Lowe's executive's comment about 'Hispanic pros with smaller hands' sparks employee outrage

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

In a corporate video broadcast to store managers nationwide on Monday, Joe McFarland, Lowe’s executive vice president of stores, pronounced the $99 DeWalt 12-volt cordless drill the “number one power tool for the pros.”

McFarland, wearing a camouflage vest and seated in front of a sign that said “Lowe’s LoweDown,” went on to tout the features of this week’s spotlight item: “The thing is compact. It fits anywhere.”

And a customer profile: “Some of our Hispanic pros with smaller hands, this is perfect for them.”

McFarland’s comments, made during a prerecorded presentation that ran about a half-hour, were broadcast in Lowe’s conference rooms throughout the country as part of a weekly gathering of managers to discuss corporate priorities, according to employees who saw the presentation. As part of the meetings, they watch videos often hosted by McFarland.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/lowes-executives-comment-about-hispanic-pros-with-smaller-hands-sparks-employee-outrage/ar-AAGp1sS?li=BBnbfcN

He should have said it'll fit Trump's tiny hands but that's assuming he'd get off his fat lazy ass and actually do some work.

[Maru Kitteh]

1. Where the fuck am I supposed to get hardware-type stuff?

Seriously.


Cheezuz.

[UTUSN]

8. you said it for me

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. And the alternative is Home Depot, the founder there is the one who destroyed a

great Democrats career...

Eliot Spitzer..a great politician who fought for average people and the corps were scared of him big time

So the vile filth founder of Home Depot made sure he was taken down for SEX.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Oh boy,talk about a loser.

BTW,who in hell wants a 12 volt,geese,the 12 volts were replaced by the 18 volt in 2013. What!!!!

[blaze]

13. Oh, those 12 volt drills are very handy!!

I worked (hvac) on commercial equipment for 20 years for a school district. We had a good number of mobile classrooms and those little tiny closets were a pain to work in. Those 12v drills made those jobs much easier!

[virgogal]

4. I didn't know that"smaller hands" was an insult. I have

an Asian son-in-law and he laughs at the big feet of some family members.People are too sensitive these days.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. i'm struggling to see the insult, too

It doesn't appear to be a blanket condemnation or judgment of a race, culture or creed, just a possibly unjustified characterization.

[Skittles]

6. "perfect for people with smaller hands" would get the point across just fine

[Caliman73]

7. "smaller hands" is not the insult. Blanket statements about a group are the insult.

Asian people are good st math. Black people are good at basketball. Those are supposedly "positive" statements but they are still insensitive and could be considered insulting because you are stereotyping an entire group of people who are diverse.


As Skittles said just a generic statement like, "this drill fits comfortably in the hand of people with smaller hands." would have been just fine.

[TrewGrit]

9. I didn't know Hispanics had small hands NFM

[gopiscrap]

12. welcome to DU

[uponit7771]

11. Negatively generalizing any culture with ignorant stereotypes is always bad. I know Hispanics who..

... are large brothas, no small hands at all ... this CEO needs to get out more.

[RobinA]

10. Well Call Me

a misogynist because the last gym I went to I whined constantly about their weight machines being geared toward men because I, as a 5’7” female, found their dimensions an uncomfortable fit.

Just maybe, Lowe’s had gotten comments from their Hispanic clientele that the stuff was too big. I know I find most power tools that I’ve used to be a bit of a struggle in the size department.

[madville]

14. He's not wrong

Hispanic men have an average hand size about a half inch smaller than non-Hispanic white men. I imagine they analyze these sorts of things to figure how to target their advertising campaigns as well.

If he had said "Women like these new compact tools because they have smaller sized hands", I wouldn't think that was sexist, it makes ergonomic sense and also from a marketing standpoint.

[Greybnk48]

15. I can't go to Homie-D, or Menard's because John Menard is a right

wing asshole. Our local Ace guy is a rabid anti-abortion guy.

So I'm keeping Lowe's unless this is a pattern.