about what I should say.  I have to say something because not saying anything condones it, and that’s wrong, although I know I am guilty of it in other settings.  I will try to have more of a backbone when people make racist comments.